Captain Pant, treble tilt and CSK revival... IPL 2021 Things to Watch

NICK HOWSON: Fourteen England players attempt to warm-up for the World Cup, Mumbai Indians go in search of title No.6 and fans are once again left disappointed

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IPL 2021 squads

IPL 2021 fixtures

Can anyone stop Mumbai Indians?

Not since 2012 has a team been on the verge of winning three titles on the spin.

Retention windows, annual auctions and the changing T20 landscape was supposed to prevent these kinds of strangleholds on the competition.

But Mumbai Indians have dominated the recent era, winning five of the last eight and three of the last four.

Back on home soil, they are the overwhelming favourites to become the first side to make it three titles on the spin.

Nine years ago, Chennai Super Kings squeezed into the playoffs but went all the way to the final as they eyed the streak, only to lose to Kolkata Knight Riders at the last.

Everything points to MI going one step better. They had a low-key auction, as their rivals scrambled around for resources. Granted, they missed out on Chris Morris but that would have been verging on the unfair. Like having hotels on Park Lane.

The return of Nathan Coulter-Nile and the addition of Adam Milne gives them two more overseas seam options, while Piyush Chawla is a handy backup to Rahul Chahar in the leg-spin department. Indeed, that is virtually the only noticeable flaw in the group. Nine of their matches being in Chennai and Delhi could end up being significant, in that regard.

Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Trent Boult look to be coming into form at the right time, Ishan Kishan will be eager to back up last season's epic form, Rohit Sharma is as reliable as they come and a shrewd leader and Kieron Pollard is Kieron Pollard; winning at T20 is what he does.

With much of this squad having been there and done it, how many are motivated to go again? Elite sporting history is decked with examples of teams and individuals having all the tools to succeed, but lacking that impetus required to go above and beyond.

If complacency is the route to failure, then any slip in standards could undo Indians' attempts for the hat-trick.

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No fans again

Despite the competition returning home after it was played outside of India for its entirety for just the second time, being moved to the United Arab Emirates at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it will do so while being closed off to spectators once again.

Evidence of a second wave of coronavirus infections which threatens to be more deadly than the first spike which occurred last September has ensured that the competition will once again be played without fans.

It is a further blow to the BCCI, who much like for the India v England multi-format tour, were confident stands would be full for the duration of the competition.

In the end, only the second, third and fourth Test and the opening two T20s were played in front of crowds, with the remainder going behind closed doors with only fake crowd noise for texture.

Those overzealous cheers which were littered through that last edition and the matches against England will return. Hopefully, there will be an option to tone it down somewhat.

CSK chief-executive Kashi Vishwanathan predicts teams will each experience a loss of 25 crore from matches again being played without fans.

To assist in levelling the playing field, all matches will be played at neutral venues to ensure no side loses the advantage of playing at home.

A partial lockdown of Maharashtra amid a significant rise in cases has caused concern over the viability of Mumbai - where 10 group matches are scheduled to be played - but organisers remain confident about hosting the games.

Each of the eight teams, the match officials and management team and two sets of broadcast crews have been placed in a dozen separate bubbles.

Teams are being kept apart in different cities, also. MI, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad and KKR will begin in Chennai. Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals Punjab Kings and CSK meanwhile start in Mumbai.

Security staff and integrity managers have been appointed to each team bubble to ensure players and officials adhere to the rules. Breaches will be reported directly to the BCCI's chief medical officer.

Players entering the bubbles (not including those involved in the India-England matches) have been forced to undergo seven days of quarantine. Anyone testing positive for Covid-19 must undergo 10 days of isolation and a rigorous testing process before re-joining their teammates. All players will be tested every five days.

The IPL has ruled out vaccinations being given to players after the PSL briefly flirted with the idea before shutting down earlier in the year. Such demands have already led to a string of withdrawals due to bubble fatigue, though the high-profile figures remain.

After a single bubble covered the entire tournament in the UAE, the 14th edition promises to be the safest yet and most controlled in the Covid era. We await to see how the players, already exhausted by the mental demands of these environments, respond.

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Jofra Archer's availability for Rajasthan Royals is uncertain

CSK's new era?

