6th. Results do not convey the whole story however.
Mayank Agarwal was the highlight for the first half with KL Rahul getting the Orange Cap (although his SR was in question).
Nicholas Pooran’s catch. Just watch it again. Best fielding side by a mile. Of course, with Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach, expectations are very high.
Super Overs, Double Super Overs. On the receiving end of some bad luck, but had themselves to blame.
Injury & COVID-19 News
One of the only teams to not receive any bad news as of yet. Hopefully things go as planned for PBKS.
Overseas: Fabian Allen, Chris Gayle, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Riley Meredith, Nicholas Pooran, Jhye Richardson
*Captain
Predicted PBKS 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
Watch Out For
Chris Gayle. Yes the same one. He is targeting a 3rd World T20I title and might even play till the age of 45. Gayle, KL Rahul, & Mayank Agarwal back in Bangalore. PBKS are scheduled to play their last 5 games at Bangalore. Carnage from the home boys?
From the bottom of my heart, I believe Nicholas Pooran is the next big star of world cricket. This has to be his year either in the IPL or the World T20I. Hopefully both. If you have not read his story, read it below. Truly inspirational stuff.
Going back to the Chinnaswamy is good news…for the batsmen. Not so much for the death bowling. Chris Jordan is one of the world’s best exponent of the yorker, but his England form has been off color in 2020-21. Arshdeep was impressive, but this bowling unit does not give me confidence.
Venues & Fixtures
Venues
Bangalore- 5, Ahmedabad- 4, Mumbai- 3, Chennai- 2
Fixtures
12 April: RR vs PBKS (Mumbai)
16 April: PBKS vs CSK (Mumbai)
18 April: DC vs PBKS (Mumbai)
21 April: PBKS vs SRH (Chennai)
23 April: PBKS vs MI (Chennai)
26 April: PBKS vs KKR (Ahmedabad)
30 April: PBKs vs RCB (Ahmedabad)
2 May: PBKS vs DC (Ahmedabad)
6 May: RCB vs PBKS (Ahmedabad)
9 May: CSK vs PBKS (Bangalore)
13 May: MI vs PBKS (Bangalore)
15 May: KKR vs PBKS (Bangalore)
19 May: SRH vs PBKS (Bangalore)
22 May: PBKS vs RR (Bangalore)
25 May: Qualifier 1 (Ahmedabad)
26 May: Eliminator (Ahmedabad)
28 May: Qualifier 2 (Ahmedabad)
30 May: Final (Ahmedabad)
Prediction
The good news? Punjab play 4 games in Ahmedabad before they head to Bangalore. So if they make it to the qualifiers, they will have good experience of the conditions under their belt.
If they can win their Super Overs this time around, PBKS will be the team to watch out for.
Prediction
2nd
Most Runs
Nicholas Pooran
Most Wickets
Ravi Bishnoi
Emerging Player
Shahrukh Khan, the finisher
Surprise Package
Fabian Allen
X Factor
Chris Gayle
Broken Cricket Dream
Dawid Malan, the No. 1 T20I batsman of 2020, has had some questions around his place recently. With Gayle breathing down his neck, can Malan come on his own in the IPL?
Punjab Kings Preview Predictions
What do you think of the Punjab Kings Preview? Your First XI? Will they make the IPL 2021 qualifiers?
1st. The same old story. Champions for a 5th time. Another wonderful campaign. Here are some of the highlights.
Suryakumar Yadav & Ishan Kishan storm into national spotlight after consistent performances. Add Quinton de Kock’s blazing starts & a certain Rohit Sharma and that was an enviable top order.
The better the finishers, the more consistent a T20 side. Finishing prowess of Kieron Pollard & Hardik Pandya justifies this claim.
James Pattinson, Jasprit Bumrah, & Trent Boult provided the firepower that the fast bowling bowling needed in sluggish UAE pitches.
