- 1 year ago
With the Mega Auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League complete, Gulf News staff and experts including Mr. Cricket UAE Anis Sajan look back at the major deals including Ishan Kishan’s big money move to Mumbai Indians and the injured Jofra Archer being snapped up the same team. Wise move? Watch to find out!
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00:00The new Indian Premier League season is just weeks away and that means life will have meaning
00:05once again for cricket fans all over the world. The mega auction concluded yesterday and over
00:11200 players were bought. More than 73 million dollars exchanged hands and that means the 10
00:19teams, obviously there's two more teams now than last season, are getting ready for the 2022 title.
00:30Joining me to discuss the auction and the upcoming 15th season is Mr Cricket UAE Anish
00:40Sajjan. We also have Sahil Sajjan and golf news experts Shyam and Satish. Welcome to the show,
00:47chaps. Thank you. Hello everybody. Hello, hello. Hello. Anish, what are your thoughts on the
00:55auction? How do you see the season going ahead and will Chennai retain the title?
01:02Well, Imran, you've already thrown a bouncer by asking me, will Chennai retain the title?
01:07But let me first talk about the auction. It was one of the most exciting auctions I have
01:12witnessed in my time, as many auctions I've seen. Trust me, there were twists and turns
01:18and Mumbai throwing in bouncers by picking up a player who is not fit for the season.
01:23And then one team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had the maximum purse. Probably when I see their
01:29sheet, I find them players with hardly any big names. And if I have to pick one team,
01:37which I've already written in my column, Delhi is my favourite. And when you come to Chennai,
01:41they are the second favourite. These are my teams, but obviously everybody will have an opinion
01:46and we will then take it forward, Imran. Sahil, looking forward to the new season?
01:51Oh, yeah, of course, you know, it's not every day you get to see such a mega auction happening.
01:57And so after quite a while, we saw this auction happening. So it's pretty exciting. And I was
02:01also like watching and like he mentioned, like Mumbai Indians picking on Jofra Archer,
02:07even though the man is not fit. But you know, it's going to be like, everyone's going to be
02:11dreaming that Bumrah and Archer combination. So I think Mumbai have done that. And it's an
02:16investment for Mumbai. But in the end, if you're asking about Chennai, like keeping their title,
02:23not sure. I think there are, seeing on paper, there are better teams. But you know, this is
02:28what Dhoni can do everything. So let's see what happens.
02:33Okay, guys, before we start talking about predictions and who's going to win,
02:36I think let's just focus a little bit on the auction that happened over the weekend,
02:39Saturday and Sunday. And we have to start, I think, with the most costly player in the auction. It
02:44was Ishan Kishan was signed by five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians for $2 million.
02:53He scored 1500 runs in the IPL. Anish, can he be the difference between success and failure for
03:00Mumbai next season? Well, no, I would be very honest in admitting that he would be the difference
03:07between success and failure. The whole idea of Mumbai investing is that they had, they always
03:11believe in their core players like CSK. So they had four. They wanted to pick up either Quinton or
03:18this guy Ishan Kishan and they went heavy on picking him up. The idea is to make sure that
03:22the future is secured because now for next four years, they don't have to worry about Ishan Kishan
03:27is in their pocket. So that's the whole idea of picking him. Yes, investing 15 crores on one
03:32player, that's too much. But again, this 15 crores, what they've put in is not for one year.
03:37Mumbai is one team who always thinks for the long run and that's the reason they've gone big.
03:42There will be a little bit of pressure on the youngster because when you come with a tag of 15
03:46crores, it's not easy. But it's up to him and the management of Mumbai, how they can make sure that
03:52the pressure is eased off him. Shyam, was that money well spent, do you think? Two million bucks is a
03:58big amount of money. Yes, I would think so because I see Ishan Kishan is an explosive player.
04:06With Quinton not being there, he will be expected to deliver more often and
04:12I think he's also pretty matured and an Indian player. So I think the onus is on him to justify
04:17the tag. Like Anish said, there is pressure on him because normally the costliest player tag
04:23doesn't sit easy on the players. I mean, most of the guys actually fail to justify the tag
04:28with their performance in that season. Chris Morris being an example in the previous season.
04:32But I think the money is well spent. Like Anish said, it's just not
04:39just this year, it's just three years and he's a wicketkeeper batsman, which means he
04:44brings in additional skills as well. So I would think that that money is well spent.
04:49Let me bring Satish in. Satish, as we all know, you can have all the money in the world,
04:53you can spend it on signing the best players in the world, you can give them the biggest
04:57contracts in the world, but this doesn't always guarantee success, does it?
05:02No. See, it's again, how well your team is functioning as a unit is the most important.
05:09And this time, going back to Ishan Kishan, the previous question, I would say, Mumbai were
05:14forced to spend so much on Ishan Kishan because they had to have a wicketkeeper batsman. Because
05:19Minton De Kock had already left them. So they were forced to… This is another game which
05:24other teams also play. Because if they make you spend more on one player, then your pocket
05:30becomes a little bit more lighter and then you'll not be able to get another big one. So that way,
05:35it's also a tactic played by other players. And I would say more than the individual players,
05:40I think it is the team that actually does well. And it is more importantly,
05:46the number of Indian players who could deliver on the big stage on the crucial games.
