The Indian Premier League - Squad Analysis 2

The Squad: V.V.S.Laxman, Herchelle Gibbs, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Rohit Sharma, R.P.Singh, Andrew Symonds, Venugopal Rao, Arjun Yadav, Halhadar Das, Adam Gilchrist, Pragyan Ojha, Shahid Afridi, Chamara Silva, Scott Styris, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Paidikalva Vijaykumar

Expected Playing XI: Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, V.V.S.Laxman, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Chaminda Vaas, Pragyan Ojha, R.P.Singh, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna

Just read the team list and you know what the others are up against. Two of the most explosive openers one can find, followed by class, catchment inexperience, beef, rising star and catchment experience. Imagine any three of those batsmen firing. It certainly has to be among the best batting line ups in the IPL. Although its bowling is not as formidable, it has the priceless experience, determination and accuracy of Chaminda Vaas. R.P.Singh showed us what he’s worth in the Twenty20 World Cup and subsequently in Australia. Ojha has been performing consistently in the domestic circuit but it remains to be seen whether he as a left arm spinner can adapt to the Twenty20 style, experimenting with flatter trajectory in contrast to his usual hang-in-the-air style. Kalyankrishna has an impressive domestic record. How the captain utilises his bowlers will be interesting. He has two left arm seamers, a left arm spinner and just one right hander in the bowling line up. Will he open first up with a left right combination? Or will it, for a change, be left left?

The Squad: Saurav Ganguly, Siddharth Kaul, Ajit Agarkar, Aakash Chopra, Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Iqbal Abdullah, Murali Karthik, Brendon McCullum, Mohammad Hafeez, Ricky Ponting, Cheteshwar Pujara, Salman Butt, Ishanth Sharma, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul

Expected Playing XI: Chris Gayle, Saurav Ganguly, Cheteshwar Pujara, Aakash Chopra, Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum, Shoaib Akhtar, Ishanth Sharma, Iqbal Abdullah Murali Karthik, Ajit Agarkar

After the second round of auctions Kolkata look a much better side. In the hypothetical playing eleven, there is tons of experience, tons of firepower and therefore a great blend of both. Chris Gayle, the only player to have scored a hundred in T20 history is sure to come up the order, providing some valuable powerplay at the top. They have some match winners in Ponting, McCullum and Ganguly in their batting line up as well. The catchment and first class players in the squad are experienced at their levels as well; Aakash Chopra has played a handful of tests. His style really does not seem to suit the Twenty20 format though. Cheteshwar Pujara has played quite a few good knocks for his first class team Saurashtra and has a good Twenty20 average under 37. Nothing needs to be said about McCullum.

The bowling has aggression and fiery pace in Shoaib Akhtar with Ishanth Sharma adding young blood. As the squad stands now, the Kolkatans are left with no choice but to play an all rounder who is a left arm spinner in addition to the specialist Murali Karthik. They also have the man who is known for his performance at the death – which is all T20 is about – in Ajit Agarkar. Overall, they’re no pushovers either.

The Squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Loots Bosman, Dilhara Fernando, Harbhajan Singh, Sanath Jayasurya, Lasith Malinga, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Manish Pandey, Shaun Pollock, Robin Uthappa, Ashwell Prince, Ajinkya Rahane, Pinal Shah, Yogesh Vijay Takawale, Saurabh Tiwary

Expected Playing XI: Sanath Jayasurya, Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Pinal Shah, Shaun Pollock, Harbhajan Singh, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga

Here is a team which will certainly perform well. Tendulkar is the captain of this team, and judging by his nature, he will probably promote Robin Uthappa to opening the batting instead of going there and doing it himself. But that’s no guarantee. It was a dream for many to watch Jayasurya and Tendulkar firing together, but now if we’re lucky, it may just happen. They also have serious firepower in Uthappa and not just state mate but camp mate young gun Manish Pandey. They also have another powerful under-19 lad Saurabh Tiwary. As if that much batting is insufficient, Shaun Pollock comes in. Oh by the way, Shaun Pollock is also one of the greatest opening bowlers in the world, who will open with Lasith Malinga. His countryman Dilhara Fernando and offie Bhajji complete this very strong line up representing Mumbai. If this team gels properly, which is likely, they will lift the trophy.-BS