Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Talking of IPL captains, here's something to look at.
Delhi's struggles, are frankly, disheartening for an India fan. This is the single best team when all teams lose the overseas players. Virtually everyone is either an India prospect or India veteran. There's simply no excuse for losing five games on the trot, even if two were close losses. While a few chinks are there that need to be addressed, the Delhi management are breaking what isn't broken- there was no need to dump Chand, who's fresh from a glorious season in domestic cricket, or Sid Kaul, who's chipping wickets away nicely, or have Irfan Pathan come in first-change. Here, it's not even a question of dropping someone for someone benched, but getting the existing bunch in form. Sehwag, though, may now be past it.
Except Irfan (poor form), Jadeja (not good enough) and Stuart Binny (far from an India prospect), none of the Indian all-rounders are getting adequate chances. Yusuf Pathan (KKR) does not bowl and bats below Bisla, Kallis and Tiwary. Rajat Bhatia (KKR) is safely tucked in at eight or nine, and often misses an over or two. Laxmi Ratan Shukla (KKR) misses half the season even when fully fit- and misses the bat and ball in half the games he gets. Bhuv Kumar (PWI) bats at nine- hardly a place to get settled and play for a decent score. While Jadeja (CSK) and Bravo get plenty of chances with the bat, Ashwin (CSK) gets none- and has been decent in the one chance he got (maybe there's hope here for an Indian T20 #7). The latest casualty, Rishi Dhawan (MI), missed the first two games, was a nonexistent part of the team in the third, and got just one innings. Ashish Reddy (SRH) unfortunately plays in the same team as Thissara Perera- so he misses an innings with the ball and bat often, in what is his preferred format. Unusually, Amit Mishra (SRH) has been getting runs and wickets for his team. So if India have to pick a bowler who can chip in at seven, they're stuck with Amit Mishra.
- IPL 2008 Top Four: Rajasthan (Warne), Chennai (Dhoni), Delhi (Sehwag), Punjab (Yuvraj)
- IPL 2009 Top Four: Hyderabad (Gilchrist), Bangalore (Kumble), Delhi (Sehwag), Chennai (Dhoni)
- IPL 2010 Top Four: Chennai (Dhoni), Mumbai (Sachin), Bangalore (Kumble), Hyderabad (Gilchrist)
- IPL 2011 Top Four: Chennai (Dhoni), Mumbai (Sachin), Bangalore (Vettori), Kolkata (Gambhir)
- IPL 2012 Top Four: Kolkata (Gambhir), Chennai (Dhoni), Delhi (Sehwag), Mumbai (Harbhajan)
Delhi's struggles, are frankly, disheartening for an India fan. This is the single best team when all teams lose the overseas players. Virtually everyone is either an India prospect or India veteran. There's simply no excuse for losing five games on the trot, even if two were close losses. While a few chinks are there that need to be addressed, the Delhi management are breaking what isn't broken- there was no need to dump Chand, who's fresh from a glorious season in domestic cricket, or Sid Kaul, who's chipping wickets away nicely, or have Irfan Pathan come in first-change. Here, it's not even a question of dropping someone for someone benched, but getting the existing bunch in form. Sehwag, though, may now be past it.
Except Irfan (poor form), Jadeja (not good enough) and Stuart Binny (far from an India prospect), none of the Indian all-rounders are getting adequate chances. Yusuf Pathan (KKR) does not bowl and bats below Bisla, Kallis and Tiwary. Rajat Bhatia (KKR) is safely tucked in at eight or nine, and often misses an over or two. Laxmi Ratan Shukla (KKR) misses half the season even when fully fit- and misses the bat and ball in half the games he gets. Bhuv Kumar (PWI) bats at nine- hardly a place to get settled and play for a decent score. While Jadeja (CSK) and Bravo get plenty of chances with the bat, Ashwin (CSK) gets none- and has been decent in the one chance he got (maybe there's hope here for an Indian T20 #7). The latest casualty, Rishi Dhawan (MI), missed the first two games, was a nonexistent part of the team in the third, and got just one innings. Ashish Reddy (SRH) unfortunately plays in the same team as Thissara Perera- so he misses an innings with the ball and bat often, in what is his preferred format. Unusually, Amit Mishra (SRH) has been getting runs and wickets for his team. So if India have to pick a bowler who can chip in at seven, they're stuck with Amit Mishra.