Injury & COVID-19 News
No major injury or COVID-19 news for the Mumbai Indians as of yet, but cases in Mumbai are rising rapidly. The Road Safety Series in Mumbai has several former cricketers in quarantine. Fingers crossed, but keep checking your news if any local Mumbai players join the MI squad.
How can an already dangerous line-up become even more dangerous? Instead of adding another foreign pace bowler, maybe Jimmy Neesham can slot in at #8. The Pollard-Pandyas-Neesham finishing line up can be quite something.
Watch Out For
Adam Milne, the New Zealand speedstar of 2015 World Cup fame, went missing for a couple of years due to injuries. He has slowly made a comeback in the New Zealand squad through the Big Bash, but can he light up the IPL?
With 11 games in Chennai-Delhi-Kolkata combined, spin will be very handy. Expect Rahul Chahar to be among the wickets. Since Krunal Pandya is more of a batting-allrounder, we may see a bit of Piyush Chawla and Jayant Yadav. Before the final that is.
Where Can Things Go Wrong For the Indians?
Mumbai play first 5 matches at Chennai. While familiarity can be a good thing, let us look at the opposition—strong RCB & Punjab sides and games against spin giants SRH (Rashid, Mujeeb, Nabi), DC (Ashwin, Axar, Amit Mishra), & KKR (Shakib, Varun, Harbhajan, Kuldeep, Pawan Negi).
I am betting against Mumbai Indians for their ‘home’ venues.
Venues & Fixtures
Venues
Chennai- 5, Delhi- 4, Bangalore- 3, Kolkata- 2
Fixtures
9 April: MI vs RCB (Chennai)
13 April: KKR vs MI (Chennai)
17 April: MI vs SRH (Chennai)
20 April: DC vs MI (Chennai)
23 April: PBKS vs MI (Chennai)
29 April: MI vs RR (Delhi)
1 May: MI vs CSK (Delhi)
4 May: SRH vs MI (Delhi)
8 May: RR vs MI (Delhi)
10 May: MI vs KKR (Bangalore)
13 May: MI vs PBKS (Bangalore)
16 May: CSK vs MI (Bangalore)
20 May: RCB vs MI (Kolkata)
23 May: MI vs DC (Kolkata)
25 May: Qualifier 1 (Ahmedabad)
26 May: Eliminator (Ahmedabad)
28 May: Qualifier 2 (Ahmedabad)
30 May: Final (Ahmedabad)
Prediction
Mumbai Indians always seem to bounce back after rough campaign starts. Given the schedule in IPL 2021, I think if they lose 3 or more of the first five, I do not think they can bounce back.
For a change, I am going for a different IPL winner this time around. They will probably win again, but for the fun of it, I have them winning from the reverse order this time.
Prediction
8th
Most Runs
Suryakumar Yadav
Most Wickets
Rahul Chahar
Emerging Player
Marco Jansen
Surprise Package
Jimmy Neesham
X Factor
Kieron Pollard, the leader
Broken Cricket Dream
Third Time…Is Not the Charm. May not win this time
Also, Chris Lynn. Someone of his calibre might have to warm the benches two seasons in a row.
Mumbai Indians Preview Predictions
What do you think of the Mumbai Indians Preview? Your First XI? Will they make the IPL 2021 qualifiers?
If you were a Kolkata Knight Riders supporter last year (like I was), it was a very tough season to follow. A great squad, but did not get going AT ALL.
New IPL edition, different fate for KKR? With Harbhajan Singh and Shakib Al Hasan, the steal of the auction, can KKR spin to the title? Will they make amends this year and not make too many changes?
What do you think? Does KKR have a shot? Here are my thoughts.
5th. Two seasons in a row, KKR have lost out on net run-rate. Never convincing last year, managed to pull victory out of jaws of defeat.
The much hyped finishing trio of Dinesh Karthik-Eoin Morgan-Andre Russell did not materialize. Brendon McCullum’s infamous notebook & lack of clarity on their position contributed to the underwhelming year. Oh and the DK-Morgan captaincy switch mid-tournament did not help at all.
