The auction's over, so what does the IPL have in store this year?

After three seasons full of controversy, the IPL will be back in the spring with two new teams and numerous new players. Last week many players were put up for auction as the teams for the 2011 competition began to take shape. The auction broke previous IPL records, with Gautam Gambhir becoming the most expensive player in the tournaments history.

Hussey and Dhoni will again join forces

Here I will review the auction and preview the teams who will take part-

Chennai Super Kings

Last season: Winners       

Best finish: Winners (2010)       

Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Star Man: Mike Hussey

Hidden Gem: Ravichandran Ashwin

Chennai have always been one of the most impressive sides in the IPL, and 2011 looks like it will be no different. They chose to keep hold of the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel, whilst they have bought back Mike Hussey and Doug Bollinger. Added to the squad are Dwayne Bravo and Ben Hilfenhaus amongst others, whilst the off-spin of Ravichandran Ashwin could be critical if Chennai are again going to challenge for honours.

Pietersen will turn out for Deccan in 2011

Deccan Chargers

Last season: 4^th place

Best finish: Winners (2009)

Captain: TBA

Star Man: Kevin Pietersen

Hidden Gem: Shikhar Dhawan

After a disastrous campaign in 2008, the Chargers have impressed in the past two campaigns. However, the side has this year gone through a mass change of personnel, with the like of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and VVS Laxman all being let go. Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn, Cameron White and Kumar Sangakkara have been brought in, and if they can obtain some good young Indians, then they could again be challengers.

Sehwag will have a massive
job to do for Delhi to do well

Delhi Daredevils

Last season: 5^th

Best finish:  Semi-finalist (2008, 2009)

Captain: Virender Sehwag

Star Man: Virender Sehwag

Hidden Gem: Colin Ingram

Delhi have always been one of the most dangerous sides in the IPL, and with Virender Sehwag at the top of the order, they always have a good chance of scoring large amounts of runs. However, during last week’s auction they failed to sign any massive names, with Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan arguably the biggest. This season could be a struggle for the Daredevils.

Gilchrist has left Deccan to
captain Kings XI

Kings XI Punjab

Last season: 8^th

Best finish: Semi-finalists (2008)

Captain: Adam Gilchrist

Star Man: Adam Gilchrist

Hidden Gem: Piyush Chawla

Kings XI were originally thrown out of the competition along with the Rajasthan Royals, but were brought back in after a court ruling. After finishing bottom last season, they could well struggle again after only making a small number of signings. Adam Gilchrist will captain a side including Stuart Broad and David Hussey, but will need some good young Indians to mount any type of challenge.

Muralitharan will turn out for new
team Kochi

Kochi IPL Team

Last season: N/A

Best finish: N/A

Captain: Mahela Jayawardene

Star Man: Muttiah Muralitharan

Hidden Gem: Ravindra Jadeja

Kochi are one of the two new sides in this year’s IPL, and have managed to acquire many big name players from around the world. The capture of Muttiah Muralitharan is the headline grabber, but VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum and Sreesanth will all have to perform key roles if Kochi are going to do well in their debut season.

Gambhir attracted the highest price
at the recent IPL auction

Kolkata Knight Riders

Last season: 6^th

Best finish: 6^th (2008, 2010)

Captain: TBA

Star Man: Jacques Kallis

Hidden Gem: James Pattinson

Kolkata have the worst record out of all the eight original IPL teams, but this year splashed the cash, breaking the IPL auction record by buying Gautam Gambhir for $2.4million. Further signings of Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan and Eoin Morgan mean the Knight Riders could find themselves in the latter stages of the competition for the first time.

Tendulkar will again lead Mumbai

Mumbai Indians

Last season: Runners-up

Best finish: Runners-up (2010)

Captain: Sachin Tendulkar

Star Man: Sachin Tendulkar

Hidden Gem: Davy Jacobs

Mumbai could be the team to watch in 2011, with Sachin Tendulkar again leading a side which consists of previous IPL stars Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard. Andrew Symonds’ signing will also excite the Mumbai fans, whilst South African wicket-keeper Davy Jacobs performed well in the 2010 Champions League.

Smith has moved from Rajasthan to Pune

Pune Warriors

Last season: N/A

Best finish: N/A

Captain: Yuvraj Singh

Star Man: Graeme Smith

Hidden Gem: Callum Ferguson

Pune are the second of the new sides for this year’s IPL, and have equipped themselves well for a challenge on a debut title. Graeme Smith, Robin Uthappa, Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj Singh are all excellent Twenty20 players, whilst Callum Ferguson and Wayne Parnell add the exuberance of youth to the side. They could cause a few surprises.

Watson will be key to
Rajasthan's chances

Rajasthan Royals

Last season: 7^th

Best finish: Winners (2008)

Captain: Shane Warne

Star Man: Shane Watson

Hidden Gem: Johan Botha

After the recent auction, Rajasthan only have a squad of eight men, meaning they are going to have to rely on young Indian players to step up to the mark. They are again led by Shane Warne, and the all-round talents of Shane Watson and Paul Collingwood may still not be enough for them to mount a serious challenge.

De Villiers has the potential to
score big runs in IPL 4

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Last season: 3^rd

Best finish: Runners-up (2009)

Captain: TBA

Star Man: AB De Villiers

Hidden Gem: Cheteshwar Pujara

Bangalore are almost a totally new team compared to the team that appeared in the opening three seasons. Zaheer Khan, AB De Villiers, Daniel Vettori and Dirk Nannes have all been brought in as the Royal Challengers chase a first IPL title. Young Indians Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will be hoping to impress their national selectors with some good performances. 

IPL- The Soap Opera Continues...