After a disastrous 2020 campaign in the UAE, how successful has the CSK rebuilt which MS Dhoni instigated been?

While this has been the shortest turn around between two IPL tournaments, one off-season is not enough to cure some of the deep-seated issues which exist within the group.

The circumstances surroundings Suresh Raina's departure from the last competition and the subsequent criticism from owner N Srinivasan has cut a clear divide between the leadership group and the main hierarchy.

The trio of Dhoni, Raina and a thoughtful Stephen Fleming cannot surely last for long in its current state. The players are long past their best, while the head coach will have his own ideas over how to stage an overhaul of the franchise.

Naturally, a single retention window and mini-auction weren't enough to solve all of the issues within the playing ranks. CSK lack a world-class overseas top-order batter and seamer, in the absence of Josh Hazlewood. Moeen Ali and Krishnappa Gowtham, the most expensive uncapped Indian in the auction, are shrewd signings but they're building blocks rather than silver bullets.

It was only after their exit that CSK struck upon a formula that worked last season, but continuing that requires Ruturaj Gaikwad to pick up from where he left off, a 42-year-old Imran Tahir to keep rolling back the years and Sam Curran to recapture his best form.

The squad remains better suited for 2011 than for 2021. Ten of them are 33 or over, while there are five survivors from when they reached the 2013 final. Arguably only one of them, Ravindra Jadeja, has improved since then and he starts the tournament having not made a senior appearance since January.

CSK's rebuild was never likely to be a job completed overnight. Indeed, another nightmare campaign could be on the way.

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Chris Morris sparked a major bidding war during the mini-auction

Captain Pant

The Rishabh Pant domination train is quickly cranking up to full speed, with this year's IPL and T20 World Cup among the stops on his way to taking 2021 all for himself. The 23-year-old is inarguably one of the best all-format players on the planet right now, underlined by his performances against Australia and England during the winter.

Now a central pillar of the India team across all formats, this seems like the perfect opportunity to turn around his IPL form, which took a dip in 2020.

Three hundred and forty-three runs in 14 matches at an insipid 113.95 strike rate (a hamstring injury did disrupt the campaign) was the nadir of his career with DC.

But having stared with India, Pant's billing as one of the competition's players to watch has been underlined after being handed the captaincy reigns with Capitals, due to Shreyas Iyer being ruled out of the competition.

Former Australia captain and DC head coach Ricky Ponting said: "He is going to need a little bit of support. What I know about Rishabh is he understands the game really well. He is very strong with his opinions and I think that will hold him in great stead as far as captaincy is concerned. 

"His cricket the last six or seven months has been nothing short of breathtaking and outstanding. I think extra responsibility is going to sit really well with him. He likes that responsibility and wants to be that main man so I am really excited to see how he is going to go with it."

While Ponting's comments obviously carry a massive caveat he makes a compelling case that Pant flourishes when the going gets tough.

Already burdened with the gloves and as a key figure in the middle-order, just how will the leadership impact Pant's ability to produce his best? Even his most ardent supporters would accept he has work to do behind the stumps to catch up with the best in the sport, even if his stroke-making more than makes up for it.

And having treaded water in the UAE and yet dominated England against the red and white ball, there will be an expectation that he can take that form back into the IPL.

Delegation comes with the territory and will be absolutely vital. Sharing the leadership load with senior players Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin and Steve Smith is the kind of skill that takes time to perfect, but a crash course is required to get him up to speed.

England expects

Protectors and guardians of Test cricket look away now.

Fourteen England players are in India for the annual T20 extravaganza, with all of them remaining for the duration until the end of May. 

That will rule them out of the start of the County Championship season (perhaps all of it) and the start of the New Zealand Test series in June.

But the next seven weeks is about giving them more exposure against the best players in the world and in Indian conditions ahead of the T20 World Cup in October and November. The benefits are obvious, even if not everyone wants to see them.

Given that the ICC have enlarged player pools to 22 for their main events, starting with the World Cup, virtually all of those appearing over the next seven weeks are a shoo-in to be selected. Reece Topley, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Matt Parkinson and Jake Ball who will all be watching from home, are the others.