The story of the year was Varun Chakravarthy. An architect whose cricket dreams were broken finally found fame with match winning performances. He was even selected for an international cap, but fitness issues kept him back.
Injury News
Gurkeerat Singh Mann replaces Rinku Singh, who suffered a knee injury. Captain Eoin Morgan also suffered a split webbing in the India vs England series, but is hopeful to be ready by the first match.
Prasidh Krishna. An international cap can definitely raise confidence of a player. Will we see a Prasidh Krishna 2.0 in IPL 2021? With a lack of Indian fast bowlers in the squad, he has to carry the burden on his shoulders.
With their first three games in Chennai, don’t be surprised if KKR picks the experienced Harbhajan Singh–Shakib Al Hasan instead of pace duo of Pat Cummins-Lockie Ferguson. If Shakib can occupy a spot in the top order, then the finishing strength of KKR can finally showcase their abilities.
Can KKR manage to play both Russell and Ben Cutting, especially at Bangalore? With so many international stars in the line up, Ben Cutting might not make everybody’s foreign 4, but can hit the ball a long, long way.
Where Can Things Go Wrong For the Knight Riders?
Plain & Simple. Get the XI right, go to the qualifiers. Keep shuffling and create a ‘fluid middle order, ‘ and get stuck in the middle of the points table.
Maybe one way to go is to have different XIs per venue. Have a spin-filled lineup for Chennai (Pawan Negi, Varun, Kuldeep, Harbhajan, Shakib the options) and pack it with pace in Mumbai (Cummins, Lockie, Ben Cutting, Russell, Mavi, Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier the options).
The scheduling will benefit KKR this season. If they can capitalize on their first three games in Chennai, they will have 5 games at the Chinnaswamy at the backend. Opposition beware. Sixes galore with this lineup.
Prediction
3rd
Most Runs
Shubman Gill
Most Wickets
Prasidh Krishna
Emerging Player
Kamlesh Nagarkoti to get a full season?
Surprise Package
Harbhajan Singh
X Factor
Shakib Al Hasan
Broken Cricket Dream
Dinesh Karthik, the finisher – Can he make India’s World Cup squad of 23? Or have we seen the last of DK in Indian clothing?
Kolkata Knight Riders Preview Predictions
What do you think of the Kolkata Knight Riders Preview? Your First XI? Will they make the IPL 2021 qualifiers?
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?
April 2, 2011—”Dhoni finishes it off in style…India lift the World Cup after 28 years.” Exactly 10 years from the World Cup victory, it is possibly the final time we will see captain MS Dhoni & his eternal partner in crime, Suresh Raina.
After a disappointing 2020 season, do MS Dhoni & Suresh Raina have one final memory for the fans?
7th. 6 wins, 8 losses. Loss of Suresh Raina & Harbhajan Singh before the tournament and never really in contention. The athletic Faf du Plessis & Ruturaj Gaikwad were the only positives.
Injury & COVID-19 News
Josh Hazlewood has pulled out of IPL 2021. The bio-bubble effect is taking a toll on players’.
Complete Chennai Super Kings Squad
Batsman: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, C Hari Nishaanth, Narayan Jagadeesan,
WK: MS Dhoni, Robin Uthappa
All-Rounders: Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravindra Jadeja
Spinners: Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Karn Sharma
Fast Medium: Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Verma
Overseas: Moeen Ali, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner
Shardul Thakur – Since the historic India vs Australia series, Shardul Thakur has been India’s X-factor, taking crucial wickets in the middle overs. The highest wicket-taker in both the England T20Is & ODIs, he is one to watch out for.
Youngsters – Tamil Nadu won the Syed Mushtaq Ali this year with Hari Nishaanth, Jagadeesan, and S Rai Kishore. With Ruturaj’s coming of age in IPL 2020, these bunch will give CSK the much needed age balance.