05:52See these initial games, first round of game, it's okay. Anybody can perform one good player,
05:57one good knock, you can keep going on. But as you go closer to the second and the final stages of
06:03the league, that's when the Indian players, especially the ones who could step in to those
06:09big shoes will make a difference. And here I have to come back to my favourite team,
06:14which is Chennai. If you look at, of the 11 players who played in the final last year, 2021,
06:22eight have been retained of the 11. I think probably the highest among the other teams. So
06:29the others can spend big, they can bring in newcomers. But here there is a unit,
06:32well-knit unit, who won the title last time and who have come back with almost the same team,
06:39excepting three players, who is Faf. Instead of Faf, I think Chennai has got the
06:44New Zealand opener Conway, Devon Conway as a replacement. For Hazlewood, they brought in
06:51two guys instead of one, Chris Jordan and Pretorius. And of course, you have Adam Milner,
06:58three players to be precise, three fast bowlers. And the most important is, I would say,
07:03for Shardul Thakur, the all-rounder, they brought in the under-19 fast bowler, all-rounder,
07:10Rajvardhan Hungerkar, which is a good buy. Again, as I said in the previous chat, this is an
07:17auction that all the teams wanted to build for the future also. So that way, if you look at most
07:22of the under-19 players have found their places. These small players have found their places in
07:27these teams. So I think, by and large, this year will be again a rebuilding process for all the
07:33teams. But here, who gets running fast or who finds the groove faster will have the upper hand
07:43this year.
07:43Okay, so he'll take yourself off mute and tell me, who do you think has done the smartest
07:47business in the auction?
07:50I mean, I actually mentioned like Delhi Capitals, obviously, I like their team.
07:57Hello, don't copy me.
07:58And no, I mean, there was one more team, you know, who are actually always known as being
08:07really poor in auctions, but I actually like Punjab Kings team. I don't know, they're one of
08:10the worst people in auctions. But this time, they've actually done a decent job. Like for me,
08:16the smartest is, I think, Punjab Kings and obviously Delhi Capitals. And the worst we've
08:22bought this year is obviously Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Kolkata Knight Riders, like if you're
08:26asking me that. But because Punjab Kings, I really like their sign Johnny Besto. Also,
08:31Mayank Aggarwal, they have automatic openers. So as automatic replacements for KL Rahul. So
08:36I think Punjab Kings are the shockers who have done well this season in the auction.
08:42Anish, all the talk has been about, obviously, the big signing Ishan Kishan,
08:46going for 2 million bucks. But who do you think has been the most astute signing,
08:50perhaps a signing that's gone under the radar a little bit that's going to do really well?
08:55Well, I would be very honest, I did not expect
08:59Yujindra Chawal to go around less than 6 crores. And he was the best buy. And you have to be
09:06surprised because leg spinners are a scarcity in this tournament. And the team which picked him
09:12must be very happy that they got him at 6 crore. And I was surprised there was not much of a bidding
09:17war when there was bidding war for XYZ players. But Yujindra Chawal just went under the radar.
09:23And David Warner, these are the two players, I believe, because Chawal has a history of doing
09:28well in IPL. And David Warner, in spite of having a last poor IPL, I feel that after the last World
09:34Cup, he's still a force to reckon. And he will be a very, very good asset for this team.
09:40Chawal, what do you think? Do you think he'll be a good asset for the team?
09:44Chawal? Yes, of course. I would think because I was also looking at the Rajasthan Royals team,
09:52they have a pretty decent lineup. But whether they gel together as a team, it remains to be
09:57seen. Because if you look at the batting lineup, first four or five, it will be like Jaiswal,
10:02Padikkal, Samson, Butler, Hetmeyer. It's the first five. And if you look at the bowling,
10:08Trenbold heads the attack. You have Prasidh Krishna to go with, to open bowling with him.
10:14And you have Chawal and Ravindran Ashwin. It's a good attack. The only problem is,
10:20if Bolt has an injury, then they would suffer because I don't think there's any quality
10:24backup there. So also a third seamer if required. Because I'm not really impressed with Riyan
10:29Parag. He is just part-time and he's never impressed me at all. And Jimmy Nisham, again,
10:34a part-time bowler. But otherwise, it's good. And I think Chawal will be a good fit there.
10:40But I don't think it will be like he won't have the same kind of success he had with RCB.
10:45Satish, Chennai are going to be out there to defend their title. They won it last time.
10:53And they've retained the services of Chahar. He's played 63 games. He's got 59 wickets.
10:58When it comes to the powerplay, especially, he can be a match-winner, can't he? How important
11:03was it that they retained his services for the next season?
11:08I was guessing that Chennai would go all out for Chahar. But what surprised me was,
11:13they got some easy buys like Bravo. You're looking at your Utapa. All these guys,
11:21they came in quite nicely and easily for Chennai. So I think they're very, very surely. And
11:29I would say, without making much at all, they quietly started to pick all these.
11:35Satish, I think they lived up to the name of the dad's army.
11:38Shyam, it doesn't matter. As long as you can deliver and win the title.
11:43But again, they have shed one dad from the team. Imran Tahir is not there.
