Neil Manthorp takes a peek at each of the eight IPL franchises that make up the glamorous cricket league that roars to life in South Africa.
Mumbai Indians
Sachin Tendulkar is the biggest name in cricket and the Mumbai Indians are the biggest and most expensive of the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises. Nothing was more obvious than their liaison when the IPL began last year.
The ‘little master†was injured for much of the season, however, leaving Shaun Pollock and Sanath Jayasuriya to lead the side, which surprised everyone by underperforming to such an extent that even a semifinal place eluded them.
JP Duminy’s signature cost was $900 000, but even a ‘blank cheque†offer wasn’t enough to persuade Pollock to play another season, although he remains involved in a coach-mentor capacity.
Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan will be key members of the bowling attack, but Eagles allrounder Ryan McLaren could cause a surprise or two.
Star Players: Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Ashraful, JP Duminy, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Luke Ronchi, Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga.
Chennai Super Kings
Exceeded most expectations by reaching the final last year under the guidance of Kepler Wessels and clearly aren’t resting on their laurels after splashing out $1,5-million for Andrew Flintoff.
Two of their key men last season were Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel although captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s influence was also crucial in the closing stages of several close matches.
If Matthew Hayden flunks, as he did before retiring from international cricket four months ago, the whole franchise could suffer. But if he can still impose himself over 20 overs, and Muttiah Muralitheran can still weave his magic with the ball, there’s every reason to expect more success under the tutelage of former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming, who has taken over from Wessels, who took to T20 cricket as a player like a duck to tarmac.
Star Players: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitheran, Makhaya Ntini, Andrew Flintoff, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel.
Bangalore Royal Challengers
Embarrassing failure in the first season when they started among the favourites, but finished seventh out of eight. The high-profile South African trio of Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Dale Steyn have all spoken of their determination to do themselves justice the second time around and they’d better because franchise owner Vijay Mallya is a kick-ass businessman who does not accept failure.
Mallya found his perfect kick-ass coach in Ray Jennings who in turn found his perfect kick-ass new signing in Kevin Pietersen. In-form New Zealander Jesse Ryder is another shrewd signing and with clean-striking Cameron White also in the mix, and Rahul Dravid taking paternity leave for the first half of the tournament, the Royal Challengers could look a lot less like a Test XI than they did last season.
Anil Kumble and Nathan Bracken are as good a pair of T20 bowlers as any franchise can boast.
Star Players: Kevin Pietersen, Jesse Ryder, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Cameron White, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, Anil Kumble and Nathan Bracken.
Delhi Daredevils
Glenn McGrath was on the verge of playing first-class cricket when David Warner was born, yet the two Australians are likely to line up together for the Daredevils’ first game on Sunday.
The great McGrath admits to ‘hardly bowling a ball†since last year’s tournament and has spent the past 12 months devotedly working on the cancer charity formed by his late wife Jane before her death two years ago. Warner burst on to the international scene with a remarkable 89 off 43 balls against South Africa in January, but still has plenty to prove.
Captain Virender Sehwag will always set an explosive example and AB de Villiers should thrive on that. Paul Collingwood has spent his entire career being underrated and, once again, may exceed expectations. Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori is another unglamorous match winner.
Star Players: David Warner, Owais Shah, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Daniel Vettori, Paul Collingwood, Farveez Maharoof, AB de Villiers, Glenn McGrath and Dirk Nannes.
Deccan Chargers
For a team containing Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds, the Chargers did a remarkable job of turning themselves into the least glamorous side in the tournament. Perhaps it was because they dress in beige or the fact that they are based in Hyderabad, the cockroach capital of India.
Gilchrist will captain the team this season leaving VVS Laxman free to concentrate on scoring runs.
Symonds will receive support from canny Kiwi Scott Styris. Veteran Sri Lankan left armer Chaminda Vaas still has a great deal to offer and West Indies’ Fidel Edwards will provide the fire power in the bowling line-up.
But perhaps the biggest difference will come in the form of the revamped Gibbs. If he didn’t give the tournament his complete attention last year, then he wasn’t the only one. Without the bar to distract him this year, however, he may actually become the match winner the Chargers thought they were getting last year.
Star Players: Herschelle Gibbs, VVS Laxman, Dwayne Smith, Scott Styris, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris, Adam Gilchrist, Chaminda Vaas, Fidel Edwards and Nuwan Zoysa.
Rajasthan Royals
There is a common misperception about the team being run mostly by Shane Warne — it is not. It is run completely by Shane Warne.
As captain, coach and chief icon, the retired Australian legend only enhanced his status last year by leading the cheapest and least fancied franchise to a last-ball victory against the Chennai Super Kings in the final.
Chairperson Manoj Badale is shrewd enough to know that Warne cannot be dictated to or ‘managed†— and is also unique among franchise owners and bosses in being able to put aside his own vanity for the sake of the team and a successful business.
Graeme Smith played a huge part in the team’s inaugural success, but his role and responsibility will be even greater on home soil as the franchises battle to win supporters among South Africans who, by and large, don’t know one team from another.
Star Players: Graeme Smith, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shane Watson, Tyron Henderson, Shane Warne, Morne Morkel and Shaun Tait.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The black-and-gold playing kit — ‘Action Man becomes Astronaut†— certainly caught the eye last season and head coach John Buchanan has caught the ear this season by insisting that a ‘four captain†policy can work.
The KKR franchise is partly owned by one of Bollywood’s biggest and wealthiest stars, Shah Rukh Khan. Consequently the running of the business operation concentrates as much on glitz and glamour as it does on cricket, which means fun, but not necessarily on-field success.
Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, however, form one of the most devastating opening pairs in the tournament and there’s plenty to get excited about when Ajantha Mendis is bowling his assorted spinners in tandem with Ishant Sharma’s precise swing.
Still, if they flop, at least you know where the best party will be.
Star Players: Brad Hodge, Brendon McCullum, Ishant Sharma, Ajantha Mendis, David Hussey, Chris Gayle and Saurav Ganguly.
King’s XI Punjab
Tom Moody and Trevor Penney make a formidable coaching team and there are some formidable cricketers in the King’s XI squad, none more so than the Sri Lankan duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. The last-minute acquisition of Dolphins left-armer Yusuf Abdullah and Lions coach Dave Nosworthy was also a shrewd move.
Why then do the King’s XI look like also-rans before a ball has been bowled? The answer perhaps is because they lack ‘glamour†(notwithstanding the very silly prettiness of part-owner Preity Zinta). But that would be to confuse the showbiz side of the IPL with the cricket side.
Yuvraj Singh is an inspirational captain and there are more than enough seasoned professionals to cope with the ridiculous schedule to make the King’s XI a very good outside bet for a place in the final.
Star Players: Shaun Marsh, Mahela Jayawardene, Ravi Bopara, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, James Hopes, Kumar Sangakkara, Brett Lee and Santhakumara Sreesanth.