Where Can Things Go Wrong For the Super Kings?
The lack of out and out pace – Thakur, Chahar, Sam Curran, & Dwayne Bravo are all smart bowlers, but none have pace to send shivers through the opposition batsmen. With 8/14 of CSKs games at historically high scoring venues of Mumbai & Bangalore, I am not sure if they have enough variation in their attack. Tahir, R Sai Kishore, Jadeja, Gowtham, Moeen Ali, Santner, Karn Sharma would be a dream attack in Chennai, but no home advantage in COVID induced era has thrown their plans off.
*Note: There is no home advantage in IPL 2021. Here is how “Home vs Away” is divided.
10 April: CSK vs DC (Mumbai)
16 April: PBKS vs CSK (Mumbai)
19 April: CSK vs RR (Mumbai)
21 April: KKR vs CSK (Mumbai)
25 April: CSK vs RCB (Mumbai)
28 April: CSK vs SRH (Delhi)
1 May: MI vs CSK (Delhi)
5 May: RR vs CSK (Delhi)
7 May: SRH vs CSK (Delhi)
9 May: CSK vs PBKS (Bangalore)
12 May: CSK vs KKR (Bangalore)
16 May: CSK vs MI (Bangalore)
21 May: DC vs CSK (Kolkata)
23 May: RCB vs CSK (Kolkata)
25 May: Qualifier 1 (Ahmedabad)
26 May: Eliminator (Ahmedabad)
28 May: Qualifier 2 (Ahmedabad)
30 May: Final (Ahmedabad)
Prediction
Return of Raina, addition of Uthappa/Pujara, & youngsters might bolster the lineup, but the lack of home advantage would be too much to cope with. If they can win a few of the first 5 matches in Mumbai, they should have a settled lineup in Delhi.
Game Plan: Simple. Win at least 3 out of the first 5. Otherwise out of the reckoning early.
Prediction
6th
Most Runs
Ambati Rayudu
Most Wickets
Shardul Thakur
Emerging Player
R Sai Kishore
Surprise Package
Robin Uthappa
X Factor
Shardul Thakur
Broken Cricket Dream
MS Dhoni, Imran Tahir retire forever?
Chennai Super Kings Preview Predictions
What do you think of the Chennai Super Kings Preview? Your First XI? Will they make the IPL 2021 qualifiers?
All that glitters is gold, at least for this Indian cricket team.
36 All out? Bruised bodies? Losing the first match of a series? No matter the obstacle, this team has risen to the challenge. Grit, fearlessness, and resilience all on display in the Australia & England series.
Ishan Kishan hits a 50 on debut. Suryakumar Yadav pulls his first ball for a one-legged six and scores a 50 as well. Rahul Chahar impresses. Prasidh Krishna picks 4 wickets on ODI debut. Krunal Pandya caps it off with the fastest debutant half century.
Sundar, Gill, Thakur, Natarajan, and Siraj all came to the party in Australia. The list goes on and on.
It seems that for every Ravindra Jadeja, there is an Axar Patel & Krunal Pandya. In fact, India has a production line of 75 players & can even field four teams at the same time. They are reaping rewards of systems created by the IPL, India U-19, & India A (courtesy Rahul Dravid).
The Curse
Recent successes cannot hide the cracks beneath the surface.
The selection mismanagement (or ‘rejection’ as Ajay Jadeja calls it) of Ambati Rayudu, Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube, & Sanju Samson is well known. Dropping players after a couple of games & constant experimentation instills a lack of confidence, instability, & insecurity within the team. India needs to make sure they do not repeat this mistake with the likes of KL Rahul & Shreyas Iyer.
Because if similar management continues, India’s upcoming T20 World Cup campaign will be in jeopardy.
Paradigm Shift
There is no dearth of talent in Indian cricket, but how it is utilized is key.
Gone are the days where teams carry players across formats for an entire decade. Except for the occasional Kohlis, Rabadas, & Williamsons, we will not see the all-format player again.
