IPL Draft - Completed!

[NILAYSHAH60]

RP Singh
​

I was torn between Dhawal Kulkarni and RP Singh but I go ahead with RP Singh who tends to be more aggressive than the former. RP Singh was picked up because of his performances in the 2007 WT20 in South Africa playing for India for a whooping US $8.5 million by the Deccan Chargers. The Chargers would've been overjoyed by the fact that they had picked the then best pacer of India in T20 Cricket. RP Singh was the best bowler ever to have played for the Chargers. He is the leading wicket taker for the Chargers in their entire IPL history. Singh received a Purple Cap for his steller performances in 2009 IPL as he picked up most wickets for the tournament which eventually helped the Chargers win the Final that season. In 2011, he was picked by the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and was equally effective. But, unfortunately the Tuskers couldn't make it to the top 4 that season and were dissolved as a franchise the next season. He then played for Mumbai Indians in 2012 season and was used as a bowler who could keep the runs down. He did manage to pick up wickets but unfortunately was injured in the later half of the tournament. Not being able to get enough wickets saw him lose his spot in the Mumbai team. He played for the RCB but he didn't look as effective and leaked runs at the bowlers graveyard in the Chinnaswamy and didn't look as effective either. That slingy action did no good to his back as he started to have injury issues. He somehow managed to make a comeback in 2016 IPL and play few matches for Rising Pune Supergiants but he was way past his prime that season and looked an average bowler. But that doesn't take anything away from him being one of the best bowlers to play in the IPL.

Spoiler: Stats

Stats| Matches| Wickets| Bowling Avg| Bowling SR| Best Bowling| Economy
IPL| 82| 90| 25.97| 19.72| 4/22| 7.90
T20| 132| 146| 24.91| 19.80| 5/8| 7.51

Spoiler: Team

@Nilay_60 's Razors

Adam Gilchrist
Sachin Tendulkar
Colin Ingram
Nitish Rana
Peter Handscomb
Abhishek Sharma
Bipul Sharma
Rahul Chahar
Zaheer Khan
Lasith Malinga
RP Singh

Spoiler: Analysis

The team looks good but the bowling is the strength of this side. I think there are 4 very good bowlers in the side as they are always calm and they believe in themselves to win the match for their team irrespective of the way the opposition plays. I think Bipul Sharma is a bit of a utility player in this side as he basically could fill the deficiency of the team in both departments (either batting or bowling). I think it is a bit tricky to judge the middle order but they rather look weak despite me picking Nitish Rana who is one of the most consistent middle order batsman in the IPL history. Colin Ingram would still be a decent player but Handscomb is a real headache. Abhishek Sharma rather looks too inexperienced and he couldn't be a player who can be relied on to win matches from difficult situation and I doubt he could do that well with the ball in his hand. This side lacks a pace bowling all-rounder and I failed to pick both Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar which was another problem I faced. The things I am satisfied about is the pace bowling attack and the opening pair. I feel as a spinner Rahul Chahar is the only wicket taking option I believe. As openers, Sachin Tendulkar will act as an accumulator and would try and bat out the innings while Gilchrist could take the advantage of the Powerplay. If Tendulkar would fail the team would be in deep trouble considering the middle order. I think this is not a top-notch side but it still has the capability to win a tournament like IPL.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

@Akshay. You are up next.

 

[CerealKiller]

REDACTED

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Ascending @Aislabie Asteroids
(That's basically how IPL team names work right?)
1. Mandeep Singh
2. KL Rahul
3. Manan Vohra
4. Eoin Morgan
5. Hardik Pandya
6. Krunal Pandya
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Wriddhiman Saha
9. Sohail Tanvir
10. Michael Neser
11. Amit Singh

@Aislabie I think there should be some changes to your line-up

It would actually make sense for KL Rahul to open with Manan Vohra. Since both of them are hard hitting batsman, they can make full use of that 6-over field restrictions. And actually Saha had been a very good no.3 for the KXIP so he should be batting on that position. And I remember Mandeep had done well as a lower order hitter for RCB which means he could do well at 5. So ideally the batting line-up should be

1. KL Rahul
2. Manan Vohra
3. Wriddhiman Saha
4. Eoin Morgan
5. Mandeep Singh
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Krunal Pandya
8. Shahid Afridi
9. Sohail Tanvir
10. Michael Neser
11. Amit Singh

 

[Akshay.]

