43.IPL 2009

WHO’S HOT WHO’S NOT

ROYAL CHALLENGERS

STRENGTHS: No-nonsense coach Ray Jennings is great at puncturing egos of senior players. Explosive players like Jesse Ryder, Kevin Pietersen and Robin Uthappa ensure this is not a Test team like last year.

 WEAKNESSES: Very few Indian players who can excel at T20, barring Uthappa and Virat Kohli. Dravid, Jaffer, B Akhil, J Arunkumar and Sunil Joshi won’t give sleepless nights to many bowling attacks. 

OPPORTUNITIES: To forget their 7th place finish last year and push for at least a spot in the semis. With five South Africans in their line up, the team will benefit from the new venue. Coach Jennings is also South African, a huge bonus. 

THREATS: With captain Kevin Pietersen set to leave for national duty, captaincy will be in the hands of Jacques Kallis, not a natural leader. It doesn’t help that Kallis and Mark Boucher have had a turbulent relationship with Jennings when he was interim coach of the SA team in 2004.

Owner: Vijay Mallya (liquor and airline baron) 

Coach: Ray Jennings (RSA) 

Captain: Kevin Pietersen (ENG)/Jacques Kallis (RSA - for last three weeks) 

Foreign players: Kevin Pietersen (ENG), Cameron White (AUS), Dale Steyn (RSA), Dillon du Preez (RSA), Jacques Kallis (RSA), Jesse Ryder (NZL), Mark Boucher (RSA), Nathan Bracken (AUS), Roelof van der Merwe (RSA), Ross Taylor (NZL). 

India stars: Anil Kumble, Praveen Kumar, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Wasim Jaffer.

 KINGS XI PUNJAB

STRENGTHS: Yuvraj Singh and his T20 form in South Africa. The batting will revolve around him, Shaun Marsh, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and England’s T20 star Ravi Bopara.

 WEAKNESSES: The bowling. Sreesanth is out of the tournament. Brett Lee is coming back from injury and will not be available for the length of the tourney as he will playing in UAE. Jerome Taylor suffered a motor accident. Irfan Pathan, not at the peak of his bowling form, will have to lead the attack. 

OPPORTUNITIES: For Sangakkara and Jayawardene, for whom the IPL will be the first major cricket assignment after the Lahore attacks, to show that terror hasn’t diminished their cricket skills. For Yuvraj Singh to show that he can lead the batting department and not hide behind the performances of Marsh and the Lankan duo. 

THREATS: Shaun Marsh is coming back from a major injury and will be travelling to UAE for the Pak series. This means he misses the first two crucial weeks of the tourney. James Hopes won’t be there either. By not holding on to Luke Pomerscbach and Ramnaresh Sarwan, The Mohali outfit might just have booked themselves an early exit ticket.

 Owners: Ness Wadia (businessman), Preity Zinta (Bollywood star), Mohit Burman (businessman), Karan Paul (businessman) 

Coach: Tom Moody (AUS) 

Captain: Yuvraj Singh (IND) 

Foreign players: B Lee (AUS), B Cockley (AUS), JHopes (AUS), K Sangakkara (SRI), L Pomersbach (AUS), M Jayawardene (SRI), Ravi Bopara (ENG), Shaun Marsh (AUS), Simon Katich (AUS)

India stars: Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla 

TEAM CHENNAI

STRENGTHS: One of the best captains the game has ever seen. MS Dhoni can inspire, perform and think out of the box to surprise opponents. He will be well aided by Stephen Fleming, who is a player-cum coach.Hayden, Raina, Dhoni and Badrinath form the batting core with Andrew Flintoff, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel giving them the all-round option. Add Ntini, Murali and Balaji’s bowling and you have a balanced team. 

WEAKNESSES: Doubts over Flintoff and Oram’s fitness levels as both have suffered major injuries. Flintoff’s limited availability (two weeks) will also affect the team balance for later clashes.

OPPORTUNITIES:
Chance for Dhoni to assert himself by playing higher in the batting order. For the likes of Raina, it’s a chance to impress selectors and get picked for World T20. 

THREATS: Lack of leadership options if something goes wrong with Dhoni. With Hussey (possibly one candidate for captaincy) not playing, Fleming might have to do a Warne if Dhoni is unfit.