11:49That was one of the big mists, I would say. But again, there are some good youngsters, Shyam.
11:54These Mahesh Thiksena, the Sri Lankan, they have picked him. And they have picked about
12:00five youngsters, or five or six youngsters from the range of 1.5 crores to 20 lakhs.
12:06They have picked many youngsters to group them. So it's not that they have picked only
12:11the biggies. Maybe the first year, even the second year, they might look at the services
12:17of these veterans. But again, if you look at Rituraj Gaikwad or your Chahar, these guys are
12:23probably the next generation of players who are already there.
12:27Another player who went for big money was Shreyas Iyer, who went for $1.5 million.
12:33He has plenty of experience. He has had 87 IPL games. He has smashed over 2,300 runs,
12:40I think. He has been playing very well. Shyam, will his arrival boost Kolkata's
12:45chances for the title? Can he be the man to lead them to glory this season?
12:49I have been a huge fan of Iyer as a captain. But the thing is, Kolkata still has not
12:56announced the captain. So I would presume it would be prudent to announce him as the captain.
13:03But finally, we have two Iyers playing in the team, Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer. So I would
13:08think Shreyas Iyer is not just a good buy in terms of a player, but even as a captain, he brings
13:15plenty to the table. So after Arjen Morgan, in fact, they missed out on the last IPL losing to
13:24Chennai in the final. So I think this is time for them to build. But it is still a work in progress,
13:30I would say. Because I am looking at the team here. To bore with Pat Cummins, we have Sivan
13:36Mowy here, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravorty, Sunil Narine. So there is a good spin attack in Sunil
13:43Narine and Chakravorty. But for pace, I am not really comfortable with it. Because Pat Cummins
13:50and his backup would be Tim Southey, which is again, if you are playing on the subcontinent,
13:56Southey is ruthless, I would say. And Umesh Yadav, he leaks runs all the time. So not happy
14:03with the pace attack there. But they have a decent side there. But like you said about Shreyas Iyer,
14:09I think he's a good buy. He is value for money. Now, Sahil, earlier you said that you like the
14:15look of Punjab Kings. They've just bought England's Liam Livingstone. He's become the
14:21most expensive overseas player. It costs $1.4 million. But do you think that's a lot of money
14:27for a player? He's only played, I think, what, 10 IPL games? And he's only scored a little over
14:32100 runs? I mean, yeah, you're right. You know, it's a lot of money. The guy has played very few
14:39games. If you remember the last time he left the camp of Rajasthan due to bubble fatigue, and his
14:44price was that time 75 lakhs rupees. Now he was bought for 11 crore rupees. So I'm pretty sure
14:50there won't be any bubble fatigue here. But you know, like, but I've seen him how he played in
14:55the T20 World Cup, even in the 100 in the UK. So he is a great player. And he's not a just a
15:02slogger. He's a guy who times the ball brilliantly. 11 crores, you know, debatable a lot. But I think
15:08he deserves that because he is now established himself as a proper T20 player. And as mentioned,
15:14he's a good leggy also. He can get you wickets. So it's a good buy by Punjab Kings. And I think
15:19now this is a test for him. The price tag will be a huge pressure. But this is now the biggest
15:23test for him in IPL. Sahil, I beg to differ a little bit. There's no doubting his quality.
15:29But from what we see him last year, the commitment is lacking. Like you said about the bubble fatigue
15:34going away, things like that. See, he's the kind of guy whose mind wanders a bit. His commitment,
15:41I always have suspected. Simply because, yes, quality-wise, he's good. He's been a standout
15:46in the 100. He's been very good for England. But in the IPL, he's not delivered so far,
15:52which is why I thought that's a little bit of a dodgy, that amount of money spent on him.
15:57I agree with you.
15:58But again, sorry. Go ahead.
16:01Yeah, I agree. Because, you know, what I suspected in that Rajasthan camp,
16:05I don't think it was a positive atmosphere for him. That's why he was not able to perform. It's
16:10all about having that mentality. And the team has to take care of its players. So I'm pretty
16:14sure now that price tag is now there of 11 crores. I'm pretty sure Punjab will cherish the player.
16:18And the player will also take his chances to always prove to the IPL like he's a good player.
16:25So you're right what you said about what he did for Rajasthan. But it's all about now how
16:30the atmosphere is in the Punjab camp. So he will perform.
16:34Can I come in here? Imran, you know, Punjab has a history of picking players
16:39at big prizes. Let's talk about Glenn Maxwell, Pooran, all the Millers.
16:46You're picking Yuvraj Singh. But if you see their record, whenever they picked a big player,
16:51I remember Maxwell had scored 130, Pooran couldn't reach 100 runs.
16:56So there's going to be a lot of pressure. I would, you know, surprise if this boy also,
17:03Liam Livingstone doesn't come under pressure. And one important point which I want to talk,
17:09more than the prize, it's all up to the management, how they take care of the player's well-being.
17:15One is that you buy the player. But very, very important that the management and the
17:20backhand people make sure that they take care of the smaller things, which is taking care of
17:25their wives, their girlfriends, taking care of the small thing, the SIM cards, keep them away
17:30from all the other headaches, and make sure that they go and perform. This is one of the most
17:34critical things at which Chennai, I truly believe is number one. And that is why in spite of having
17:40the dad's army, or whatever it is, they have been so consistent.
