The IPL is full of surprises and memorable moments. Here are my moments of today:
Surprises
The return of Suresh Raina: Several questions about his commitment over the past year, but he came back in style. The hoicks & cuts are back. 4 sixes. With Moeen Ali, it was exactly the impetus CSK were missing last year in the middle overs.
Dhawan-Shaw Make a Mark: Dhawan 85, Shaw 72, 138 opening partnership. With the declaration that Kohli-Sharma will open in the World T20I world cup and KL Rahul & Ishan Kishan as reserves, Shikhar Dhawan & Prithvi Shaw seem to be out of the reckoning. With a 23-man squad possible now, commanding performances like today will help their cases. Just toyed with the field!
The Battle of the Currans:In the penultimate over of the 1st innings, Tom Curran came to bowl in the death to Sam Curran. 2 fours, 2 sixes, and 23 runs later, the younger brother wins the battle.
Honorable Mentions:Free-flowing Moeen Ali, impressive Avesh Khan, 3 catches for Gabbar!
From the young Ravindra Jadeja in 2008 & Manish Pandey in 2009 to the inspirational stories of Natarajan & Chakravarthy last year, the IPL has a habit of thrusting new faces into limelight. In 2020, uncapped players like Ravi Bishnoi, Abdul Samad, and Devdutt Padikkal had breakout seasons. Here are some of exciting candidates for 2021:
Finn Allen signed as a replacement for Josh Philippe and announced himself to the international stage with a whirlwind 71(29) against Bangladesh. Will he get a match though in the star-studded RCB line-up?
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy graduates Mohammad Azharuddeen (WK/batsman), Shahrukh Khan (finisher), and R Sai Kishore (spinner) would be quite handy if they carried their devastating forms earlier this year.
Surprise Packages Paul Valthaty & Rahul Tewatia became household names after bizarre IPL seasons. Would love to watch a Chetan Sakariya, Lukman Meriwala, or someone we have not heard much about (yet) rising to the occasion.
2. Can the Discards Find Their Way Back to the Pack?
Due to COVID-19, ICC events have allowed up to 23-player squads. For India, this has provided the window for discarded players like Prithvi Shaw, Dinesh Karthik, & Sanju Samson to squeeze into the T20 World Cup squad in October later this year.
Since the World Cup is scheduled to be held in India, it is also a golden opportunity for players from other countries like Liam Livingstone, the Currans, & Dawid Malan (England), Allen & Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand), & Riley Meredith & Jhye Richardson (Australia) to impress their selectors.
Eoin Morgan has made it clear he wants England to hold both the World Cup trophies. He has even gone as far as suggesting that rivals Rajasthan Royals will open with Buttler-Stokes combination (to help England prepare for the World Cup).
3. This is it, isn’t it?
Christopher Henry Gayle is 41 and has recently stated his desire to win a third T20I World Cup and even play for 5 more years. Imran Tahir at 42 and Harbhajan Singh at 40 are still spinning oppositions.
It is unlikely any of them will play all the 14 games, but their experience will be crucial in pressure situations.
We should just sit back and enjoy because this might be the final chance we get to watch players like MS Dhoni on the field. With IPL 2022 having a large auction, this year is definitely the end of an era.
4. Can Cricket Get Any Longer? Rule Changes For IPL 2021
The limited overs series between India and England have caused direct rule changes to this IPL. Some of those T20I games took up 5 hours and Suryakumar Yadav’s soft-signal caused uproar. Last year, the double super overs went well into the next day. For IPL 2021,
Teams have been accommodated 90 minutes per innings including the Strategic Time Outs. Penalties have been raised for violation.
No soft-signal for catches and obstruction of field appeals.
Time capped for multiple Super Overs. If time elapses, the game will be declared a tie (one point each).
5. The World Must Come Together as One
Before we can enjoy the spectacle, the real question is will we even have a complete IPL due to the pandemic?
The PSL showcased brilliant display of cricket…for two weeks before the insecurity of the bio-bubble packed up the tournament.
Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood & Philippe have already withdrawn days from the IPL, and the likes of Axar Patel & Padikkal have tested positive for coronavirus. Cases are rising in India, and several travel concerns still remain.
With mental health, bio-bubble fatigue, and financial security all at stake, only time will decide the fate of this tournament. Let’s just hope that this virus is defeated, the spirit of the IPL remains alive, and the surprises keep on coming.