­It promised to change the way cricket was played, give the brightest youngsters the chance to shine and bring together the biggest names in the game. But now, three years since the IPL was launched, the competition now lies in disarray. Lalit Modi, the man behind the competition, is facing allegations of corruption, whilst two of the established franchises have now been expelled from the tournament. So what now for India’s premier cricket competition?

The expulsion of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab is a major blow for an already controversial tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have cited the reason that the two franchises ‘broke ownership rules’, but have not given any further details. With the huge question marks surrounding the game of cricket at this time, one fears for what may have been going on behind the scenes. Tie this in with the charges that face the one-time commissioner of the league, and the whole future of the competition has to be questioned.

Despite the obvious hit to the cities where the two sides play their games, the loss of Rajasthan especially will be felt all over the world, no more so in the county of Hampshire.

It was announced in February of this year that Hampshire, along with South African side Cape Cobras, Australia’s Victoria and West Indian team Trinidad & Tobago, would be joining together with the Royals to create the “first global cricket franchise”. The deal meant that players from all five teams could switch between sides, for example both Dimitri Mascharenhas and Michael Lumb turned out in the IPL for Rajasthan, whilst the English county changed their one-day side’s name from Hampshire Hawks to Hampshire Royals to show their faith in the deal. Now though, this faith looks as if it may have been misplaced. 

As well as the impact on the different teams associated with the Royals, it will also hit the players involved. In the case of Rajasthan, both Shane Warne and Damien Martyn have come out of retirement to play in the tournament, whilst many talented young Indian stars have been able to showcase their talents to a worldwide audience. In both cases, these players will now be missing out on the different perks that the IPL offers, be it money or experience. This in turn may put off possible future stars of the tournament, as they may see their future’s as being insecure.

In 2007, the IPL was billed as being the most exciting competition in world cricket. Now, in 2010, some would argue it still is exciting, but more off the pitch than on it, as cricket fans worldwide sit and wait to find out what will happen next in what is becoming the biggest soap opera in modern-day cricket.

Is the Twenty20 gimmick getting old?

With the impending ECB announcement that the amount of Twenty20 Cup group games in England’s domestic calendar is going to be cut from 16 to ten, many commentators have asked whether the pull of the newest form of the game is beginning to drop.

Throughout the 2010 County season, the issue of Twenty20 overkill was raised many times, with counties playing 16 group games each as appose to the usual ten. Attendances were down on previous seasons, whilst certain international games also saw less than capacity crowds. Players also complained of burnout, with some becoming injured before the season had come to an end.

This season’s competition was billed as the biggest and best so far, with more overseas players than ever before. The introduction of stars such as Herschelle Gibbs and Adam Gilchrist to the competition failed to galvanise audiences as the ECB and the various counties had hoped, and with the sheer volume of games, audiences dwindled. England’s matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan were watched by less than full stadiums as cricket supporters struggled to finance watching all the cricket that was on offer.

It wasn’t only the public who couldn’t handle the amount of games, but also the players. The likes of England Twenty20 World Cup winner Michael Lumb had their season’s cut short due to injury, whilst other players were rested so as to save them from burning out. Six extra days of cricket a year may not sound a lot, but with travelling and the enhanced warm-ups and fitness training that the modern cricketer has to go through, these six days can be the difference between a player staying fit or picking up an injury.

So is Twenty20 cricket, the format that those at the top of the game said would bring in a new mass audience, now losing its appeal?

The answer is most probably not yet, especially in countries such as India and Australia, where the IPL and KFC Big Bash have the biggest stadium and television audiences. However, in the country in which Twenty20 was formed, the draw of the shortened format is at its lowest since its inception in 2003. In the event that this pattern spreads from England’s shores, then the future of “the future of cricket” could be under threat.

This article can also be found at worldcricketwatch.com

IPL- really the future of cricket?

When the idea of the Indian Premier League was first proposed by Lalit Modi, the whole cricket world sat up and took notice.

However, since that announcement the tournament has been less about the on-field action and more about the off-field controversy. Security fears leading to a change in venue, the banning of several high-profile players and disputes with several international boards are just some of the problems the organising committee have faced.

So now, on the eve of the third annual competition, many cricket followers are asking whether the competition that was billed as the future of cricket will ever live up to its potential.

This years IPL, or IPL 3 as it is being billed in the Indian sporting media (one of the many examples of how the sport is becoming Americanised) could be the best tournament so far, with a plethora of the world's best players taking part at some stage.

The fact that players such as Shane Warne, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist have decided to prolong their careers to take part shows the appeal the competition has. Whether that appeal is the urge to play cricket at a high level or the money involved is up to debate. The fact that the Twitter accounts of Warne and Martyn have this week been inundated with reports of them taking part in different photo shoots may answer this question.

The standard of the cricket in the competition is helped by these legends of the game taking part, and the experience and expertise they pass onto the many Indian youngsters in the various franchises will become invaluable to them as they build their own careers.

However, that is all but where the good points surrounding the IPL end. The main talking points surrounding the competition are contentious to say the least, with controversy seeming to follow it wherever it goes.

The security fears that have surrounded the Modi's brainchild since its inception have caused the most controversy, with some players expressing there fears in the build-up to the 60-game tournament.

The expulsion of all Pakistani players is also an issue which has raised debate. In last year's competition there was a blanket ban on all of Pakistan's players. However, this year the majority of Pakistan's national side were available in the main player's auction and many onlookers felt that normal service would be resumed.

The fact that not one of the eleven Pakistani players who were available in the auction were snapped up by the franchises might show that the countries differences are still at the fore. The excuse of the players being unable to obtain Visa's was given, but the fact that the tournament will miss the like of Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul, two of the world's best Twenty20 cricketers, is a great shame.

So whilst India prepares itself for its biggest sporting event of the year, many back in England will be none the wiser to what is going on. That is, unless, a major off-the-field incident again steals the headlines...