As the drama of the Indian Premier League has unfolded in the second season in South Africa, it has also thrown an interesting question. The players who were bid by the franchise at the astronomical costs have not yet developed the confidence among the owners that the money spent on them has been well spent.
Who will turn out to be the stars for the IPL in the second season? Those who have got fancy price tag at their back or the war horses who otherwise loom in the background, but when the occasion demands rise to it, and then recede to the background once again. From the manner in which the matches have shaped up so far, it seems that the star of the pack who hogged the limelight before the start of the second season would indeed have to organize their efforts in a much more concerted manner in the remaining part of the tournament to be in the limelight.
In the inaugural match itself tournament's costliest player Andrew Flintoff, representing Chennai Super Kings was playing and the manner in which he was taken to the task by Abhishek Nayyar of Mumbai Indians in a single over turned out to be the turning point for the game. Nayyar had brought such bravado in his performance that even the captain of Mumbai Indians, and arguably one of the better hitters in the game of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar was profuse in his appreciation for his colleague.
Incidentally, Mumbai Indians also had one of the other highly talked about player J P Duminy in the squad, who just petered out though he was playing in his home ground.
Besides, the manner in which Flintoff was banged around the ground by Nayyar made Mahendra Singh Dhoni do a quick relook, and included Muralitharan in his squad in the second game to cover up for potential smacking of Flintoff.
Kevin Pietersen, who is another player in the IPL having the costliest price tag and is also captaining Bangalore Royal Challengers, has to stand up and play up for his reputation as the two matches that he has played for his team, his contribution to his team has been zilch. Bangalore Royal Challengers also have Jessie Ryder in their squad who along with fellow Kiwi Ross Taylor, are IPL's second costliest players. But they have also come cropper. As a matter of fact, Jessie Ryder was dropped in the second match that the RCB played in the IPL.
On the other hand, Karan Goel, of the Kings XI Punjab with his hammer and tong approach has already become one of the maximum six-hitters of the tournament. So, the battle is indeed on, the star players have their reputation at stake, which needs redemption, or else the Slumdog performers may ensure that they do not hog the limelight by virtue of the price tag attached to them. Let the game shape up.
Who will turn out to be the stars for the IPL in the second season? Those who have got fancy price tag at their back or the war horses who otherwise loom in the background, but when the occasion demands rise to it, and then recede to the background once again. From the manner in which the matches have shaped up so far, it seems that the star of the pack who hogged the limelight before the start of the second season would indeed have to organize their efforts in a much more concerted manner in the remaining part of the tournament to be in the limelight.
In the inaugural match itself tournament's costliest player Andrew Flintoff, representing Chennai Super Kings was playing and the manner in which he was taken to the task by Abhishek Nayyar of Mumbai Indians in a single over turned out to be the turning point for the game. Nayyar had brought such bravado in his performance that even the captain of Mumbai Indians, and arguably one of the better hitters in the game of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar was profuse in his appreciation for his colleague.
Incidentally, Mumbai Indians also had one of the other highly talked about player J P Duminy in the squad, who just petered out though he was playing in his home ground.
Besides, the manner in which Flintoff was banged around the ground by Nayyar made Mahendra Singh Dhoni do a quick relook, and included Muralitharan in his squad in the second game to cover up for potential smacking of Flintoff.
Kevin Pietersen, who is another player in the IPL having the costliest price tag and is also captaining Bangalore Royal Challengers, has to stand up and play up for his reputation as the two matches that he has played for his team, his contribution to his team has been zilch. Bangalore Royal Challengers also have Jessie Ryder in their squad who along with fellow Kiwi Ross Taylor, are IPL's second costliest players. But they have also come cropper. As a matter of fact, Jessie Ryder was dropped in the second match that the RCB played in the IPL.
On the other hand, Karan Goel, of the Kings XI Punjab with his hammer and tong approach has already become one of the maximum six-hitters of the tournament. So, the battle is indeed on, the star players have their reputation at stake, which needs redemption, or else the Slumdog performers may ensure that they do not hog the limelight by virtue of the price tag attached to them. Let the game shape up.
Post a Comment