If you have not yet read our IPL Previews, here is a list of all of them! Check them out and share ahead:
The Delhi franchise has seen almost all kinds of seasons in the IPL. They have seen the height of the qualifiers & semi-finals, including a run to the final in 2020, as well as rock bottom. Everything except for an IPL victory.
Injury to Shreyas Iyer shifts the planning a little bit, but with Rahane & Steven Smith in the reserves, this should not be a problem. What do you say? Can they go one step further?
2nd. Brilliant start, a steep fall, and a predictable ending—Mumbai Indians edging them in the final. Several positives regardless:
Shikhar Dhawan & Shreyas Iyer dependable with the runs at the top
Marcus Stoinis the finisher coming to the party
The pace duo of Anrich Nortje-Kagiso Rabada giving DC the edge
Injury & COVID-19 News
The Delhi Capitals have been dealt two big blows. The captain, Shreyas Iyer, suffered a shoulder injury during the India Vs England series. He will have his surgery during the IPL and is out of the season.
Rishabh Pant has been appointed the new captain.
In addition, Axar Patel has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in quarantine. Hopefully, he returns in time, but nothing is certain during these times.
Spinners: Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Manimaran Siddharth, Praveen Dubey
Fast Medium: Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Avesh Khan, Lukman Meriwala
Overseas: Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Shimron Hetmyer, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes
Withdrawn: Shreyas Iyer
Predicted DC XI
Due to Patel’s & Iyer’s absence, the balance of the side may change. For the start, I will drop Rabada based on current form and bolster the batting with someone like Steve Smith in the middle order.
Shikhar Dhawan, 2. Prithvi Shaw, 3. Shimron Hetmyer, 4, Steve Smith/ Sam Billings, 5. Rishabh Pant (C/WK), 6. Marcus Stoinis, 7. Ravichandran Ashwin, 8. Amit Mishra, 9. Anrich Nortje, 10. Ishant Sharma, 11. Umesh Yadav
*Axar Patel will slot at #7 if he can return to the squad
Watch Out For
Ravichandran Ashwin – Looks like Ravi Ashwin is having a second wind to his career. A viral YouTube channel, great IPL 2020, followed by a memorable tour of Australia both with the ball and the bat. To cap it off, a century & 9-for in his home ground at Chennai in the England Test series.
With the young Rishabh Pant as captain, the leadership group of Ashwin-Dhawan-Smith-Ishant-Mishra will be quite handy. Pant has been consistently destructive in the Indian colors recently, but can he transfer this form to the IPL?
The IPL 2020 season displayed what DC are capable of. When they are on a roll, they are the team to watch, but when they get on a losing streak, things go south very soon.
Without Iyer, collapses are something DC need to guard against. My prediction? Always in the race for the qualifiers, but lose out to net run-rate.
Prediction
5th
Most Runs
Rishabh Pant
Most Wickets
Ravinchandran Ashwin
Emerging Player
Will Lukman Meriwala, the SMAT star, get a game?
Surprise Package
Amit Mishra
X Factor
Anrich Nortje
Broken Cricket Dream
Injury to Shreyas Iyer
Delhi Capitals Preview Predictions
*SMAT – Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
What do you think of the Delhi Capitals Preview? Your First XI? Will they make the IPL 2021 qualifiers?
Indian Premier League Auction 2021 – It is time for yet another iteration of the IPL.
The IPL held just last September provided joy to many amidst the pandemic, provided several life lessons, and had its share of Super Overs. Now, in the final season before the overhaul and big auction (may expand to 9 or 10 teams in 2022), a short auction was held last week.
The auction had its moments—Chris Morris, the most expensive player EVER, RCB splurging on lower order allrounders, and Sunrisers just present for the participation points (only bought 3 players).
Here is our review of Indian Premier League Auction 2021: The winners, the losers, early predictions, and expected starting XIs.
Here is a quick review of all the international players sold by country.