Rahul Sharma

Actually i had planned to pick Pawan Negi as my last player, but he has been already done so Rahul Sharma is my last pick. He has been missing from the scene since 2014, don't know whatever happened to him. But till the time he played, he gave very good performances for PWI, also leading to India call-up.
He slots in at 11

Statistics
40 wickets in 44 inns @23.20, Econ 7.02, BBI 3/13

So here's the team
Aggressive openers with anchor in the form of Iyer and followed again by two hitters
I think Bhajji, Cooper and Chahar can manage the tail end of the innings with their power hitting
As far as bowling is concerned, Bhajji and Sharma are quality spinners alongwith Chahar, Cooper and Russell completing the bowling line-up
Holder and Rossouw will be hit and miss

1. Virender Sehwag
   
2. Ishan Kishan
3. Shreyas Iyer
4. Sarfaraz Khan
5. Andre Russell
6. Rilee Rossouw
7. Harbhajan Singh
8. Kevon Cooper
9. Deepak Chahar
   
10. Jason Holder
11. Rahul Sharma

@Bevab

 

[Bevab]

A big thanks to whoever kept the first post updated in my absence!

 

[Bevab]

Rahul Tripathi

IPL - 758 runs @ 26.14 (best 93) striking @ 137.32 (27 sixes)

Tripathi is one among the few Indian players who you could justifiably call as a T20 specialist owing to their lack of consistency in the other two formats. When Pune snapped him up in 2017, it was a huge surprise given that he hadn't played in the DY Patil Tournament before. But he would go on to justify the faith placed in him with a series of swashbuckling starts that helped accommodate the likes of Rahane and Smith in the top order. It was a bit of surprise when Rahane failed to utilize him properly for Rajasthan in the next two seasons but the franchise learnt their lesson and Tripathi was restored to the role where he functions best. Despite an average 2019 season that indicates the necessity for him to evolve, Tripathi is a wonderful one-trick pony who works best when he is expected to get his side to a flying start in the powerplay and not play for long after that. An average of 31 and strike-rate of 140 while opening points to that and he shall do exactly that in my team alongside SKY who is another powerplay hitter but can also bat throughout the innings to provide balance.

Saurabh Tiwary

IPL - 1276 runs @ 28.36 (best 61) striking @ 119.59 (45 sixes)

That batting average might indicate a solid player but truthfully, Tiwary has underperformed when compared to the hype around him and the talent he has. A major portion of his career has been with Bangalore where he would often play in the middle order due to the presence of the Kohli-AbD duo and struggle to play aggressively. There is still hope for him though as evidenced by his inaugural season for Mumbai where he struck 18 sixes and for whom he averages 28 with a strike-rate of 132. In a side where he is managed properly with a clear top-order role, Tiwary will no doubt be an asset and for my team he shall bat at three as the accumulator who loves to hit sixes.

Riyan Parag

IPL - 160 runs @ 32 (best 50) striking at 126.98 (5 sixes) from 5 innings with 2 wickets @ 60.50 at an economy of 8.64

A premature pick? There are players with more established records than the Assamese starlet but none of them can come close to the potential and promise shown by this rookie who ended up being one of Rajasthan's finds of the season, taking us back to the old days where the franchise was known more for scouting uncapped talent than featuring the likes of Stokes. To say a little about him, he has the composure to play a level-headed innings but can also be aggressive if the situation demands and received praise from his captain Smith who predicted that he would be a top player in the future. He has plenty of shots in his arsenal and can execute them with confidence against the best bowlers which already marks him as a good finisher. With the ball, Parag did not impress a lot in the fourteen overs he bowled but it was clearly obvious that this kid could bowl a variety of deliveries and had the smarts to know when to bowl which type of delivery. His stats for Assam paint a clearer picture of him in that regard and as a seventh bowler, he is of high value without any doubt.

@Bevab's Blasters

1. Suryakumar Yadav
2. Rahul Tripathi
   
3. Saurabh Tiwary
   
4. Paul Collingwood
   
5. MS Dhoni
   
6. Shakib Al Hasan
   
7. Riyan Parag
   
8. Mitchell Johnson
   
9. Sandeep Sharma
   
10. Yuzvendra Chahal
    
11. Nathan Rimmington

There is plenty to like here. Two openers geared to get us off to the best start in the powerplay and a dependable number three, four and five shall follow them. All three of them love hitting big sixes which should strike fear in any bowler. Shakib can be promoted in the event of an early collapse and Parag down the order can provide some entertainment if required. With the ball, Sharma shall be the designated powerplay pacer while Johnson takes care of the death overs. Chahal and Shakib will guide us through the middle overs but they can easily bowl an over in the powerplay or death if required on spin friendly pitches. Rimmington, Colly and Parag can easily contribute four overs among themselves in any non-threatening part of the game.