India is amidst an experimentation phase where any newcomer fits into the team environment & performs. In order to sustain this way of playing, a paradigm shift is required not only among the selectors & captain but also in the thought process of each player that is selected on the particular day.
Is flexibility the new stability? Only time will tell, but remember—some change is good, but too much change can create chaos.
Australia Vs New Zealand 2021 Series Review. This series was competitive with a 3-2 result, although every match was more-or-less one-sided.
Several memorable moments though with the return of Martin Guptill’s sweet timing, Conway’s run of form, Jamieson’s rude awaking after IPL auction glory, Finch & Maxwell’s show, Ashton Agar & Ish Sodhi’s magic, & finally the spin experiment of Chapman-Phillips (wicketkeeper).
Positives for both sides with this series. New Zealand have solidified their batting order, while Australia had the chance to experiment with Big Bash performers since the South Africa-Australia series was controversially cancelled (Hence, no Smith, Warner, Cummins for this series).
Here is my series review—Results, stats, highlights, T20I World Cup squad predictions, awards, and much more!
Martin Guptill – 218 runs (best of 97, 2-50s, 59.12 SR)
Aaron Finch – 197 runs (best of 79*, 2-50s, SR 134.01)
Most Wickets
Ish Sodhi – 13 wickets (best of 4/28, 12.07 average, 8.26 economy)
Ashton Agar – 8 wickets (best of 6/30, 14.62 average, 6.88 economy)
Australia Vs New Zealand 2021 T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
New Zealand
Martin Guptill was on the verge of being dropped. In the first T20I, even Brendon McCullum on commentary suggested this is a huge series for Guptill (only for the commentator’s curse to take place—Guptill dismissed for duck). What followed was a magnificent 97 which made him the leading six hitter in all of T20I cricket. He followed it up with 43 & 71 later in the series. Watch out—this version of Guptill could be even more dangerous.
Devon Conway continues to rise through the ranks. Hit a 99* in the first T20I. An average of 52.28 at 145.23 with 3 50s in his first 11 matches. He is here to stay and may even receive an ODI cap soon.
Ish Sodhi has never completely realized his potential. Even with leg spinners dominating international cricket for the last decade, he was always in and out of the side. A Player of the Series performance & upcoming World T20I in India should guarantee his spot in the XI.
Australia
IPL discard Aaron Finch showed why is the best T20I batsman in the world. After NZ led 2-0 in the 5 match series, knocks of 69, 79*, and 36 displayed his tough character.
Australia have a balanced squad with 2 spinning allrounders, Glenn Maxwell & Ashton Agar. Both came to the party in the 3rd T20I. Maxwell, a revelation in international cricket over the past 12 months, scored an impactful 70 (31), while Agar broke the New Zealand chase with a spell of 6/30.
Josh Philippe was the find of the series for me. Although he had already made a name for himself in the Big Bash, he finally shone at the international level providing quick starts of 45 (34) & 43 (27). Pressure on Matthew Wade when David Warner returns? (although he did score a decent 44 (29)).
The Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Watch Out For
Finn Allen. Just 21 years of age, he averages 48.81 with 183.27 strike rate in domestic T20. With 6 fifties in 13 innings & a best of 92*, there are talks of him being fast-tracked for the Kiwis. With Guptill solidifying his spot & Seifert-Conway-Phillips all but certain, Allen’s prospects may have closed the door for Ross Taylor’s T20I return.
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
T20I World Cup Watch
We are doing a World T20 Watch from now till the T20I world cup next year. Here is our predicted T20 XI line up and a 16-men squad as of now based on this series. Several ifs and buts at this point, but it will get clearer along the journey.
Since the T20 World Cup is scheduled in India, several spin options are considered.
New Zealand 2021 World T20 Squad – Prediction
Finn Allen is slowly rising through the domestic ranks. He was picked as an injury backup for RCB, although he has not made his international debut yet.
