Ghost of IPL past ????

Indian Primer League, the brand in the making for the first 2 years, one which brought about the commercial side of cricket in India, now stands; once again I may add, amidst controversies and fall outs. This time around it is the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India who is at the epicentre of this fiasco, N.Sreenivasan. Interestingly, before I started writing this piece. I wanted to know more about this guy and so I searched and found that Wikipedia describes him as

"an Indian industrialist, chemical engineer, sports administrator and socialite who is the Managing-Director of the India Cements Limited and owner of the Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team. He is also currently the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India."

Now, the first four cognomens does showcase the versatility of the person which has to be well respected but the last four keys does ring some bells. The wrong bells of course. IPL auctions being rigged is not a new thing, last year also these allegations were there about Lalit Modi favouring certain teams and this time around there is a certain team who might have benefited owing to N.Sreenivasan.

Now the hard news is that Mumbai Indians think that auctions were rigged and a special someone who knew about the auction inside out sat in the auction with a particular team, clearly helping them out. Well they are running around the bush for sure, but most of us know that the reference is for Chennai Super kings. And from his Wikipedia bio hardly any doubt.

Honestly, even I was perplexed on how well CSK were performing in the auctions, what ever they wanted, they got it, and their bidding was bang on. But these all probably my perception and N.Sreenivasan and CSK are just the cream of the issue.

Issue is most definitely an over used word and why not, IPL does tend to have a lot of issues. Capped players, uncapped players and what not .Again as I further read on about the issue, ....aah I should use some other word next time around, well anyway, A column by Sharda Urga fascinated me, in that column she stated how rules of uncapped players were bend at the last moment and it also clearly indicated the big honchos in the fray. Interestingly that big honcho was Mumbai Indians who had proposed that uncapped players be retained rather than going for the auction but it did not happen.

What happened was that the rules where mended in such a way that  uncapped players could be racked up just like that. A sort of internal matter, meaning that if an uncapped or capped players were of that high demand some extra "perks' might be added to lure them in to any particular franchise. Think of Manish Pandey, Amabati Rayadu andSourabh Tiwary  Not a fair play right??? And moreover who the hell decides these rules ?????

Well one of those rule makers might be the name mentioned earlier.

THE "MIGHT"Y AUSSIES

With 24 days to go for the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2011, we here at sports e-cast, a bunch of sports enthusiasts, are putting forth our views and opinions on this big extravaganza.

To start of with I take up defending champs Australia.

THE SQUAD

Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke (vc), Shane Watson, Cameron White, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Tim Paine (wk), John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Doug Bollinger.

4^th IN A ROW ??

After dominating two World cup campaigns and bagging 4^th world title in 2007, Australia should be the hot favourite coming into the tournament, but somewhere down the line even a die hard Aussie fan would be thinking, are they really the favourites ??

THE HOPE

Aussies always had the services of the best openers of a particular era in each of their World Cup triumphs, but this time around the opening pair is the biggest concern the Australian outfits faces. Shane Watson has most definitely cemented his place and even 40 per cent comparison to great Mark Waugh won’t hurt here. Watson is an asset for Australia if sub continent pitches are taken into consideration. He always had the power and technique to play up front but what makes him the lethal weapon for the Aussies is his maturity and the level of understanding he has developed for the game. And moreover, he is no schmuck with the ball either.

Mr. Cricket, Mike Hussey would be the biggest hope for the Ricky Ponting in this World Cup. Since his late debut in 2004 in ODI’s he has never looked back. If Ricky Pointing and Adam Gilchrist were the big match players for Aussies, this time around it would be Mr. Cricket, Michael Hussey. Provided he gets fit before the world cup after his surgery.

Mitchell Johnson for me would be the spearhead of this bowling attack though its boosts the like of Lee and Bollinger. For me the best opening bowlers for Australia are Johnson and Bollinger.

THE WORRIES

Well, lot of worries for sure and to start of with, it’s the batting, Watson is yet to find a solid opening partner. Brad Haddin, though in the recent series against England is trying very hard to fill in the boots of Adam Gilchrist. His short yet effective run a ball innings is hurting England but same cannot be said once he reaches the subcontinent. Also Tim Paine the second wicketkeeper and attacking batsmen seems to be more stable but he hasn’t proved much to earn a World cup game. Omission of David Warner is baffling.

In the bowling department, Brett Lee and Shaun Tait are like the Pandora’s Box, the two fastest bowlers, one a proven match winner but coming from a long injury lay off and the other like a jet without radar could be a risky gamble taken by the selectors. Siddle would have made more sense than Shaun Tait.

SURPRISE ELEMENT

Steven Smith and Nathan Hauritz are the lesser known faces in the Australian setup. Hauritz, though vastly experienced and being a spinner could be decisive in sub continent. He is miserly as he looks but wicket taking abilities are a question mark.

Steven Smith on the other hand would double up as an all rounder. He has shown great temperament and can hit the ball real hard and his leg break could be very effective in placid wickets.

Equally good would be Cameroon White. He can very well be equated to Yusuf Pathan, a notch higher maybe.

John Hastings selection keeping in mind Australia already had 3 all rounders is a bit confusing. But Hastings credentials in domestic circuit and his immaculate bowling performances in death overs is probably why he is in the squad. Though, Warner could have been there instead of Hastings.

CHANCES

4 time World Champions, you just cannot shrug them of even if they have a bad day at the office. Clearly not the favourites but much better than dark horses, 3rd in line to take the trophy I may say.

Yusuf, U beauty !!!!!!!!!!!

Pandemonium is what Yusuf Pathan is capable of , if the likes of Morkel and Steyn can create havoc in any kinda batting order, a blitzkrieg is what Pathan posses. 105 in ridiculously 70 deliveries at a strike rate of 150, it was not just hitting, it was brutal power hitting at its best. The bull ring at super sport park was graced by a bull for sure, a raging bull who needs to be feared. Unfortunately, he is becoming the only man to be feared in
Men in Blue.

Pathan and Zaheer had a 100 run partnership but apart from that none could survive longer than 4 overs, Rohit Sharma as a make shift opener has squandered his opportunity at redemption, and Yuvraj continues his extensive poor form with the bat, though his bowling is coming to fore. Raina has looked intimidated, as if every ball he is gonna face would be a short one, lack of confidence evident. And captain cool MSD, never had a luck with toss and when he finally had it, as is the case with any Indian captain ,a dubious decision to field first. As a batsmen this was a tailor made situation for the the no. 6 batsmen. He could have easily paced his innings and could have easily shifted his gears, and with pathan alongside the proteas would'nt have known what hit them, but alas, it was coulds n woulds.........MSD as a batsman is due for a big one for sure.......