Afghanistan (Afg): Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Australia (Aus): Steven Smith, Ben Cutting, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christan, Riley Meredith, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jhye Richardson, Moises Henriques
Bangladesh (Ban): Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman
England (Eng): Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone
New Zealand (NZ): Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham
South Africa (SA): Chris Morris, Marco Jansen
West Indies (WI): Fabian Allen
Australia were the big gainers with 8 picks (even though the likes of Aaron Finch and Marcus Labuschagne did not find a team), while Sri Lanka had 0 picks. It seems that the era of West Indies T20 freelance monopoly is coming to an end. England is snatching this tag given their marvelous limited overs depth.
Indian Premier League Auction 2021: Auction Highlights, Starting XI, and Early Predictions
*Note: The prices are in Indian Rupees as in the auction (Conversion: $1 U.S. dollar = 73 Rupees)
*Teams highlighted in their respective jersey colors
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Auction Highlights
Indian Internationals: Cheteshwar Pujara (50 lac)
Indian Uncapped: Krishnappa Gowtham (9.25 crore), Harishankar Reddy (20 lac), Bhagath Verma (20 lac), C Hari Nishanth (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Moeen Ali – Eng (7 crore)
Verdict: Pujara finally gets an IPL deal while Gowtham & Moeen Ali can add the much needed zeal in the CSK lineup. Balanced bowling line up, local Chennai lads in the squad who lifted the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy, and experience in the batting. Final round for Dhoni, Bravo, Uthappa, and Tahir?
Early Prediction: Barely miss the top 4 due to net run rate (The irony)
Squad:Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, R Sai Kishore, Cheteshwar Pujara, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, KM Asif, C Hari Nishanth, Harisankar Reddy, K Bhagath Varma
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Auction Highlights
Indian Internationals: Umesh Yadav (1 crore)
Indian Uncapped: Ripal Patel (20 lac), Vishnu Vinod (20 lac), Lukman Meriwala (20 lac), M Siddharth (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Steven Smith – Aus (2.2 crore), Tom Curran (5.25 crore), Sam Billings (2 crore) – Eng
Verdict: Good buys for the reserves with Umesh, Steve Smith, Tom Curran, and Billings (Smith most likely to warm the bench). Settled XI, great balance, but can they capture the big moments and maintain momentum?
Early Prediction: The 2020 finalists go one step further? Champions?
Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Sam Billings (WK), Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Avesh Khan, Lukman Meriwala, Lalit Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Praveen Dubey, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod (WK)
Indian Uncapped: Sheldon Jackson (20 lac), Vaibhav Arora (20 lac), Venkatesh Iyer (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Shakib Al Hasan – Ban (3.2 crore), Ben Cutting – Aus (75 lac)
Verdict: Shakib & Ben Cutting big steals for KKR, but not too sure about Harbhajan Singh & Pawan Negi? Envious finishing prowess, inexperienced Indian fast bowlers the concern, but the real question is—will Brendon McCullum’s notes produce the correct line-up?
Indian Uncapped: Yudhvir Singh (20 lac), Arjun Tendulkar (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Adam Milne (3.2 crore), Jimmy Neesham (50 lac) – NZ, Nathan Coulter-Nile (5 crore), Marco Jansen (20 lac) – SA
Verdict: Backups in the form of Chawla, Milne, Neesham & Zaheer Khan the mastermind behind the 20 year old left arm pacer, Marco Jansen. IPL 2021 is just an exercise to see how many different ways Mumbai Indians can come with to win the trophy.
Early Prediction: Just to change things a bit, they fail to qualify for the Top 4. Champions in the reverse direction (Who am I kidding?)
Foreign Recruits: Jhye Richardson – Aus (14 crore), Riley Meredith – Aus (8 crore), Dawid Malan – Eng (1.5 crore), Moises Henriques – Aus (4.2 crore), Fabian Allen – WI (75 lac)
Verdict: Dawid Malan, current word’s best T20 batsman, & Fabian Allen were quite the deal. Looking forward to Shahrukh Khan, the finisher, and hopefully Jalaj Saxena, the first class veteran. Definite contenders this time around. The change of name to PBKS to bring the luck?
