Ready, Steady, Go For 'India ki Tyohar'

With the 2015 cricket World Cup in its last stages and with India in full throttle, it has been a fun-on-tainment ride for the cricket crazy Indian fans. But, what after the cricket World Cup; back to normal life with the usual lame mornings? Not so really, except for 10 days. Get ready for ‘India ki tyohar’ or better known as the Indian Premier League that is set to begin on April 8. This time the fans won’t be rooting for their country but will be divided among individual states supporting their state franchise. 

With the IPL spot fixing case done away with, in this edition cricket is set to take the centre stage with a complete rejig in the IPL governing council. Eight teams are set to lock horns in this mad extravaganza, with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians set to play the inaugural match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Let’s have a look on IPL 2015 Preview and how the teams stack up this time.

Kolkata Knight Rider’s would look to defend their crown and conjure a third win, which would make them the only team to win the IPL trophy three times. Gambhir has led his team from the front and the team would once again bank on Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Morne Morkel. However, it is to be seen if their bowling mainstay Sunil Narine, who reportedly backed out from the WC to remodel his action, would be as effective as he was in the earlier editions. Having said that, KKR’s fancy for mystery spinners has seen them bagging unknown Karnataka player KC Cariappa in the auctions and it would be interesting to see if he can become the next Ashwin or not. What would worry Gambhir, is the lack of good fast bowlers in the team. Umesh Yadav can be erratic at times and that means Morkel would have to hit his straps more often that not. Having said that, the team is a strong contender to repeat its heroics.

Chennai Super Kings have always been the team to beat throughout the IPL editions. With Hussey back to his ‘former home’, Chennai boasts of a batting line-up having Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis and ofcourse captain cool MS Dhoni. Jadeja, Ashwin, Ashish Nehra and Mohit Sharma would look to support the explosive batting line-up. However, it remains to be seen if discarded Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan flourished under Dhoni’s captaincy and is able to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Royal Challengers Bangalore would like to shed their ‘chokers’ tag and lay their hands on the trophy. Though they have the batting fire-power to do so, inconsistency has always bogged them down. Moreover, their decision to let go of Yuvraj Singh looks quite baffling, since their middle-order looks bare without him. Ab de Villiers and Chris Gayle would look to break some more records in the IPL and also on the spotlight would be Virat Kohli’s captaincy. Bowling department looks good with Mitchell Starc, Ashok Dinda, Sean Abbott and Adam Milne but the lack of experience may be a deciding factor. 

Delhi Daredevils have gone for a complete team overhaul and would look to shed the disappointment of the last season and get their act straight. This time they have picked quite a few impact players like Yuvraj Singh, Angelo Mathews and Zaheer Khan who adds experience to the team that already has names like Mohammad Shami, JP Duminy and Manoj Tiwary. With Gary Kirsten as their coach the team can be a major player this time around.

Rajasthan Royals have always been known for throwing up new and interesting players into the IPL. Steven Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny, Shane Watson and James Faulkner would form the crux of the team but the eyes will be on the Indian domestic players, which the RR have always been known to back. Karun Nair, hero of the Karnataka team in the Ranji Trophy finals, would look to use this opportunity to grab the selector’s eyeballs as so will be young Sanju Samson, who had got a call during last year’s ODI series against England. The team, fallen off the radar since its win in the inaugural edition, would look to get its mojo back.

Mumbai Indians missed the opportunity last time to get to the finals, after being beaten by the CSK, but they would fancy their chances this time around with Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson and Ambati Rayudu in their ranks. Pollard would like to make an impression, especially after the snub by the West Indian cricket board for the World Cup.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have been unlucky throughout the IPL editions, except in the 2009 edition, where they managed to win the crown. This time around their bowling bears a compact and incisive look with Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Trent Boult to spearhead the attack. And if you want to go to turn to spin, there is Karn Sharma to deceive you with his guile and wily bowling. Newly acquired batsman Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara adds depth and strength to their middle order which already has Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner as their openers. However, lack of good domestic players may hurt them.

Last year's runner-up Kings XI Punjab looks a revamped lot after last year's new signings. They would again look up to Virender Sehwag, Glen Maxwell, George Bailey and David Miller for providing the starting salvo. However, they need to be cautious with Maxwell, since too much pressure on him to deliver match after match may boomerang against the team. Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, Sandeep Sharma and Anureet Singh in the bowling department can be banked upon and would look to repeat their performance to go a step higher.