The Idiot's Guide To The IPL - Part Two

So you've spent the past 24 hours absorbing the format. So now you've bluffed your way through that chat with the friendly IPL fan, what to say when he asks about the teams? Who are your men to watch, who are the teams who will be involved at the business end of the tournament (sometime in 2015)? Fret no longer, as The Idiot's Guide to the IPL Part Two is here!

So who are the favourites this year? Well, the bookies make Sachin Tendulkar's (you may have heard of him) Mumbai Indians the shortest price, followed by Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. After that, it's the also-rans and the rest.

While Mumbai had a great year last year, and Chennai even won it, technically the previous editions shouldn't have any bearing. A new auction was set up, with the talent being supposedly evenly spread around the various franchises (although the teams were allowed to retain the services of four top players from previous years). And while some teams have hoarded the big name overseas players, the rules say that only 4 non-Indians can play at any one time. So let's have a look at the various teams that will contest IPL4.

In today's Idiot's Guide I'll have a look at the five teams in Group A, while tomorrow will be Group B.

Group A


Mumbai Indians - Captained by Sachin, and keeping hold of some big name players, Mumbai are favourites this year. With Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds they'll hit big, and in Lasith Malinga they have a deadly player with the ball. Downside is that there are nine overseas players - who may not be too pleased if they're on the bench every game. Squad perhaps a bit top heavy, with some huge names followed by some not very big ones, but the MI will hope the lesser known guys can step up to complement the big performances of the stars.


Delhi Daredevils - Choosing only to retain Virender Sehwag, who captains the side, the Daredevils selected a almost completely new squad from before. Only Sehwag and South Africa's Morne Morkel were at the World Cup, which could play into their hands compared to the fatigue of other teams. The DD have "taken punts" on a few players, with lesser known overseas Aussies Travis Birt, Matthew Wade and Aaron Finch all getting selected - but they've all excelled in the Big Bash so could really pay off. Big hitting David Warner will return at the top of the order as well. The Daredevils have gone for inexperienced players who could pay off spectacularly, but then again, the lack of star players may count against them as they could slump in form. Will be interesting to see how they go.


Deccan Chargers - After winning IPL2 (the South African one) under the stewardship of Adam Gilchrist, the Chargers released all of their players and started again. Now with a new wicket-keeper/captain in Kumar Sangakkara, the Chargers have a completely new squad, filled with some big names. While they will probably miss Kevin Pietersen for the tournament due to injury, Dale Steyn, Sangakkara, JP Duminy and Cameron White are all big names and proven T20 players, as well as having local internationals such as Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and MS Gony on the books. Could be dark horses as have strength in both batting and bowling.


Kings XI Punjab - Deccan's loss is Punjab's gain, as Adam Gilchrist comes in to captain the Kings XI, who have been the whipping boys of previous IPL's. However, in Gilchrist, David Hussey and Dinesh Karthik, Punjab have players who have been there and done it in T20s, as well as handy players in Piyush Chawla, Ryan McLaren and Shaun Marsh. Not much is expected of the Kings XI, but they will hope to improve on the previous disappointments.


Pune Warriors India - Not a great deal is known about the new boys Pune, but they're captained by World Cup Man of the Moment Yuvraj, as well as boasting the likes of Jesse Ryder, Angelo Mathews, Graeme Smith and world's greatest T20 bowler ever Alfonso Thomas. Not much is known about the Warriors, and as such, could spring a few surprises.


So there's the teams of Group A. Check back tomorrow for some Idiot's Guides to the teams of Group B.

Delhi Daredevil FC

One month ago today, thanks to your votes, I decided to follow the Delhi Daredevils. On Sunday, they bowed out of the IPL, after losing narrowly to the Deccan Chargers. So, how did my month of supporting the Double D's go?