Early Prediction: Top 4 Finish
Expected Starting XI
KL Rahul (C/WK), 2. Mayank Agarwal, 3. Dawid Malan/Chris Gayle, 4. Nicholas Pooran, 5. Deepak Hooda, 6. Shahrukh Khan, 7. Fabian Allen/ Moises Henriques, 8. Arshdeep Singh, 9. Chris Jordan/ Jhye Richardson, 10. Mohammad Shami, 11. Ravi Bishnoi
Foreign Recruits: Chris Morris – SA (16.25 crore), Mustafizur Rahman – Ban (1 crore), Liam Livingstone (75 lac)
Verdict: All weak points from IPL 2020 fixed. With Shivam Dube and Chris Morris, the double Rs may not have to rely on Tewatia magic alone. The foreign 4 pick themselves, but Miller, Livingstone, the Fizz, and Andrew Tye are T20 specialists themselves.
Early Prediction: Top 4 Finish…in the first half. Then momentum is lost, and they end up in the bottom two. The usual.
Foreign Recruits: Kyle Jamieson – NZ (15 crore), Glenn Maxwell – Aus (14.25 crore), Daniel Christian – Aus (4.8 crore)
Verdict: They won the Indian Premier League 2021 Auction battle—Maxwell, Kyle Jamieson, & Dan Christian. Finishing problems fixed. With basically the entire Indian bowling lineup returning from Australia’s success, promising uncapped openers, & the golden touch of Christian, RCB may finally cross the line.
Early Prediction: Finalists.
Expected Starting XI
1. Mohammed Azharudeen, 2. Devdutt Padikkal, 3. Virat Kohli (C), 4. AB de Villiers(WK), 5. Glenn Maxwell, 6. Daniel Christian, 7. Washington Sundar, 8. Kyle Jamieson/Daniel Sams, 9. Mohammed Siraj, 10. Navdeep Saini, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal
Foreign Recruits: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1.5 crore) – Afg
Verdict: Kedhar Jadhav is a good backup choice for Vijay Shankar in case of injuries & Nabi-Rashid-Mujeeb together in Hyderabad, wow! They have the options, but can they figure their best XI in time?
Early Prediction: SRH lose several matches at the start, out of contention early, but will break the dreams of the teams in the middle at the backend of the tournament. Bottom 4 Finish.
Expected Starting XI
David Warner (C), 2. Wriddhiman Saha (WK), 3. Manish Pandey, 4. Kane Williamson, 5. Vijay Shankar/Kedar Jadhav, 6. Priyam Garg/Abdul Samad, 7. Rashid Khan, 8. Jason Holder/Mohammad Nabi/ Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. T Natarajan, 11. Sandeep Sharma
Since this is the final IPL before the big auction in 2022, this small auction was expected to have several players unsold.
Broken Dreams of IPL 2021 Auctions:
Hanuma Vihari—hero of Sydney. Unpicked in the first couple of rounds, his name was called again for the final auction round. Still unsold. Insult to injury. Literally. (The only prominent currently in the Indian setup to not have a deal since Pujara was picked).
Aaron Finch—one of the best T20I players of all-time just could not manage a consistent IPL season.
Shaun Marsh, an end of an era. Along with Shane Watson, was the bright overseas star. KXIP stalwart in the early years, Orange Cap of IPL 2008, but could not buy any buyers.
Alex Hales. Enough said.
IPL Auction 2021: Entire Unsold List
Foreign: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Evin Lewis, Aaron Finch, Glenn Phillips, Alex Carey, Kusal Perera, Sheldon Cottrell, Adil Rashid, Ish Sodhi, Qais Ahmad, Sandeep Lamichhane, Rovman Powell, Shaun Marsh, Corey Anderson, Devon Conway, Darren Bravo, Rassie van der Dussen, Martin Guptill, Marnus Labuschagne, Oshane Thomas, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jason Behrendorff, Naveen Ul Haq, Ben Dwarshuis, Thisara Perera, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglish, Scott Kuggeleijn, Wayne Parnell, Reece Topley, Chris Green, Isuru Udana, George Linda, Jack Wildermuth, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David
Your Opinion Matters: Was Maxwell Overpriced & Hales Unlucky?
Let us know what you thought about the auction by commenting here below:
Was Glenn Maxwell overpriced? Is 2021 the year or are we still carrying IPL 2014 nostalgia?
The likes of Adil Rashid and Alex Hales do not find a team. First team England ditch Hales & now after top scoring in the BBL, no buyers. Contender for the unluckiest player of All-Time?
Steal of the Auction: Shakib Al Hasan, Dawid Malan, Fabian Allen, or Ben Cutting?
KKR’s buy of Harbhajan Singh? Why?
