IPL Team Analysis

This is my first entry. I will post my views on day to day cricket events and news.

IPL season-2 will start today. Even before the tournament started, there has been lot of frenzy around it. As it was last year, there is more non-cricketing news than cricketing news. Media is calling it a tamasha. Well, is it a tamasha when so much serious money is being spent? In my opinion, barring a few good programs/articles, TV channels and newspapers have not provided good views on the tournament.

Consider this, almost all analysis about the team revolves around how many foreign players are associated with the team. The media has pronounced its predictions based solely on the quality and quantity of the foreign players. Only foreign players do not make up the team. Even if a team has 10-12 leading foreign players, a maximum of 4 can play in a game. 4 out 11 may even win a game or two but they, at max, can only influence a game. They complete the numbers but do not make the complete team. Moreover some foreign players will be available only for part of the tournament because of their national commitments.

In recent times, nationally or internationally, most team members contribute to the cause in the teams which have done well. A few examples are still fresh in our memory from IPL-1:

1. Rajasthan Royals - They won the tournament despite having no big names, on the strength of local Indian players. Even the players who were not known before the tournament, played a major role.

2. Delhi Daredevils - Foreign players, except Glenn, McGrath had very little role in their journey to Semis.

3. Deccan Chargers - Despite having high profile players and considered tournanment favourites, they finished at the bottom.

There are other smaller examples from the first edition. So the experts cannot do a good analysis unless they consider a probable playing 11.