Martin Guptill, 2. Tim Seifert (WK), 3. Kane Williamson*, 4. Glenn Phillips, 5. Devon Conway, 6. Jimmy Neesham, 7. Mitchell Santner, 8. Tim Southee, 9. Trent Boult, 10. Lockie Ferguson, 11. Ish Sodhi
Squad: 12. Colin de Grandhomme, 13. Finn Allen/Ross Taylor/Mark Chapman, 14. Kyle Jamieson/Hamish Bennett, 15. Blair Tickner/Jacob Duffy, 156 Doug Bracewell/Scott Kuggeleijn/Adam Milne
*Captain
Australia 2021 World T20 Squad – Prediction
I will put Steve Smith on the bench and start with Philippe. Several options for Australia, but time running out to settle their squad.
David Warner, 2. Aaron Finch*, 3. Josh Philippe (WK), 4. Glenn Maxwell, 5. Marcus Stoinis, 6. Ashton Agar, 7. Mitchell Marsh, 8. Pat Cummins, 9. Daniel Sams/Jason Behrendoff/Mitchell Starc, 10. Josh Hazlewood/James Pattinson, 11. Adam Zampa
Squad: 12. Steve Smith, 13. Matthew Wade (WK)/ Alex Carey (WK), 14. Jhye Richardson/Riley Meredith/Sean Abbott, 15. Kane Richardon/Andrew Tye, 16. Cameron Green/Moises Henriques
Wildcards: Marnus Labuschagne, Ben McDermott (WK), D’Arcy Short, Andrew Tye, Tanveer Sangha, Ashton Turner, Nathan Lyon
Where Do They Go From Here?
New Zealand travel to Bangladesh for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs, starting March 19th. Several of the players will stay for IPL 2021. Finally, in July the Test squad will travel to England for 2 Test matches as well as the (not) much awaited WTC final.
Australia meanwhile are done for now till the World T20 later this year (unless fixtures are added). They won the ODI series against India 2-1, but went on to lose the T20I series 1-2, Test series 1-3, & this series 2-3. Also had the controversial South Africa series cancelled. Time for some much needed rest.
What did you think about the Australia Vs New Zealand 2021 series? What are your World T20 line ups? COMMENT BELOW, and let us know what you think!
Image Courtesy: Martin Guptill – YellowMonkey/Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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!
India (Ind) vs Australia (Aus) — a rivalry of sorts in recent times, especially in ODIs. It is 2020. Times have changed. Looked at ODI rankings recently?
Australia – #3, Zimbabwe – #4, Ireland – #5
Not kidding. This is the points table for the ODI Super league leading up to the 2023 ODI World Cup. The league was just getting underway before COVID hit.
Now, the proceedings finally restart. India vs Australia at Sydney on November 27th for a good-ole classic ODI match, India’s first in the ODI league.
My prediction for the series: India 2, Australia 1. Read till the end to see why. Let us know who you think will win in the comments section below!
Dhawan, KL Rahul, Kohli, Iyer, Pandey, Agarwal, Samson, and even Hardik Pandya (with back injury) – none of the top 6 bowl
Rohit Sharma is one of the ODI players of the decade, but is out with an injury from the IPL. How much will this batting line-up miss him?
With the #4 dilemma India suffered prior to the 2019 World Cup semi-final, it may be wise to move KL Rahul to #4 and open with the in-form Mayank Agarwal or Shubman Gill
Aus: Batting Has Too Much Flexibility
With Finch-Warner-Labuschagne-Smith, the top four is pretty solid and settled
The concern is the flexibility in the middle order – Stoinis, Carey, Maxwell and maybe even Moises Henriques/Cameron Green. Carey & Maxwell coming from disaster IPLs and Stoinis in the middle order is a hit and miss (fluid line-ups do not work much – look at KKR from the IPL)
Out-of-the-box: Move Stoinis up to open, drop Labuschagne, and play with 3 all-rounders/power-hitters?