Here were my biggest winners and losers from Indian Premier League 2021 Auction. What did you think? What are YOUR predictions? Comment Below!
Today, Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey forged a remarkable partnership to seal a memorable win for Australia, resulting in England’s team first ODI loss at home in 4 years.
Guess what? Maxwell will be representing Kings XI Punjab this season, while Carey will be playing for the Delhi Capitals, so let us talk about them today.
KXIP and DC – Who Are They?
DC and KXIP – these teams are an enigma. They have some of the best players but never manage to go far in the tournament barring a season here or there.
Delhi Capitals, formerly the Delhi Daredevils have had players like ABD, Dilshan, David Warner, even Andre Russell and Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik from the Indian contingent. For some reason, they performed well afterthey were released by Delhi.
Alright, Ready for the VOTING?Tip: Both teams have bought great players on paper in the past, but can you remember if they actually performed well with KXIP or DC?
The Catch:
Amla, Sangakkara, and Jayawardene all had good records at KXIP but did they play enough?
Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan are present in both lists, will you pick them in either? Does Yuvi even make it for Punjab?
Chris Gayle was a star for RCB, but has he done enough for KXIP?
Kings XI Punjab
Highlights: 2014 (Runners-Up), 2008 (3rd)
Audience Poll – KXIP – All Time XI
Pick 11 players from the list – with 4 foreign players maximum. You need to have a wicketkeeper and at least 5 bowling options.
My Kings XI Punjab – All Time XI
Well, here is our All-Time XI for KXIP. We have highlighted the 4 foreign players in our XI.
Shaun Marsh (2008-2017)
KL Rahul (2018-2019)
Glenn Maxwell (2014-2017)
George Bailey (2014-2015) – Captain
David Miller (2012-2019)
Wriddhiman Saha (2014-2017) – WK
Axar Patel (2014-2018)
Ravichandran Ashwin (2018-2019)
Piyush Chawla (2008-2013)
Parvinder Awana (2012-2014)
Sandeep Sharma (2013-2017)
Honorable Mentions: Kumar Sangakkara (2008-2010), Adam Gilchrist (2011-2013), Praveen Kumar (2011-2013), Andrew Tye (2018-2019)
Audience Poll Results
KL Rahul
Virender Sehwag
Shaun Marsh
George Bailey– Captain
Glenn Maxwell
Yuvraj Singh
Wriddhiman Saha – WK
Axar Patel
Sandeep Sharma
Andrew Tye/ Mitchell Johnson (Tie)
Piyush Chawla
Some Votes:Adam Gilchrist, Manan Vohra, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin
Less than 2 Votes: Kumar Sangakkara, Mandeep Singh, Paul Valthaty, Parvinder Awana, Praveen Kumar
Audience Poll – DC
Highlights: 2009, 2012, 2019 (3rd), 2008 (4th)
My DD/DC – All Time XI
Virender Sehwag (2008-2013) – Captain
David Warner (2009-2013)
Sanju Samson (2016-2017)
Shreyas Iyer (2015-2019)
Rishabh Pant (2016-2019) – WK
JP Duminy (2014-2016)
Chris Morris (2016-2019)
Amit Mishra (2008-2019)
Umesh Yadav (2010-2013)
Morne Morkel (2011-2013)
Shahbaz Nadeem (2011-2018)
Honorable Mentions: Kagiso Rabada (2017-2019), Mohammad Shami (2014-2018), Kedar Jadhav (2010-2015), Quinton de Kock (2014-2016)
DC XI – Audience Poll
David Warner
Virender Sehwag – Captain
Shikhar Dhawan/ Prithvi Shaw (Tie)
Ab De Villiers/ Kevin Pietersen (Tie)
Shreyas Iyer – Wicketkeeper
Rishabh Pant
JP Duminy/ Chris Morris/Morne Morkel (Tie)
Amit Mishra
Kagiso Rabada
Umesh Yadav/Irfan Pathan (Tie)
Shahbaz Nadeem
Less than 2 Votes:TM Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Gautam Gambhir, Quinton de Kock, Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, Kedar Jadhav, Ashish Nehra, Dirk Nannes
COMMENT BELOW to share your XI or if we missed a player you would have liked. Share, subscribe to the blog, and enjoy!
And visit this post if you missed our All-time XI with RR and KKR and RCB.
