If the 15th edition of the IPL was searching for an impetus, Mahendra Singh Dhoni provided it about 48 hours before their opening match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede on Saturday.
The World Cup-winning captain’s decision to step down from Chennai Super Kings leadership reverberated through the corridors of Indian cricket a day later. It was even a hot topic at the dinner hosted by the BCCI for its members in Mumbai on Friday evening.
Will Ravindra Jadeja’s inexperience in leading teams come in the way of CSK’s consistency? How long will Dhoni continue with the defending champions or will he switch to mentoring the team next year? Can Dhoni provide that magical touch consistently at 40? The questions are many.
Jadeja has admitted that he has “big boots” to fill though he will benefit from Dhoni’s presence on the field. The veteran wicketkeeper has mastered the art of DRS calls, managing the bowlers’ quota or making last-minute batting order reversals.
In many ways this edition will provide a sneak peek into India’s next generation of captains. If it is Jadeja versus Shreyas Iyer on Saturday, the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant have also been entrusted with captaincies by their respective franchises.
But Saturday will be about Jadeja and how he wants to carry forward the Dhoni legacy. The immediate challenge will be to make sure that the absence of the injured Deepak Chahar and Moeen Ali, who arrived only on Friday because of visa delay and is currently in quarantine, doesn’t come in their way.
In Moeen’s absence, New Zealand’s explosive batter Devon Conway is likely to make his IPL debut and could be used as a weapon to counter the threat posed by Knight Riders’ mystery spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine.
The Knight Riders too have their share of problems. Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch won’t be available before early next month because of national commitments. Tim Southee has arrived late and won’t play on Saturday.
Dew factor
One of the factors that prompted the BCCI to shun the UAE as the preferred overseas venue was the dew factor which gave the team winning the toss an unfair advantage. The 7.30pm start will ensure that one team will get to bowl with the dry ball for at least an hour.
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer at practice. Twitter
The stats also tell the same story. Teams chasing have won 10 of the last 13 games at the Wankhede. The short boundaries will also work in the batters’ favour. Win the toss, field first and chasing 170-plus won’t be a big issue. That has been the mantra for T20 games at the Wankhede.
The red soil surface in Mumbai will help the pacers get bounce and movement with the hard ball.
New rule
This IPL will not only see teams have two DRS reviews per innings, but also the implementation of newly revised playing conditions which could have far-reaching implications.
The new batter will take strike regardless of whether the two have crossed or not in case of a catch being taken. The new batter would previously head to the non-striker’s end if the batters had crossed, but the MCC recently revised the laws and the BCCI has decided to put it into use.
It’s not just about the new rules but also about the format and the team combination. For the first time since 2011, ten teams will be in the fray with a new format. Teams have been divided into two groups with each team playing five other sides twice. These five sides will comprise the four other teams from the same group and one team from the other group from the corresponding row as per the seedings.
All teams will start on a level-playing field because of the new combination that has been put in place after the mega auction. So no favourites for now, whoever adapts better to the four venues across Mumbai and Pune will enjoy a distinct advantage.
l Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Wankhede (7.30pm)