Kuldeep Yadav has had a horrid year or so with the ball, but in the large Australian grounds, the Kuldeep-Chahal partnership needs to be revived
If Pandya does not bowl, should India drop a batsman and play Shardul Thakur as another bowling option/slogger down the order?
Shami’s opening spells and Bumrah’s death bowling will be key
Aus: 5th Bowling Option the Only Issue
Watch out for Hazlewood. I have a feeling his miserly line-and-length bowling will set the tone for the series
With Starc-Hazlewood-Cummins the fast bowling is set and with Zampa getting into rhythm, this looks like a stable core
1 out of Stoinis + Henriques/Green + Maxwell/Labuschagne will complete the bowling, which is the only concern in this line-up
The Broken Dream
Ind: Manish Pandey and Sanju Samson
India vs Australia ODI at Sydney 2016 – Manish Pandey’s 104* takes his team home in the chase of 331. 4 years down the line, still has not nailed a spot (feat inconsistency and selection mismanagement). Can he find a spot in the XI?
Sanju Samson has always lit up the IPL and is finally getting some chances in the international fold. With KL Rahul almost certainly taking the gloves, can India find a space for him as an X-factor or will he end up as another Indian unlucky cricketer?
Aus: The New Kids on the Block
Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, and Labuschagne in ODIs are great prospects for the future, and it remains to be seen if their long-term future will be secure
Matthew Wade made a marvelous comeback after toiling in domestic cricket for a while. With Carey’s struggle of late, Wade may get a chance. Who knows, at 32, this might be his final try in ODI cricket
Prediction
Verdict: 2-1 India
This series will be closer than it appears. Australia at home with this bowling attack and an envious top 4, Australia are the clear favorites.
If India can find that final lower-order firepower and exploit Australia’s 5th bowling option, we might be in for a close one.
I think Australia will win the first one, but India will bounce back with two on the trot to win the series.
Affiliate Link
My Starting XI:
These are my starting XI for the first ODI (assuming everyone is available in terms of COVID and injuries).
Aaron Finch*, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Moises Henriques/ Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
Broken Cricket Dreams of the Day will be a diary of IPL 2020.
Every day, we tweet #BCDoftheDay or #BrokenCricketDreamoftheDay and capture some of the most unfortunate events of the day.
We have already had some interesting ones – David Warner run-out as a non-striker, Hardik Pandya’s hit wicket, Ishan Kishan’s and Mayank Agarwal’s broken dreams to name a few.
Highlight
In any case, the IPL is finally back! We have so much drama already.
A couple of Super Overs, Rahul Tewatia’s magic, Pooran’s effort,CSK’s downfall (too soon?), and my favorite of all – the youngsters on the show.
Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Shubman Gill, Mavi and Nagarkoti repaying KKR’s faith, and today Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma with SRH. Several like Yashashvi Jaiswal and Tom Banton yet to fire, but we will definitely be watching.
For every match of the IPL, we start with leading question or highlight of the day.
What was YOUR highlight of the day or do you have a response to the question?
COMMENT BELOW On YOUR THOUGHTS AND BROKEN DREAMS from IPL 2020 so far!
Well anyway, here is my take on the first two weeks of the IPL through tweets!
Broken Cricket Dreams of the Day – IPL Edition Week 1
Day 1 – The IPL is back!!! The fitness is not (except for Faf, of course)
Every match of #IPL2020 we will do this hashtag for a broken dream during the match It could be one moment like a dropped catch or a missed hattrick or a general theme like today's fielding.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) September 19, 2020
Day 2 – Super Over Loss for KXIP. Can Punjab bounce back?
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Day 2#BCDoftheDay: Mayank Agarwal and Mohammad Shami. Great innings by Agarwal, single-handedly got KXIP through and what an opening spell for Shami.
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Day 14 CSK's Dad Army vs SRH's young guns.#BCDoftheDay: #CSK and #CSKFans. For years, day in and day out, CSK has comeback and won.