17:46No, no, I think this auction also has sent out a clear message for those players who have not
17:52been fully committed. Like for example, Steve Smith, you're looking at Suresh Raina, one of
17:58the biggest absentees. So if your attitude is questionable, I think there is a clear message
18:04sent out saying that either you toe the line and be part of the team or you'll be left out, left behind.
18:11Okay, look, since we're talking about England players, let's talk about
18:15Joffre Archer. This is a strange one. He's joined Mumbai Indians. But obviously, the odd thing is
18:19he's injured. He's injured for this season. Mumbai are obviously looking to the future.
18:24They're looking at season 2023, where they'll hopefully be lining him up with Bumrah. So
18:31Archer from one side, Bumrah coming out from the other side. It's got to be a hell of an attack. But
18:34Anish, is it a strange move to splash a lot of money on a player who's not going to be playing
18:39this season? I mean, could they have spent the money elsewhere on other parts of the team that
18:43could have, you know, were a bit weak, that could have been strengthened?
18:47Absolutely, Ibrahim. I mean, as baffled as all of us or whoever was watching the auction,
18:55you know, shell out eight crores on a player who's definitely not available this season.
18:59And we don't know what is in store for next year, because he's been injury-prone.
19:03There is absolutely no doubt about his credential as a fast bowler. And if he's fit, along with
19:08Bumrah, he will make a lethal pair. But we don't know what's written there in future. And secondly,
19:13what is going to be England's availability. So these are all suspense, which is going to come
19:18next year. So investing eight crores, okay, you're buying the player or keeping with him for four
19:23years. That's jackpot, which rather the lottery which Mumbai Indians has bought. But I would have
19:30preferred that they would have gone for somebody else and invested that money and got maybe a
19:35better replacement. But anyways, we'll have to wait and watch. Mumbai has five titles in their
19:40bag. So I think they can still let go two titles in the next coming years.
19:46That reminds me, you know, Australia just recently said that they're not going to be
19:50willing to release their players during the IPL when there's a series going on.
19:56Do you think that's going to, that obviously will impact the season, won't it, going ahead?
20:00Sahil, what do you think?
20:04Yeah, it might impact, you know, let's see how it goes. You know, the Aussies usually come back,
20:09Cummins has been brought for a high price. There are many Australians, Riley Meredith was bought,
20:13Matthew Wade was bought also later on. So it depends now on the players. Now,
20:18do the players want to leave their country and come for IPL? It mainly depends on how the players
20:24go or all the Australian board will not completely keep a barrier and not allow them to come.
20:29So let's see how it goes. You cannot predict about all this. It's all up to the board.
20:32Cummins is the captain of Australia. They are playing a series against Pakistan in the middle
20:37of March. They're playing test matches in ODIs, which I believe will not get over till at least
20:4215th of April, if I'm not wrong. I don't know because the schedule has not come out.
20:47The end's on 5th. Yeah, he might miss about a week or so because March 27th,
20:55the IPL starts and the Australian tour to Pakistan ends on April 5th.
21:00Okay. Including the T20s or just the test matches are you talking about?
21:05I mean, I'm not too sure.
21:07I think about 10th of April, they could miss up to 10th of April at best.
21:12You just can't come and play. You need to be in a bubble or whatever.
21:15That's what including the bubble and all that,
21:17they should be available by April 11th or something. That's what I understand.
21:22Guys, from all the teams, who's got the most Australian players in their teams, in fact?
21:26So who will this impact the most actually?
21:28No, it's not just Australian Imran. There is a South Africa series coming up. There is a Sri
21:32Lanka series coming up. There is a Bangladesh series coming up. I think probably that's one
21:36of the reasons why you don't see too many Sri Lankans, too many Bangladesh players in the
21:42lineup, maybe because they will miss a lot.
21:46Yeah, five teams are involved in action during this IPL,
21:51but the most affected would be Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh.
21:55Well, clearly that's going to impact the season going ahead. Let's just go back to the auctions,
22:00talk about the main ones. We can't talk about all the players. There was 200 that were sold.
22:05If we talk about the world, we're going to be here all day. We've got work to do. So we're
22:08going to just try to wrap it up a little bit. But Anish, from all the deals that have been made,
22:13who do you think is going to have the biggest impact and why? And then the same question to
22:16the other three guys. So start thinking. But I would be a millionaire if I'm able
22:22to predict this right, that who's going to have the biggest impact. But I can definitely,
22:27as I mentioned, you know, the buying of a couple of players whom I fancy doing well.
22:34One is Hasranga is able to play the full season for RCB because I'm always a big fan of leg
22:40spinners. And he's not also a leg spinner. He's also a good batter. So he's one guy who can make
22:45a good impact. And I hope RCB utilize him properly because they did not utilize him last year well.
22:52So he's given that proper value for money. When I say value for money, when you're investing 10
22:56crores, you need to back that player to the core because players don't become stars overnight.