To start, it was more than a month. Just before last year's IPL, I decided that to enjoy it properly I needed to pick a team. And I chose the Delhi Daredevils. I liked their adidas kit, I liked the fact that Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah were signed to them, and I liked the fact that Dirk Nannes actually played for them. As I've previously said on the blog, I didn't pay much attention to IPL2, so I didn't actually notice that Delhi didn't win until I saw a piece on Cricinfo celebrating Deccan's win. However, in view of my position as Lingfield's premier cricket blogger, I vowed to follow this year's version. And thanks to your votes, I again supported the Daredevils.

Just like the Daredevils, I started off well. I was there (well, watching on ITV4) when Warer hit his ton, and as victory after victory led Delhi to look as though they would qualify comfortably. And then, the wheels came off. I was no longer watching, with overall IPL length cheif amongst a list of factors stopping me following the DD's. Amazingly, having no idea how anyone was doing IPL-wise, I turned on ITV4 late on Sunday afternoon to see my boys 7 down needing 50 from the last 5. And despite a Collingwood 50 (who at least got a game this year), Delhi fell agonisingly close. Oh dear.

My support of Delhi is a bit like my support of Crystal Palace. As a Chelsea fan, there are often bigger and more tropical fish to fry, but I keep an eye out for my local team, and want to see them succeed. But for all my goodwill, I don't lose any sleep when they lose. In a cricketing sense, Middlesex are my Chelsea (maybe not the best example), and Delhi are my Palace. Just like the Eagles, Delhi
do have a large number of passionate supporters, but ultimately, they play in a league I'm not really interested in. (Sorry Palace fans)

The Maths of the IPL

Whilst flicking through Twitter earlier, I saw some tweets from Lalit Modi speaking of how great this year's IPL has been. To be perfectly honest, I have lost all interest in the tournament. Even Cricinfo, who had pictures, reports and comment on the IPL plastered over the front page for the first 8 months of the tournament have now news on the county championship. Which has been where my attention has been.

For the first part of the IPL, I was aware of what was going on. I dipped in and out of matches, but knew the scores, tables and results. I knew David Warner was in good form and that Michael Lumb was flattering to decieve. I knew that the Mumbai Indians were on top and the Kings XI Punjab only had a fat bloke and had no chance. I even had a favourite team; the Delhi Daredevils. I got into the IPL spirit; watching the awful karaoke video (and blogging about it). I had grown used to the constant adverts, the DLF Maximums, and even the MRF blimp. While I wasn't the IPL's biggest fan, I was more of a fan than most, and was sort-of enjoying it.

On Friday, the county championship started. On Saturday, Steven Finn took 9/37. Also on Saturday was the golf from Augusta, and Chelsea playing at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final. The IPL was relegated so far down my list of sporting priorities that it no longer registered. I didn't know who was playing, and to be honest, I didn't care.

The IPL has gone on far too long, and while many matches = many millions in Lalit's pocket, the simple equation of many matches x start of county season + boredom = lack of interest in the IPL. The IPL as a tournament could be brilliant; it has the best players in the world all playing together for a prolonged period of time. However, if the competition was not focussed on making money, and instead it was focussed on being a great tournament, it could be the best cricketing spectacle ever. If the number of games was halved; with 3 or 4 played a day, it could be crammed into a neat 2 week slot, with semis and a final at the end. The overkill of the IPL will continue next year, as two new teams have been added to the roster. Two new teams = 36 more games = even more boredom. The shelf life of the IPL is unknown, and while India will always be fanatical about it, the rest of the world is in danger of switching off. And this = bad times for Lalit.

A Tale of Two Counties.

Middlesex have the oldest captain in County Cricket; Shaun Udal is now 41.

On the other side of the Thames, Surrey have the youngest; Rory Hamilton-Brown is 22 and has never captained a county side before.

Yesterday Middlesex signed young Australian T20 opener David Warner for their FP T20 campaign.

Yesterday Surrey signed Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds for theirs.

Warner is 23, and has a long international career ahead of him.

Symonds is 34; and having been suspended from Australian selection thrice in a year, is very unlikely to ever play internationally again.