Owner: N. Srinivasan (businessman and Indian cricket board secretary)

 Coach-player: Stephen Fleming (NZ)

 Captain: MS Dhoni (IND) 

Foreign players: Albie Morkel (RSA), Andrew Flintoff (ENG), George Bailey (AUS), Makhaya Ntini (RSA), Matthew Hayden (AUS), Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), Stephen Fleming (NZL), Thilan Thushara (SRI). 

India stars: MS Dhoni, L Balaji, M Vijay, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina.

TEAM HYDERABAD

STRENGTHS: A dream batting — Gibbs, Gilchrist, Symonds, Sharma are names to give any bowling line-up shivers. D Ravi Reja will be the explosive local talent to watch out. Styris will provide the all-rounder option. 

WEAKNESSES: A mild bowling attack except for RP Singh. Even if their dazzling batting piles on tall scores, defending them will be a problem, as they found last year. There’s also too much of a sameness to the attack with three left-arm-seamers — RP Singh, Nuwan Zoysa and Chaminda Vaas — in the team. 

OPPORTUNITIES: To show that a team brilliant on paper can strut their stuff on the field too. Fidel Edwards’ inclusion will inject pace and penetration into the bowling. Chance for Symonds and Gibbs to prove they are rehabilitated and justify their pay cheques. 

THREATS: Lots of changes and bickering has happened as Adam Gilchrist replaced VVS Laxman as captain after Afridi’s public outburst against the Indian last year. Rohit Sharma, the best batsman, hasn’t been in form lately. A poor start this year could mean they finish at the bottom.

 Owners: Deccan Chronicle (newspaper group) 

Coach: Darren Lehmann (AUS) 

Captain: Adam Gilchrist (AUS) 

Foreign players: Adam Gilchrist (AUS), Andrew Symonds (AUS), C Silva (SRI), C Vaas (SRI), Dwayne Smith (WIS), Fidel Edwards (WIS), Herschelle Gibbs (RSA), Nuwan Zoysa (SRI), Ryan Harris (AUS), Scott Styris (NZL). 

India stars: Rohit Sharma, RP Singh. Note: To ensure the IPL remains an Indian domestic event, a team is allowed only four foreign players per match. Two of the remaining seven players must be U-22 players. 

MUMBAI INDIANS

STRENGTHS: Batting. Tendulkar and Jayasuriya form a fearsome combination at the top of the order. With young South African sensation JP Duminy and Shikhar Dhawan (swapped for Ashish Nehra) to follow. Dwayne Bravo, Graham Napier and Ryan McClaren provide fine all-round options. 

WEAKNESSES: Seam bowling. With Shaun Pollock gone, Zaheer Khan will have the dual role of containing and attacking. Dilhara Fernando is known to bowl heaps of no balls and Lasith Malinga is just returning from a long lay-off. Kyle Mills is also known to leak runs. Harbhajan (in the best form of his life) will feel the pressure. 

OPPORTUNITIES: For some of the younger stars in the MI team to impress. They will also be keen to not have the kind of start they had last year (losses in the first four games before winning seven on a trot). The youngsters will also benefit from tips of mentor Shaun Pollock and fielding coach Jonty Rhodes. 

THREATS: Ego hassles between coaches Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock and Pravin Amre affecting the team harmony.

 Owner: Mukesh Ambani (industrialist) 

Coach/mentor: Shaun Pollock (RSA) 

Captain: Sachin Tendulkar (IND)

 Foreign players: Dilhara Fernando (SRI), Dwayne Bravo (WIS), Graham Napier (ENG), Jean-Paul Duminy (RSA), Kyle Mills (NZL), Lasith Malinga (SRI), Luke Ronchi (AUS), Mohammad Ashraful (BAN), Ryan McLaren (RSA), Sanath Jayasuriya (SRI). 

Indian stars: Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan. 

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

STRENGTHS: Explosive batting talent at the top of the order with players like Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle set to open. In-form McCullum’s availability for the entire season will be a huge bonus. The mystery spin of Ajantha Mendis will help the Knight Riders get some cheap wickets, especially when the slog is on.