23:01He's become an overnight star in Sri Lanka. He's become a star in Sri Lanka in the last four
23:06years. So it's taken time. So for a franchise to build a player, you need to give him time
23:10back the player like how CSK did for Ruturaj Goipar. And the second player, if I believe,
23:17which probably will do well, which I'm talking about an Indian player. Again, I will come back
23:23to the same guy who I always feel has got a lot of potential, which is the left-handed opening
23:28batsman Venkatesh Iyer. Even though he's in the uptick team for the ODI, he's a T20 specialist.
23:35He can bowl and has done wonders for KKR. These are the two guys I feel will do well.
23:40Again, when he played for India, he was not sent as an opener, isn't it?
23:44Absolutely.
23:48What do you think, Sahil? Do you agree with that?
23:50Yeah, I absolutely do agree about Venkatesh Iyer. But if you're going to ask me another,
23:55who's going to add value to their particular franchise, who has been bought in the auction
23:58is Devdutt Padikkal. I think Rajasthan have got that automatic opener. And you know,
24:03what he did for ICB was really good. He was bought for a good hefty price. But
24:08if he's going to be adding the most value for one particular team, and he's a consistent batsman.
24:13So yeah, I think Devdutt Padikkal and Asaranga also, I'm a huge fan of him. He's bought for
24:18a hefty, hefty amount of 10 crore, more than 10 crore rupees. So it's going to be strange.
24:24Let's see how ICB treats Asaranga.
24:27Satish, Shyam, who are the best signings for you two?
24:31I wouldn't, it's difficult to pinpoint a single player. Because if you look at,
24:38every time an auction, a mega auction happens, the teams get, you know, shaken around,
24:43the whole makeup of the team changes, the core gets shaken. So even if you like,
24:47Chennai retained a core number of players, but even then, it's not the same as
24:54they were. Because if you look at, Conway might be a good player, but he's not a faff. He's not
24:59going to give that explosive start like faff. So it's the same way. Every team is impacted in some
25:05way or another. So if I have to blindly pick, I would, in the sense like, here, no logic applies
25:12here. I would think David Warner will make an impact, especially for Delhi. See, Delhi always
25:21had a good opening pair in Shaw and Shikhar Tharwan. They tried their best to retain
25:26Tharwan, but lost out in the auction. But I think Warner would be a likely replacement. And in fact,
25:31he might be a better replacement. So I'm looking forward to watching him in action. And I think
25:37he has a point to prove after being, I mean, very, what do you call it, anonymously ousted
25:44from Sunrise Hyderabad. I think he will be raring to go.
25:49Pratish, what about for you?
25:52Yeah. I think the person who would make an impact, I would go with Rajvardhan
25:58Hangirkar. Because I've been following him. Sorry, I think the cuckoo clock has gone off. Sorry.
26:06I came at the wrong time. Maybe I can come back, take the question, if there's anything.
26:11Okay, it's done.
26:11Go ahead.
26:12Yeah, okay. I would say this guy, Rajvardhan will do well for the
26:17Chennai Super Kings, because I've seen him do well in Asia Cup and Under-19. He's a very talented
26:24Under-19 cricketer. And if there is one impact player that would really impact the team's
26:29fortunes would be Faf Du Plessis for Royal Challengers Bangalore. They lost AB De Villis,
26:36and they needed a solid batsman to replace AB. So I think Faf as a second best top scorer of
26:46the last IPL, I would say Bangalore has got the right choice in Faf, along with Dinesh
26:53Karthik and Kohli, I think. And of course, you're looking at Maxwell as well. So I think Bangalore
27:01has done quite well in selecting that. And I would say Faf would be a big choice for RCB.
27:07Okay. I mean, actually, we didn't talk much about RCB. RCB has got a decent side. They've got
27:12Josh Hesselwood there. They've got Hasaranga Vidya, which Anish talked about. They have
27:17Harshal Patel. They retook Harshal Patel. Faf is making a difference there.
27:22Mohamed Siraj is now a better bowler now. He's there as well.
27:24Oh, yes. Absolutely.
27:28Let's briefly talk about the 10 teams, trying to wrap this up now. Starting with the champions,
27:32they've kept a large part of their squad together. They've improved the batting and bowling. How are
27:36they going to do next season, Anish? Well, Mumbai, I have my doubts for this
27:41season. I'll be very honest. They have backed the four core players and Ishan Kishan.
27:46And I'm not sure how they're going to go about it. Okay, they did pick up a few fast bowlers
27:50in the end, just to strengthen and give support to Bumrah. But in the top four, they don't perform
27:55with the bat. They struggled last year in UAE. And I wouldn't be surprised if they struggle. Okay,
28:00they are going to play most of the matches in Mumbai, as well as in Pune. So they know the
28:04conditions well. But I'm not backing Mumbai even to make it to the playoffs.
28:09Oh, not backing them to get to the playoffs. What about Delhi Capitals? They've got good
28:14firepower in the top quarter. How do you think they're going to do, guys?
28:20Delhi has done quite well to pick their teams because they have lost some very big names like
28:27our Shreyas Iyer and some of the important… Ashwin.
28:31Ashwin, for that matter. I think they have lost some of them.
