IPL 11: Who will start strongest as IPL embraces new beginnings?
Saturday 7 April 2018 11:12, UK
The 2018 Indian Premier League is all about new beginnings.
After an auction in which they could retain a maximum of just five players the franchises have a completely different look to them. The Royal Challengers suddenly have a bucketful of spinners to choose from, Kings XI actually look like they might be competitive and Harbhajan is no longer a Mumbai Indian.
For the first time there will be as many as 10 Englishmen in the tournament - plus Jofra Archer - of whom Mark Wood, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali and Tom Curran will be making their first appearances. All apart from Chris Jordan - who was retained by the Sunrisers - will be entering a new environment with a new team.
After two years in the wilderness the new season represents a second coming for the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Both nearly threw away their participation in the greatest (and richest) cricket league in the world and their owners will be desperate to brush the scandal under the carpet with success on the field.
Steve Smith and David Warner wish they could do the same but there will be no second chance for them just yet. The former Australia skipper was set to lead a Rajasthan squad that looks packed with box office talent and Warner has been vital to the Sunrisers' notable successes over the last two seasons. The tournament will be poorer without them but the show must go on, and it will.
It's a new beginning for DRS which, in the IPL's 11th season, will be used for the first time. While its use in T20 internationals only became mandatory last October, the BCCI's mistrust of the system was the main reason why it hasn't been used all this time. If it goes down well and is seen as a success it would mark another turning point in the acceptance of technology in the sport.
Afghanistan's new era officially starts on June 14 when they play their first ever Test match and it's a mark of how far they have come that they will have a record number of players in the IPL this year.
Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Zahir Khan are the four Afghans that have been picked up and all bar Nabi are still teenagers. Their presence highlights not only their country's incredibly bright future over the next few years but also the inclusive nature of the IPL in comparison to other competitions.
Whether from an associate nation, a backwater of Indian cricket or an established Test country, you can play a part in the biggest T20 tournament around and, if good enough, you can become a star overnight. Rashid Khan is proof of that and I wonder whether Mujeeb, Zahir or Sandeep Lamichhane could be the next to follow in his footsteps.
Lamichhane, a 17-year-old leg-spinner, didn't have a passport just over two years ago, comes from a small village around a five-hour bus ride from Kathmandu and conducted his Delhi Daredevils trial off three paces in a small indoor room. Now he is the first Nepalese player to get picked up in the IPL and his inclusion is a significant moment in the country's cricket history. Having just won ODI status, more funding will be poured into Nepal, where there is a growing support for the game and matches are frequently attended by crowds of over 15,000. Keep your eye on how things develop there, it is fast becoming the next big growth area for the ICC.
So how are the franchises shaping up? The great thing about the first tournament after a mega auction is that it's very hard to predict. We kick off with a genuine heavyweight clash between champions Mumbai and Chennai but I'm not convinced that either will be the forces of old. The Indians look a bit short on frontline batsmen and could be over-reliant on Rohit Sharma, while CSK have gone with tried and trusted players that have been around for a long time and it remains to be seen if they can still cut it at the top level.
The only other franchise to have won the tournament at least twice is Kolkata and they have a big concern over the size of their squad and the number of players under an injury cloud. If they stay fit all season I see them making the play-offs, if they don't the Knight Riders may not have the reserves to get them there.
Rajasthan look very strong but the concern is how far they can go without a top-level spinner. I expect the Sunrisers to be in the mix again but the loss of Warner is a hammer blow. Delhi and Kings XI had to revamp their squads after some very poor performances over the last three years and they have. The return of Gautam Gambhir could be a big factor for Delhi, however they still look the kind of side that could win big or lose heavily. The Punjab franchise made some very canny Indian signings and will hope their bowling can back up an exciting batting line-up.
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And that leaves RCB. The perennial under-achievers. Last year's worst side by a distance. But after 10 years of mismanagement and failure has the penny finally dropped?
The policy of signing as many 'Galacticos' as possible didn't work, so this year Chris Gayle has been jettisoned and the most that was spent on a player was £780,000 for Chris Woakes, considerably less than in previous auctions.
Last year the pitch in Bangalore had turned into a slow, low turner and if that is the case once again RCB should have plenty of bowling options to exploit it. Over to you Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Moeen Ali and Murugan Ashwin.
Combine all of that with the fact that surely Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers will have better seasons than they did last year and there is plenty for RCB fans to get excited about. So can the Royal Challengers finally live up to the hype and get their hands on the coveted trophy? Now that really would be a new beginning.
The thrills and spills of the IPL return on Saturday, with defending champions Mumbai up against the returning Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener, live from 3pm on Sky Sports Cricket. FULL LIVE ON SKY LISTINGS
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