For all the talent that has made itself felt on the pitch during this season’s IPL, there has been no shortage of icons watching from the dugout. As most IPL watchers get set to select their final Dream XI teams of the season, My Kolkata has opted to make a fantasy team of its own, comprising former players who are now coaches of different IPL franchises. The criterion for selection is simple — the individual must be involved in a formal capacity with an IPL franchise at present. Hence, ‘mentors’ such as Sachin Tendulkar do not make the cut, while the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and Brian Lara do
Photos: TT archives
Sourav Ganguly: The director of cricket for DC captained KKR to the first-ever win in IPL history, before a turbulent few seasons gave way to an even more erratic spell in Pune. Despite never being a T20 natural, Dada remains our first pick to open the batting for our lineup and milk a few glorious cover drives in the powerplay
Gautam Gambhir: The only player in our XI to lead a team to IPL glory, Gambhir currently operates as batting coach for LSG besides calling out detractors on Twitter. Ganguly and Gambhir may not be the best of friends, but their opening partnership is bound to generate some fireworks, in every sense of the word
Ricky Ponting: The present head coach of DC once dropped himself as captain at MI to allow Rohit Sharma to take over. The result was the emergence of the competition’s most successful skipper. This is exactly the kind of selfless leadership we are expecting from Ponting in our team, apart from the imperiousness he brings to his trademark number three role
Kumar Sangakkara: Class and consistency define Sangakkara more than most. Coaching at RR these days, Sangakkara was quite the journeyman in his playing days in the competition, having represented Punjab, Hyderabad and the erstwhile Deccan Chargers. For us, he will be the middle-order lynchpin besides donning the gloves
Shane Watson: Having won the inaugural IPL with RR, Watson did it all over again a decade later with a starring role in the final for CSK. Batting coach at DC right now, the Aussie will be a handful with both bat and ball, and might also be floating up and down the order given the match situation
Dale Steyn: The Protean pacer sure knows his way around the IPL, having played for four different franchises over the years. Currently, he is nurturing the next generation of speedsters like Umran Malik at SRH and will be the undisputed favourite when it comes to taking and swinging the new ball for our team
Lasith Malinga: The sight of Malinga with his measured run-up and devastating release, with his hair as distinguishable as his action, remains one of the most enduring images of the IPL. Having become a bonafide legend at MI, Malinga is helping bowlers find the cutting edge at RR these days. After an over or two at the start, he will be our death-overs specialist
Ashish Nehra: The only Indian coach to win the IPL, that too with GT in their very first season last year, Nehra’s IPL career as a player never caught fire. He travelled around the country playing for multiple franchises but injuries and indifferent form plagued him everywhere. But given his track record for India in T20Is and his knack for golden insights as coach, Nehra slots into our XI and will be used primarily as the third seamer
Muttiah Muralitharan: He may have stopped bamboozling batters, but Muralitharan still shows up in his SRH kit as bowling coach to attract the cameras with his magnetic smile. One of the irreplaceable faces at CSK in the early years of the IPL, Muralitharan went on to play for Kochi and RCB, and will be our only frontline spinner in a pace-heavy bowling combination
Dwayne Bravo: Whichever way you look at it, Bravo is a champion cricketer, more so in the IPL where, until recently, he was the highest wicket-taker. An all-action all-rounder for MI and then CSK, Bravo can be seen patrolling the other side of the fence as bowling coach for CSK nowadays, passing on tips to his fast bowlers in between deliveries. In our XI, he will be the impact player capable of filling in as a pinch hitter or a fifth bowler with equal ease