Tagging the rest of the users yet to complete their picks.

@Bigby Wolf
@Na Maloom Afraad
@VC the slogger

 

[Bevab]

Rahul Sharma

Actually i had planned to pick Pawan Negi as my last player, but he has been already done so Rahul Sharma is my last pick. He has been missing from the scene since 2014, don't know whatever happened to him. But till the time he played, he gave very good performances for PWI, also leading to India call-up.
He slots in at 11

If my memory serves me right, he was unfortunately affected by injuries which led to his downfall. The poor bloke could barely bowl later on. Without any doubt, he would have been India's first-choice leggie in white ball cricket without the injuries.

 

[CerealKiller]

A big thanks to whoever kept the first post updated in my absence!

 

[Bevab]

Once again, apologies for the late pick. I'mma choose Subramaniam Badrinath and slot him right into that coveted number three position. Subramaniam Badrinath was, for a number of years, a crucial part of Chennai Super Kings. Despite never being the poster boy for the team, he played a vital role in CSK's triumphant IPL campaigns of 2010 and 2011. Especially the latter, as he averaged 56.57 with 5 fifties to his name in that season. Subramaniam Badrinath is a rather risky choice as a number three, not JUST because of his overall record but also the fact that his follow-up is Rahul Dravid. I'd hope that with Hayden at the top, he can get us off to a flyer. Then Subramaniam Badrinath and Rahul Dravid can anchor the innings (and just FYI, Dravid ain't no slouch. He can play the role of a top-order hitter if needed) and Dinesh Karthik, REDACTED and Vijay Shankar can finish it off with blitzy cameos and get us to a competitive total, which our bowling is more than capable of defending.

NMA's IPL XI

Sourav Ganguly
Matthew Hayden
Subramaniam Badrinath
Rahul Dravid
Dinesh Karthik
Vijay Shankar
Roelof van der Merwe
Umar Gul
Mohammad Shami
Shoaib Akhtar

Ah Badri!

I don't know how fans of other teams view him, but to us CSK fans Badrinath was someone we cherished highly due to him being a local and also the lack of opportunities provided to him by India. For the uninitiated, Badri's preferred position was four but he would frequently be demoted to six or even seven should the situation demand a hitter. This unusual setup worked due to the presence of Raina at three who would feast on spinners and could play very aggressively and also the presence of Dhoni, Morkel and Bravo behind him to provide any spark required. The home conditions also suited him as matches would traditionally be low scoring and Badrinath would thrive in such situations. This meant that Chennai essentially operated with a firefighter in a T20 lineup for six seasons and they also had Dhoni would could also play that role! Badri is also the perfect team player as shown by him receiving just one of the man of the match award in his career despite several vital, unheralded contributions.

 

[Akshay.]

If my memory serves me right, he was unfortunately affected by injuries which led to his downfall. The poor bloke could barely bowl later on. Without any doubt, he would have been India's first-choice leggie in white ball cricket without the injuries.

Yeah he was fairly accurate, also extracting lot of bounce in his deliveries

 

[Akshay.]

Ah Badri!

I don't know how fans of other teams view him, but to us CSK fans Badrinath was someone we cherished highly due to him being a local and also the lack of opportunities provided to him by India. For the uninitiated, Badri's preferred position was four but he would frequently be demoted to six or even seven should the situation demand a hitter. This unusual setup worked due to the presence of Raina at three who would feast on spinners and could play very aggressively and also the presence of Dhoni, Morkel and Bravo behind him to provide any spark required. The home conditions also suited him as matches would traditionally be low scoring and Badrinath would thrive in such situations. This meant that Chennai essentially operated with a firefighter in a T20 lineup for six seasons and they also had Dhoni would could also play that role! Badri is also the perfect team player as shown by him receiving just one of the man of the match award in his career despite several vital, unheralded contributions.

Badrinath's contribution was underrated IMO

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Kedar Jadahv

My Final pick is Kedar Jadhav.

Vijay
Lynn
Quiney
Rayudu
Taibu
Jadhav
Bhatia
Pollock
Kumble
Nehra
Bumrah

 

[ahmedleo414]

Who's left to complete this draft?

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Who's left to complete this draft?

@Na Maloom Afraad & @VC the slogger