The World T20 is over but the carnival continues with the Indian Premier League. I am really looking forward to the ninth edition of the tournament, where I will be a part of the Kings XI Punjab team as mentor. I expect a tougher fight among the eight teams this time because we don’t have heavyweights like Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in the mix. The teams are a bit more balanced and I feel a side that hasn’t won’t the IPL as yet, like Punjab, can win this time.
Teams that have been fighting it out in the bottom half of the table for most seasons can hope for a shot at glory this time. And looking at the eight sides, I feel it is going to be a cracking tournament.
Delhi Daredevils: They have a good young side. Most of the big names are less than 30 with a handful of seniors in Zaheer Khan, Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra. Good to see that they are backing youngsters. Looks like they are building a team that they can carry forward for the next couple of years. Zaheer as captain is a smart move as not only will he guide the youngsters, but also allow the management to fully utilise the ‘foreign’ quota of four players in the team. Last season we saw Zaheer constantly interacting with JP Duminy and giving him inputs. This time Zaheer has the chance to lead the way and I feel he can do a good job.
Kings XI Punjab: I like the look of my team. They have some hard-hitting batsmen in skipper David Miller, Glenn Maxwell and Shaun Marsh. The Indian contingent has some dependable batsmen in Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha and Gurkeerat Singh Mann. However, our bowling is a bit inexperienced. But there is good presence of Indian seamers in Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur. Of course pace ace Mitchell Johnson will be there to guide the youngsters, who I feel have the talent and temperament.
RISING PUNE SUPERGIANTS: They are short on quality bowling options and will rely on their all-rounders. But I believe MS Dhoni the captain can make up for the shortcomings. But they have a strong batting line-up with Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis in the mix.
GUJARAT LIONS: The combination looks very good to me. They have some amazing all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Smith and James Faulkner who can perform with the bat and ball. That will allow captain Suresh Raina to pick an extra batsman or a bowler according to the situation. One thing I can see is that most of their big guns didn’t have a good World T20. That could be a blessing in disguise as they will be able to play freely. I feel players who don’t do well in a World Cup generally tend to perform well in T20 tournaments right after it like the IPL as they hit peak form in time.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS: A good line-up of Indian batsmen gives them an edge. Gautam Gambhir will be leading on the field and also with the bat, with Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan giving him support. Which means they can use various combinations in bowling. Even in Sunil Narine’s absence (who flew back home to grieve his father’s sudden demise), they have good fast bowlers in Morne Morkel, John Hastings and Caribbean star Andre Russell.
MUMBAI INDIANS: I feel without Lasith Malinga (whose injury status is unclear), their bowling loses its sting with Harbhajan Singh the only experienced bowler. No doubt they have a very strong batting line-up in Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard. But bowlers like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have not been economical in T20s. The team might thus prefer to chase.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: They have a very balanced side. Their home ground is great for chasing and they will need a good bowling attack, which they possess. They have Varun Aaron, Samuel Badree and Shane Watson plus a very reliable all-rounder in David Wiese. They have amazing power hitters in Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Watson and even the young Indian kid Sarfaraz Khan. Bangalore seem to have the best balance.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: They have the best fast bowling line-up in the IPL. Trent Boult, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman are excellent bowlers. They have a good mix of Indian pacers. Their batting line-will depend heavily on David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Eoin Morgan, especially with the injury to Yuvraj Singh. They have good left-handed batsmen but not so many right handed hitters.
VIRU’S VERDICT: I feel a lot of teams have good balance. Apart from my team Kings XI Punjab, I pick Royal Challengers Bangalore to deliver during the ninth edition of the IPL. It sure will be fun.
