OPINION
Follow UsCast your mind back to September 19, 2020.
The day marked the commencement of the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but the whole world had its eyes on one particular sub-plot: how MS Dhoni would fare after a one-year hiatus from the sport.
The IPL in itself is a bundle of entertainment, but curious little sub-plots add so much more spice to the actual competition, keeping the viewers thoroughly hooked. This time around, with two extra teams added, there is plenty of riveting storylines to look forward to.
Chennai Super Kings
Will Devon Conway be able to fill the Faf-shaped void?
Losing Faf du Plessis the cricketer was a hell of an emotional blow to CSK. But make no mistake, losing Faf the batter is an equally devastating loss. In the previous cycle, 2018 onwards, the South African scored a staggering 1,640 runs at an average of 40; in 2021, he fell 2 runs short of the orange cap.
Replacing an elite opener like this is no mean feat, but luckily CSK have snapped up a run machine in Devon Conway. In the last three years (since 2019), Conway has averaged 10 more than any other batter in T20 cricket (59.24) while striking at 139 — which is 10 more than du Plessis’ career T20 SR. Thus far he’s excelled everywhere he’s played (including at the international level) and being a left-hander, he should complement Gaikwad just about perfectly.
Everything about Conway’s CV says that he’s the ideal Faf replacement. But will he be able to step up and deliver consistently like his predecessor did? We’ll find out.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Life without AB de Villiers for RCB
They say you never truly realize the value of something until it’s gone. Wonder if this will be the season where RCB realize just how big a loss losing AB de Villiers is?
For nearly a decade, he kept doing the impossible and bailed them out of tough situations for fun. Even last year, in a relatively ‘average’ season by his standards, de Villiers single-handedly won the team as many as three matches. Dinesh Karthik is a very good finisher in his own right but he’s no AB. And there’s only so much Maxwell can do.
For RCB, there’s a good chance that the first ‘post-AB’ season could very well turn out to be like the first four months of the ‘post-Messi’ era for Barca.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Is Venkatesh Iyer actually the real deal?
It took a mere 10 matches for KKR to go, “yep, this is THE guy” and hand Venkatesh Iyer a bumper INR 8 crore contract. But is he actually the real deal? We’ll know it this season. Venky Iyer has lived his honeymoon period like a king, making the most out of it, but a real test awaits him this season.
With a fair sample available, teams will now bowl to him with set plans and bombard him with unfavorable match-ups. He’ll be targeted in areas he’s uncomfortable at, and will be asked a hell lot of unpleasant questions. It won’t be easy.
If he does come out of the season with his reputation further enhanced, fair play; we can call him the real deal. And oh, only talking about his batting here! Anything he does with the ball is a bonus.
Lucknow Super Giants
Can Ravi Bishnoi stop himself from getting ‘found out’?
The worst part about being a bowler in modern-day white-ball cricket is that you’ll have to keep constantly reinventing yourself to achieve sustained success. You might do ‘mystery thing one’ and ‘unconventional thing two’ and bamboozle batters one season, but do the same again next season, you’ll be smashed to smithereens. Ask Kuldeep Yadav!
Bishnoi has thus far had ridiculous success at all levels, but by now everyone has a fair idea what he bowls. Oh, you didn’t know? It’s called the googly. Yes, nearly every single ball. That’s his stock delivery.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of plans teams come up with, this season, to counter Bishnoi. The young leggie (or should we call him googlie?) will have new puzzles to solve, that’s for sure.
Gujarat Titans
Hardik Pandya the captain
Historically, IPL has given us things we never knew we wanted. As its latest gift, the competition is going to give us Hardik Pandya the captain.
There are so many things to look forward to. Will he tactically be good? What will his outlook as skipper be like? How will he handle responsibility? How will Hardik Pandya the captain use Hardik Pandya the cricketer? What kind of a brand of cricket will he want his team to play?
So many questions. All intriguing. To think that we’re a week away from unraveling these things, one by one, is exciting!
Mumbai Indians
Tim David’s final frontier (warning: this is an exaggeration)
He’s smashed it in the PSL. He’s smashed it in the CPL. He’s smashed it in the Vitality T20 Blast. All that’s left for Tim David now is to conquer the IPL. You bet we’ll be following his season with keen interest!
Sunrisers Hyderabad
‘Umran Malik: the film’ is all set to hit the theaters
Last season, we got a mini-teaser of what Umran Malik could be. And it was so, so good. Since then, he’s played for India A and bowled a couple of really good spells for J &K in the Ranji Trophy. We’re now just days away from witnessing ‘Umran Malik: the film’ in its entirety.
Historically, simply ‘raw pace’ has not worked for Indian bowlers in the IPL. None of Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini have had ‘great’ careers. Even Prasidh Krishna has not found his foot in the IPL despite already having played 34 matches.
Umran, hence, might have to do more than just bowl fast in order to succeed. Is he a smart bowler? Just how high is his ceiling? And what are the weapons he has?
We’ll be finding out all this — can’t wait.
Delhi Capitals
Is David Warner still capable of delivering consistently?
Yes, David Warner was the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup. But remember, the 6.25 crore DC paid for him is only a steal if he replicates the form he showcased last year in UAE, week in and week out. Is he capable of doing it? Honestly, right now, we do not know.
Warner has not played any T20 cricket since the T20WC and there’s a good chance that he might struggle to replicate what he did in the World Cup. Equally, there’s also a chance that the 2021 season was an aberration, and he still is very much an absolute beast in the shortest format.
We’ll know the answer for this by the time the 2022 season concludes.
Punjab Kings
Are we really going to see a reborn PBKS?
We’ve heard the same story too many times in the past to buy into Punjab Kings’ hype. Again. But there’s no way you can look at the team’s batting line-up — that consists of Mayank, Livingstone, Bairstow, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith — and say that it’s not exciting.
The Kings have certainly done the job at the auction, now it’s up to the players to deliver on the hype. Whether PBKS qualify for the semis or not, fair to say we’ll all be tuning into their matches just by looking at the starting XI. The brand of cricket they play under Mayank better be the polar opposite of what the Rahul-era offered.
Rajasthan Royals
Devdutt Padikkal’s outing at No.3
One of the biggest WTF moments of the auction was when Rajasthan Royals, who retained both their openers, bought ANOTHER opener for a staggering sum of 7.75 crore. Then they announced that he would be their designated No.3.
It has now left all of us curious, wondering how the youngster would fare in this new role. Is he going to evolve and have a KL Rahul 2016’esque season? Does he have the range against spin to excel at No.3? Can he rotate strike efficiently? Will he eradicate the flaws and unleash an improved version of himself? Exciting times.
