IPL: New and improved

Ahmedabad, March 30

Gujarat Titans begin the defence of their Indian Premier League (IPL) title against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings tomorrow as the T20 tournament returns to its traditional home-and-away format after a gap of four years.

The 2020 edition of the money-spinning league and the second half of the 2021 tournament took place in the United Arab Emirates as India battled the Covid pandemic.

Last year’s expanded 10-team event was held mostly in Mumbai and Pune.

Gujarat, one of the two expansion teams along with Lucknow, capped a fairytale debut season by defeating inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals in front of around 100,000 fans in the final at home. Hardik Pandya’s side are the bookmakers’ favourites to retain the trophy but five-time champions Mumbai Indians — the most successful IPL outfit — and Chennai will aim to reclaim the crown in the 16th edition of the event.

Home support could play a major role and Chennai’s fans served up a reminder of what teams have missed with a thunderous round of applause for Mahendra Singh Dhoni during a recent practice session amid media speculation it could be his last IPL.

While a return to familiar settings will be a welcome boost for teams, they will need to quickly master a new rule that adds another strategic dimension to the game.

For the first time, IPL sides will be allowed to make a tactical substitution with an ‘Impact Player’ coming in to bat or bowl as needed.

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said the move would almost negate the need for all-rounders.

“Unless they’re absolutely world class and getting picked either as a batsman or as a bowler ... I don’t think you’ll see many teams use the guy that might bat at seven and maybe bowl an over or two,” Ponting said. “You don’t need those guys anymore.”

Hoping to prove the former Australian captain wrong will be Sam Curran. The England all-rounder became the most expensive buy in the players’ auction in December by returning to Punjab Kings for Rs 18.5 crore.

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green will also look to live up to his paycheck after joining Mumbai for Rs 17.5 crore. The IPL will also present Green and other overseas players with the chance to get used to conditions in India, where the 50-over World Cup will be held in October and November.

With one eye on that tournament, India captain Rohit Sharma has suggested his national team players should consider skipping some IPL games to manage their workload.

Top Indian players Rishabh Pant (Delhi), Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai) and Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders) are missing the IPL this year due to injury.

What is Impact Player rule?

The IPL 2023 has a lot of new initiatives like ‘impact player’ and announcing teams after the toss. The rule allows each franchise to bring an ‘impact player’ into the playing team, be it while bowling or batting. While submitting the team sheets, the captains will be allowed to name four substitute players from which one can be called upon later. The ‘Impact Player’ can do everything from the time he comes onto the pitch, be it batting, bowling or fielding. But, the player can only be an Indian unless the franchise has fewer than four overseas players in the playing XI.  — Reuters

Out to turn heads

Punjab Kings will be relying on World Cup winning coach Trevor Bayliss and new skipper Shikhar Dhawan to shed their perennial underachievers tag. The reputed Australian coach guided England to the 2019 ODI World Cup win and KKR to the IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.

PBKs Squad

Shikhar Dhawan, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sikandar Raza, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Baltej Singh, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Mohit Rathee

Best finish: Runners-up (2014)
Captain: Shikhar Dhawan
Coach: Trevor Bayliss
Home Ground: Mohali
(Dharamsala for last two games)

Will sun shine on Hyderabad?

Sunrisers Hyderabad would be banking on the leadership skills of new skipper Aiden Markram and the cricketing acumen of coach Brian Lara to break the jinx of finishing in the lower rung over the last couple of editions. Markram, who led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the inaugural SA20 title, is the third captaincy change in three years.

SRH Squad

Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Akeal Hosein, Heinrich Klaasen, Anmolpreet Singh, Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Mayank Dagar, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Reddy

Best finish: Winners (2016)
Captain: Aiden Markram
Coach: Brian Lara
Home Ground: Hyderabad

MI on a mission

Mumbai will be hoping that Jofra Archer hits top form in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah as the five-time champions aim to turn things around after 2022’s last place finish, which included just four wins. It was also the worst season for captain Rohit Sharma, who finished without a fifty.

MI Squad

Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Ramandeep Singh, Tim David, Tristan Stubbs, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan, Cameron Green, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Duan Jansen, Hrithik Shokeen, Jhye Richardson, Kartikeya Singh, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Raghav Goyal

Best finish: Winners (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020)
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Coach: Mark Boucher
Home Ground: Mumbai

Kolkata look to end drought

Kolkata would bank on Ranji Trophy winning coach Chandrakant Pandit’s tactical acumen as they look to reclaim the coveted title after nine years. In the absence of captain Shreyas Iyer, who is out due to a back injury, KKR’s top-order remains a cause of concern. KKR’s biggest strength is their all-rounders, including the West Indian pair of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.

KKR Squad

Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Narayan Jagadeesan, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, David Wiese, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Shakib Al Hasan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Harshit Rana, Tim Southee, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Best finish: Winners (2012, 2014)

Captain: Nitish Rana
Coach: Chandrakant Pandit
Home Ground: Kolkata

A royal challenge

Virat Kohli’s return to form augurs well for the three-time finalists. The former RCB captain, who was India’s best batter at last year’s Asia Cup (T20) and T20 World Cup, will look to inspire his side to their first IPL title.

RCB Squad

Faf du Plessis, Finn Allen, Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, David Willey, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Michael Bracewell, Sonu Yadav, Manoj Bhandage, Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahamad, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Siddharth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh

Best finish: Runners-up (2009, 2011, 2016)
Captain: Faf du Plessis
Coach: Sanjay Bangar
Home Ground: Bengaluru