28:34Yeah. And I think Rabada is also not there. So they have lost a few good names. But still,
28:42the same like-for-like replacement, they have done quite well to bring it back. I think
28:46Delhi has done quite okay in this auction. And I think even to some extent, Rajasthan has picked
28:51some good players. As Anisbhai said, I was also surprised how, in fact, the first day of auction,
28:59they have picked only one player. I think that was our Ishan Kishan. Other than that,
29:06they have not gone for any big names in the first day of auction. So that itself was a bit of a
29:10surprise because they lost some good players like Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, and many more.
29:16And a lot depends on Rohit Sharma. But I think his fitness is also under question. So
29:22even I'm quite intrigued by the way Mumbai picked the team.
29:28Guys, let's have a little chat about the two new teams. I haven't even mentioned
29:32them at all. You've got Gujarat Titans who are joining the IPL this season. And you've
29:37got Lucknow Supergiants. Now, Gujarat have got a couple of decent players. They've got Pandya
29:42and they've got Rashid Khan. How do you think they're going to do this season?
29:46You know what, Ibram, when I look at the squad, they have Rashid Khan, who's been always doing
29:52well for SRH. But they never won a tournament when Rashid Khan was there. They have Hardik
29:57Pandya, who cannot bowl his fours. We don't know whether he'll be able to bowl. So I'm just trying
30:02to look at the opening pair, which would be probably Jason Roy, who would open with Shubman
30:06Gill. And then there is, I can't see any other batsman who can make an impact. They probably
30:14have, if you talk about Vijay Shankar, David Miller, I don't see any depth in their batting.
30:24I mean, other guys can also pitch in about Gujarat Titans batting.
30:29I think you're right. They came off worse in this auction. And I think they're the most
30:36ill-prepared team for the auction, because their selections or buys didn't make sense really.
30:43And there is no balance here. And I would expect them to finish last, actually.
30:51Last? Sahil, will they be better than last? Or do you think they're going to be rock bottom
30:55next season? To be honest, now that you guys mentioned about the Gujarat Titans,
31:00when I see their batting, you're right, there's barely any depth. Like you see,
31:05how much are they going to depend on Jason Roy and Shubman? That's going to be a big factor.
31:10Their bowling is not bad. I mean, decent bowling lineup. And you know, it's about also Hardik
31:15Pandey. I think it's the first time he's going to be a captain for a franchise, right? Am I right or
31:19wrong? Bowling, bearing Rashid Khan and Lockie Ferguson, whom are you banking on? Aljari Joseph?
31:25Tevatia, maybe.
31:31He's the guy who's got good attitude on the field.
31:34He's been trolled for being picked up for such a high price anyway, just for information.
31:41That's not his point.
31:44But unlike Gujarat, Lucknow did well. In fact,
31:47my only problem with the Lucknow side is the captain. Other than that, they have a pretty
31:51balanced side. Very much.
31:55Rahul is a very good captain, because he will get runs for you. The only thing is,
31:59he won't win matches, maybe.
32:02How good is the captain, you see?
32:06Guys, I actually think Lucknow could be the dark horses. Obviously, I don't think they're going to
32:10win the entire thing, but I think they're going to surprise a few teams next season.
32:14You just mentioned, Rahul, they've got Quinton Dhaka, they've got Manish Pandey, they've got
32:18Stonis in there as well, Jason Holder. They've got a decent first 11. But how do you think they
32:25will do next season?
32:28I think they will do well, in the sense, for a debutant, they would do very well. In fact,
32:34they will give all the teams a run for their money. But I doubt whether they'll make the
32:38playoffs. But they would certainly make a run for the last four. But I guess it's that they
32:46might fall short marginally.
32:49Sahil, tell us, why is it that you like Punjab Kings? Do you think they've spent money well
32:55in the auction? Do you fancy the chances this season?
32:58Honestly, the only reason I like Punjab Kings this year is because they've done a decent
33:03auction. Usually, whenever I see them in the auction, they look very lost. They don't know
33:08what they're buying. This time, they've been all right. Shikhar Dhawan and Bairstow most
33:14probably will open the bidding. Or maybe Bairstow will come at number three, Agarwal will come at
33:19whatever opening. And they have that bowling. They bought Rabada for a good price. And
33:24obviously, the big man, Livingstone, for 11 crores. So they're okay. I mean, who else do
33:29they have? I mean, they got Rahul Chahar, who will play. Shahrukh Harpreet Praraj will be
33:35their all-rounder, who was a big asset for them last season. If you remember the three
33:39wickets he got in that one game against RCB. So they're all right. For a change, they have a
33:45decent team. And Shikhar Dhawan... Sorry? Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan. Again, they bought Shahrukh
33:52Khan again. And again, they've also picked Raj Angad Bawa, the under-19 star, who has actually
33:58been touted as a very good prospect. Yeah, so I mean, they've been all right. So I don't know
34:04about their captain now. Their captain, I think, will be Shikhar Dhawan. So I'm not sure about the
34:10captain. But they have an all-right team. What about Rajasthan Royals? Do you think they've got
34:16a decent enough squad to mount a title challenge? They've got the likes of Josh Butler in their team.