Warner is in top form in the IPL, having hit a brutal 107 from 69 balls for the Delhi Daredevils as they beat the Kolkata Knight Riders, with Delhi sure to reach the semi-finals

Symonds has been inconsistent as the Deccans have struggled to defend their IPL title; looking set to miss out on the knockout stage.

Warner will join Adam Gilchrist at Middlesex, as well as internationals Eoin Morgan, Owais Shah, Pedro Collins and Iain O'Brien.

Symonds will join world record holder James Benning, Mark Ramprakash and Piyush Chawla.

Middlesex are a side who are rebuilding.

Surrey are a side who are rebuilding.



I look forward to the opening partnership of Gilchrist and Warner at Lord's - and pub landlords around Vauxhall are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Symonds. I'd guess that Udal will have an easier time captaining Gilly and Lloyd than Chris Adams and RH-B do with Roy. With such world stars as Symonds, Warner, Gilchrist, Sangakkara, Tait, Nannes, Pollard, Dilshan and Gibbs, it's clear that this years Twenty20 Cup will be of great quality. And hopefully there'll be the same result as 2008.

The IPL Enigma

Those who follow me on Twitter will have seen that I was generally displeased with the IPL yesterday. While a Harbhajan-inspired Mumbai Indians beat the Deccan Chargers, I was finding all kind of faults with the IPL, from the rubbish commentary, constant adverts, and generally low standard of play. Deccan bowled brilliantly from overs 5-15, until the number 9 Harbhajan came in with Mumbai 100-7. Without wanting to knock a great innings from Harbhajan; there is no way that a tail-ender should hit 49* from 18 deliveries (one run from the quickest fifty ever). Terrible bowling aside; the blast of the final few overs just didn't feel like cricket, which is why I didn't really like it. While Mumbai did bowl sensibly, my mood worsened, probably due to the awful "Deccan Chargers" chant, which followed every boundary, wicket, over, dot ball, drinks break and run (seemingly).

So in the backdrop of the MCC / Durham game in Abu Dhabi, and again with nothing better to do on a wet Monday afternoon, I settled down to watch cricket's most lucrative league; with my team Delhi Daredevils taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders. And I really enjoyed it. Yes, one of my favourite England players was playing, but that didn't seem to matter. There was an exceptional century from David Warner, ably supported by Collingwood, as well as one of the greatest catches I've seen from David "Master Cricket" Hussey. It is with good reason that Alec Stewart called it "probably the greatest catch of the decade".

Being so enamoured with the game, I am already eulogising about it during the innings interval (OK, it's now the start of the KKR innings, but these blogs take some time). So why have I suddenly started to like the IPL again? Maybe it's the fact there is an English player involved, or maybe it's because I am in a better mood today than yesterday. Probably, however, it's because that horrible Deccan Chargers chant isn't on repeat.

The Delhi Daredevils newest fan

You have spoken. And with 40% of the votes, I am now a Delhi Daredevils supporter. The franchise boasting the talents of Sehwag, de Villiers, Dilshan, and Paul Collingwood. And the only IPL team with Dirk Nannes. Get in.

In honour of the Diggler, here is a post written by the excellent Jarrod Kimber of Cricket With Balls fame, separating Dirk fact from Diggler fiction.
Go Daredevils!

More IPL stuff

Contrary to previous predictions, I have actually watched a fair bit (a few overs here and there) of the IPL. However, I still haven't been fully involved in it - mainly as I do not have a team. While picking a team might be easy, each has their own unique charms that could attract me to them.

Delhi have Paul Collingwood and Dirk the Diggler; Bangalore have Eoin Morgan; Kings XI have Ravi Bopara, Rajasthan have Warne, Mascarenhas and Tyron Henderson; KKR have Owais Shah; and the rest have players who I'm either not interested in or I dislike.

So I am handing it over to you, my loyal Short Third Fans; pick for me an IPL team. I will forever follow them, look out for their score, buy their shirt, whatever. You have three days to vote.

The Short Third Man