 WEAKNESSES: Not too much seam bowling depth apart from Mashrafe Mortaza and Ishant Sharma. The absence of Pakistan players Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar might hurt the team badly. One also has to search long and hard for the presence of a quality all-rounder as Laxmi Ratan Shukla doesn’t quite fit the bill as a bowler. Ganguly, it seems will need to roll his arm over in every game. 

OPPORTUNITIES: For Sourav Ganguly to show that he is as a team man after being removed as captain. For John Buchanan to prove that his multiple-captain theory works. 

THREATS: The Buchanan-Ganguly spat might do to KKR what the Chappell-Ganguly fall out did to the Indian team. A disinterested and dispassionate Ganguly might be poisonous for team spirit. Buchanan might not rate him too high, but he is father figure to many Indian youngsters in the Knight Riders camp. A fractured team is a real possibility. 

Owners: Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla (Bollywood stars) 

Coach: John Buchanan (AUS) 

Captain: Brendon Mcullum

 Foreign players: Ajantha Mendis (SRI), Angelo Mathews (SRI), Brad Hodge (AUS), Brendan McCullum (NZL), Chris Gayle (WIS), David Hussey (AUS), Mark Cameron (AUS), Mashrafe Mortaza (BAN), Moises Henriques (AUS). 

India stars: Sourav Ganguly, Aakash Chopra, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Sanjay Bangar. 

TEAM JAIPUR 

STRENGTHS: The leadership and genius of Shane Warne. The batting looks great with Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Tyron Henderson. The bowling is well-balanced too with Munaf Patel, Siddharth Trivedi, Morne Morkel and Warne himself. 

WEAKNESSES: Without Pakistani left-arm-seamer Sohail Tanvir’s talents, the bowling looks depleted. Shane Watson too will be available only as a batsman thereby diminishing his role as an allrounder.

 OPPORTUNITIES: For players like fast bowler Shaun Tait to prove that he is up for the challenge. Kamran Khan, who is already becoming a rage, could be fast-tracked to superstardom. 

THREATS: The curse of expectations from the franchisee. They will demand magic from Warney again. And the rather ‘removal’ of players like Kaif. It could make the rest of the team insecure and curb their free-flowing style.

 Owners: Emerging Media group (Lachlan Murdoch, A.R Jha and Suresh Chellaram), Shilpa Shetty (Bollywood star), Raj Kundra (Businessman) 

Coach/captain: Shane Warne (AUS) 

Foreign players: S Warne (AUS), D Mascarenhas (ENG), G Smith (RSA), L Carseldine (AUS), M Morkel (RSA), R Quiney (AUS), S Harwood (AUS), S Watson (AUS), S Tait (AUS), T Henderson (RSA). 

India stars: R Jadeja, Y Pathan. 

TEAM DELHI

STRENGTHS: Killer batting order in Sehwag, Gambhir, De Villiers and Warner—all of them in great form. Smart shopping sense during the auctions and they have almost everybody available throughout the IPL. Bowling too is in good health, with the ageless Glenn McGrath, efficient Farveez Maharoof, freakish Dirk Nannes, consistent Daniel Vettori, tireless Amit Mishra and talented Yo Mahesh.

  WEAKNESSES: Same as last year. Top heavy batting order. The likes of Manoj Tiwary and Dinesh Karthik have to start firing to allow the dangerous top order to bat freely and attempt to set big targets or chase them down.

OPPORTUNITIES: For Dirk Nannes to show why he’s a T20 specialist. For David Warner to justify the hype surrounding him and for Umesh Yadav, the Vidarbha quickie, to show that the spell he bowled in the Duleep Trophy to Dravid and Laxman wasn’t a flash in the pan. And for the whole team to banish the inconsistency of last season.

  

THREATS: Possibility of the top four suffering a collective failure while trying to bat aggressively. 

Owners: GMR Holdings (Indian business house)

 Coach: Greg Shipperd (AUS) Captain: Virender Sehwag (IND)
Foreign players:
AB de Villiers (RSA), Andrew McDonald (AUS), Daniel Vettori (NZL), David Warner (AUS), Dirk Nannes (AUS), Farveez Maharoof (SRI), Glenn McGrath (AUS), Owais Shah (ENG), Paul Collingwood (ENG), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SRI).
India stars:
Virender Sehwag, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir.