#CWC15 stars continue to impress in IPL

Ajit Vijaykumar 11:19 20/04/2015
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  • In fine fettle: Brendon McCullum has been in superb form for Chennai so far this season.

    The last time the IPL coincided with the World Cup, the result was not pretty, especially for Indian players. After the energy and emotion sapping win in the 2011 World Cup final, the Indians were a drained bunch and fatigue was writ large on their faces as they trudged from one city to the other in the IPL. 

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    Tiredness was always going to be a major concern at the start of this IPL as it came at the end of a monumentally long season for the Indians and Australians. The two teams have been playing non-stop cricket across formats since December last year and made it to the last week of the World Cup. That’s more than four months of non-stop cricket. West Indies and South Africa were busy battling each other in the December-January period while the Sri Lankans too toured the Antipodes during that time.

    With such a hectic schedule, those who performed well during the World Cup would have been forgiven if they had started the IPL on a low note. But a look at the results so far (taking into account the Rajasthan-Chennai clash on Sunday) shows that has not been the case.  The top 10 batsman in the IPL so far has names like Brendon McCullum (162 runs from four games), David Warner (159 from four), Steven Smith (141 from four innings) and Rohit Sharma (148 from four). These players all enjoyed excellent World Cups.  

    Sharma, Smith, McCullum and Warner all enjoyed strong #CWC15 campaigns.

    McCullum was at his belligerent best in New Zealand, smashing bowlers all around the park and scoring 328 runs from nine outings. That carefree style of batting has not altered one bit in Chennai Super Kings colours so far.
    Australian opener Warner also had a good World Cup, scoring 345 runs from eight matches. And even though he has been burdened with the responsibility of leading the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Warner’s performance hasn’t dipped.

    Steven Smith has simply continued from where he left off, scoring runs at will against all bowlers, and his leadership at Rajasthan Royals stood out for its decisiveness. 

    And Mumbai Indians’ Sharma seems to have matured into a responsible batsman who can score the runs and also lead a star-studded side in times of despair, as is the case with Mumbai who have lost all four games.

    Even in the bowling department, players have made a seamless transition from 50 overs to T20. Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Mitchell Johnson have all been under the pump for the best part of half a year now. But they haven’t wilted under the pressure so far, which is a testament to their fitness and resolve.

    Morkel was one of the leading lights for the South Africans Down Under, picking up 17 wickets from eight games. For the Kolkata Knight Riders, he has been just as effective, picking up five wickets from three matches at a superb economy of 6.66. 
    Fellow South African leggie Tahir was brilliant at the showpiece event, scalping 15 victims. For the Delhi Daredevils this season, he has snared nine victims and is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. For a 36-year-old, that is a stupendous effort.

    For left-arm quick Johnson, workload is always an issue. But despite playing against India in the Border Gavaskar Test series and following it with a grand effort at the ICC gala (15 wickets), Johnson hasn’t slowed down. He has been as belligerent as ever, taking five wickets from four games for Kings XI Punjab and bowling with the same pace and venom as earlier.

    What seems to have changed this time, as compared to 2011, is that players and team management now know what to expect. Four years back, hardly anyone knew how to cope with such a workload but this time, teams have been smarter in managing their players.

    Sunrisers Hyderabad started off with Kiwi Trent Boult and held back Protea pacer Dale Steyn, which is sure to give them more mileage out of both. Even Johnson is not starting with the new ball for Punjab, allowing the younger Indian bowlers to soak up the pressure.

    Delhi starlet Mohammad Shami has been sidelined due to a knee injury.

    Shane Watson too was given ample time by the Rajasthan Royals to recover from his hip injury before he made his first appearance for them, scoring a fifty against Chennai on Sunday. 

    In previous IPLs, star names were almost forced to play despite carrying niggles and that proved counter productive (as was the case with Sachin Tendulkar in 2011), but things appear a lot more organised as far as man management is concerned. The fact that Mohammad Shami didn’t play even one game for Delhi before being sidelined due to knee injury is commendable, given IPL’s history of ‘pushing’ the big names.  

    Looking at the way top players have started off this IPL, and how teams have managed their resources, one gets a feeling that the overall productivity of the cricketers won’t be affected, which was indeed the case earlier.

    Also, the simple knowledge that IPL is an integral part of the cricket calendar has made it easier forthose involved to plan their own schedules accordingly. For we all know that even though glory at the ICC event matters a lot, it’s the India T20 league which pays most of the bills in world cricket.

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