34:20They've got Pet Meyer as well. I mean, they've got some... The bang is good. What do you think
34:26they're going to do next season? Anil? You know, I was watching the auction for the
34:33two days. The first day of the auction was still better. But yesterday, I could see
34:37the frustration on the head coach's face, Sangakkara. If you see, they had picked probably 11
34:44players. In the last two hours, they had picked seven players. And in the last
34:49two hours, they picked, bang, bang, bang, seven players. Because they were just lost. They did
34:54not know how to go about it. And okay, they did manage to pick up Alex Hales, if I'm not
34:59wrong, in their squad. Correct, Sahil? No, no. Alex Hales went to Kolkata.
35:06Okay. So, when you look at their squad, you know, they start well with Sanju Samson and Josh Butler.
35:12They're backing ESW Jayaswal. Okay, in Prasidh Krishna, they have a decent bowler.
35:16Shemaran Hetmeyer is an injury. We don't know how he's going to perform. Yes, they have good
35:20Devdutt Padikkal. They have Yujindra Chahal, Ashwin. But again, when I look at the right side
35:27of the team, I don't know who's the other batsmen. Obed McCoy, Unnai Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Karun
35:33Meyer, Tejas Bhardwaj. I haven't heard any one of them. Maybe James Nishan. Can anybody throw some
35:39light on it? Yeah, they have a decent first 11. But the thing is, how they meld as a team is
35:49what matters. Because from what I have written out here is, Jayaswal, Padikkal, Samson, Butler,
35:55Hetmeyer, Nishan, Riyan Parag, Ashwin, Bolt, Chahal and Prasidh Krishna. So, the problem I
36:05see here is, if Bolt has an injury, they wouldn't have a decent backup here. So, what the spin is
36:14good in is healthy in the sense of Ashwin and Chahal there. The only actual seal I see there
36:22is Riyan Parag. I'm not at all impressed at all. Okay, let's move it along. RCB, they've got a
36:30good batting line-up. We all know about Fafty Press. Satish was talking about him
36:34just earlier. They've got Virat Kohli, they've got Maxwell, they've got Kartik. They've got a
36:38very strong batting line-up. Do you think they can… How do you think they're going to do next season?
36:43Satish? Yeah, I think this time they look a lot more solid than… Because you're looking at
36:52two players from the current winning side. That means you're looking at Faf and Josh Hazlewood,
36:58who played a big role in Chennai winning the title last year. And both of them are there
37:02in RCB right now. So, along with all these other players, I'm sure they have done their
37:08homework quite right. And then, through the Hastaranga, who joined late last year. So,
37:14I think this year I would see them at least making the play-off. If not, then I think,
37:20I don't know when they will. Now or never.
37:26Because all other teams are a little unsettled. Whereas you have a good side here,
37:32who could actually do well. So, they should capitalize on that. It depends on the captain
37:37of RCB. Who will be the captain is the biggest question again now.
37:43Who will be the captain, guys?
37:45I think Maxwell will be the captain. Maybe Dinesh Kartik. They can give it to Dinesh
37:48Kartik, if there is a chance.
37:51Dinesh Kartik, when he captained Calcutta, he was struggling.
37:55Yeah. Yeah. True.
37:57In fact, the appointment of Morgan actually took a huge weight off Kartik's shoulders.
38:02No, but Shyam, if Maxwell is made captain,
38:06he won't be available in the initial part of the series.
38:09I think it will be Faf Duflesi. This is my thinking.
38:13Possibly.
38:13Maybe they will go with Faf.
38:14Yeah.
38:15But Faf also might not be… Okay, he has retired.
38:18Faf is now retired.
38:19Correct. Correct.
38:20There is no burden on his shoulders. I have a strong feeling it will be Faf.
38:25Absolutely. You are right, Anisbhai. Correct.
38:28And I think…
38:30Sorry. Sorry. One player which I forgot to mention. Actually, Mumbai has made one smart pick
38:36for the future. This is the player called Dewal Brevis, who is the under-19 player,
38:42who is called the baby AB. And he played the way…
38:46I saw one game he played and exactly he plays the way AB Dewal plays.
38:51You know, like the sweeps and the pulls and they are hitting it straight over the infield.
38:56That is actually a good buy for the future of Mumbai Indians.
39:01Okay. I think the last team that we haven't talked about is Sunrisers.
39:04I think we have talked about everybody else. So Hyderabad,
39:08they have got good bowling options as we all know. They have got Williamson in there.
39:12They have got Curran. How do you think they are going to do next season, Anis?
39:17You know what, Imran? When I look at this side and I can tell you with conviction,
39:21K.Williamson will not be fit at least for the first part of the tournament.
39:26He is still recovering and we are talking about 27th of March. He is not still recovered from
39:33what injury I am not sure he had. It's a tennis elbow or a back injury, whichever injury he has.
39:38It's been a very serious injury. I read in the papers a few weeks ago and they are actually
39:44sweating on him to be doing captainship for New Zealand. So imagine K.Williamson not there.
39:51When you look at the paper, tell me one name which actually strikes to you who is a player
39:59whom you can bank on to win the game. Are you talking about Bhuvneshwar Kumar? Are you talking
40:03about Washington Sundar? Are you talking about Umran Malik? Nicholas Puram is a lottery.
40:08If it comes off, it comes off. If it doesn't come off, as we know, he didn't score even 100 runs.
40:12So when I look at the squad, to me, I would probably, I won't use the word worst,
40:19but the most poor picks by the decision makers. I want the other guys to throw in their hat.
40:26I think I agree with Anis. Because what has happened with Hyderabad is, again,
40:31the past years, they have gone bowler heavy. The batting is very weak. Yes, you can score or you
40:38can win the matches with your bowlers. I accept that. But for that, you need to have a certain
40:44number of runs to be scored. Here, without K.Williamson, you're looking at Markram or Puram
40:49or Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips. So all these guys have not been performing at that level.
40:59Yes, a lot has been said about Priyam Gag, who is supposed to be one of the
41:04good players, but he has not come good in the last few seasons. Now,
41:08yes, I think I'll go with Anis. They have still gone ahead very bowler heavy.
41:16Instead of paying 400, rather 4.2 crores to Bhuvanesh Kumar, they could have gone for a nice
41:23batter, even if it's somebody who's from the Indian angle, basically, because all the good
41:30batters from Hyderabad are international players. I couldn't but weigh in the fact that Hyderabad
41:39would chase Gujarat to the basement. Yeah. Seriously, because I look at the team, I can
41:48only say, I can see only Rahul Tripathi and Washington Sundar. K.Williamson, I think Anis
41:55was bang on when he said about his injury, because even the last two years of the IPL,
42:00he's not played all the games. More because of his injury, not because of Bairstow or Warner.
42:08It's simply that this man was never fully fit. And even for New Zealand, he's been struggling
42:14for fitness. So, I wouldn't expect him to play the full complement of the games of IPL.
42:18And beyond him, I can't see a single match winner. Even the buys were rather strange.
42:26Even if you look at the players they retained, even that also actually baffled me because normally
42:31you retain players, explosive players, players who could win matches for you. Abdul Samad is
42:36a match winner? No, not in my book. I can understand why they retained Umran Malik. Umran
42:45Malik, of course, maybe they wanted to… As a future investment, at 22 years, he might be good.
42:51But when you try and retain players, it would be somebody who is really big, which they have
42:58not done. And the rest of the players, you look at Abhishek Sharma, he won one or two matches in
43:03between. That's all I see. But again, these are small knock-downs. They have not been match winners.
43:08Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg. All these players have been playing for the last few years.
43:13Abdul Samad, these players are all playing. Sorry. They all come good in one or two matches.
43:19The only player of note which they have bought, I was happy, is Marko Johnson. Marko Johnson is
43:27a good buy at 21. And also, given his performance in South Africa, he's been a really good buy.
43:33Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he will break stone more often. And he leaks runs like nobody's business.
43:37Nadarajan comes on the back of an injury. You don't know what to expect from him,
43:42at least in the early phase. Niklas Turen, I think, has hit the nail on his head. I don't want to
43:48waste my breath on him. And beyond that, I don't see anybody here.
43:52Washington Sundar is okay, I would say. He can bowl those good four overs where
43:58he won't give you runs. And he'll score those quick runs, 20-30 runs, he can get.
44:02That's the best.
44:03Okay. So, it seems the guys are all agreed that the Sunrisers are going to be the
44:08whipping boys of next season. Let's end with some predictions. The big question is, obviously,
44:13who is going to win the IPL this season? Anish, I think I already know your team. Delhi Capitals?
44:19Yeah. Obviously, IPL is a very unpredictable format. And we all talk about the
44:25Chennai's and the Mumbai's. But I will go with my four teams. Okay. I'm saying Delhi will win.
44:31But the four teams which will make it to the playoff, Delhi, CSK, Punjab, and Lucknow.
44:39Wow. Sahil, what do you think? Who's going to win?
44:42Oh, it's so confusing. I want to say Chennai again. I had said it last season also. But
44:47I want to change it up. Really, I want to change it up.
44:51Don't change it for the sake of changing. Just believe in what you're saying.
44:55I'm going to go for CSK. Then if you're going to say like that, then CSK.
44:58Then you have four teams. Come on.
45:01CSK, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals.
45:07I thought, Sahil, I thought you were going to throw Man United in there as well.
45:13Shyam, who's going to win? You tell me.
45:15My pick is this time it will be CSK. And second will be Delhi Capitals.
45:24Third, Mumbai. I always, I never lose faith in Mumbai. So I'll keep Mumbai.
45:30Fourth is a toss up between Lucknow and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
45:38Wow. Satish, what's your?
45:40I'll go with CSK because they have kept, if I remember right,
45:46Anisbhai's words are very, very true. Before the auction, he said,
45:51the key is to make sure that you don't rebuild your team. But they allowed Chennai to rebuild
45:57their team. Eight of the 11 came back to the same team in this auction, which is a good sign for
46:02Chennai. So I would go with Chennai, RCB, KKR, and Delhi.
46:08Wow. Okay. The boys have spoken. It promises to be another fascinating IPL season.
46:14We're all excited for it to start again. It's just a matter of weeks before it all starts.
46:19Thanks to my guests. And remember to log on to gulfnews.com for the latest news,
46:23reviews, videos, and much more. Stay safe and see you again soon.
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