So this will be a case of players trying to force their way into the playing XI, and making themselves undroppable in the eyes of head coach Chris Silverwood. It is probably the most relevant period of the year, in that regard.

Chris Woakes, who skipped the tournament last year as his wife prepared to give birth, has by far the most to gain. The Capitals man hasn't played a T20I for six years and has only featured in 18 IPL games during his two previous seasons.

Remarkably for a player who is the cornerstone of the 50-over World Cup holders, Woakes hasn't featured in a T20 of any sort since 2018. Tightening up his economy rate (which sits in the nines in the IPL) will be key if he has any ambitions of forcing his way into Eoin Morgan's plans. His pre-tournament comments regarding improving his death bowling suggest he hasn't totally given up hope of being involved later in the year.

After enduring a tough India series (economy rate 7.80, two wickets) Sam Curran will be eager to reassert himself, as will brother Tom who was picked up by Capitals in the auction having been released by Royals. 

Dawid Malan has the chance to improve on an average franchise career and do justice to his slow starts with Kings in what could be a make or break period as far as his place at No.3 is concerned.

There will be plenty of attention on how Royals continue to deploy Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, and how Jofra Archer comes through his respective injuries. His arrival in India has been delayed by a hand injury while an elbow problem continues to receive treatment.

How much game time Liam Livingstone sees at Royals with three England teammates, Chris Morris and David Miller to compete with, but this is a much-deserved opportunity after some fine seasons in the Big Bash League. The Lancashire man has only played two T20s for England and not since 2017 yet his overseas performances make him a very likely option in a squad of 22. His progression in this environment will be fascinating.

Despite having initially welcomed the opportunity for some time away from bio-secure bubbles, Jason Roy has been enlisted as a late replacement for Mitchell Marsh at Sunrisers but may have to settle for a role down the order, with Jonny Bairstow, David Warner and Kane Williamson for company.

It might also be a frustrating few weeks for Sam Billings, who didn't feature in the India T20s and now has to compete with Pant for the gloves at Capitals. And that is before you take Steve Smith, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Marcus Stoinis into consideration.

Morgan's 10th IPL campaign sees him take charge of KKR for a full season for the first time, having replaced Dinesh Karthik mid-way through last term. Meanwhile, Chris Jordan's variety will be tested again back at the newly-named Kings.

Perhaps most intriguing will be the performances of Moeen, one of the winter's most widely debated players. Since the last IPL England have played eight T20s yet didn't select Moeen in any of them but he is now part of the new era at CSK alongside Dhoni. Only given three outings by RCB last year, for £700,000 you suspect he won't be twiddling his thumbs this time around.

All eyes on Morris

It is hardly a new phenomenon for franchises to plump for quick death bowlers or those that can pump the ball many a mile.

In Morris, Royals have attempted to cover off both areas. But eyebrows were certainly raised and jaws hit the floor when a multi-team bidding war ended with a 16.25 crore outlay.

Some clutch bowling and power-hitting at the back-end of the innings might be the missing piece of the puzzle. But is Morris, at 33, able to put together a full campaign remaining consistent and fully fit?

The problem is part of that picture has been disrupted by the absence of Archer, who could end up missing large swathes of the tournament with various injuries. Hand and elbow problems mean the ECB must sign him off first before he travels to India.

"For us, it was a case of getting some support for Archer, to get him to be as effective as possible," said director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara, comments which look slightly unfortunate now.

It isn't that Archer's absence undermines Morris' undoubted pedigree with the ball in the closing overs (his economy rate stood at 7.03 during that period for RCB last term), but the onus on him to produce the goods ratchets up. Put simply, the Royals plan was always to have them bowl in tandem.

Previously signed for 11 crore by Delhi Daredevils and 10 crore by RCB, the South African is no stranger to a big price tag. Drawing on that experience will be key to justifying this record-breaking move.

"Fortunately enough, in the past, I have come in [to the tournament] with quite a big price tag on my head, so at the end of the day, you got to perform on the field, no matter what your price tag is," said Morris, who former teammate Virat Kohli is the only bigger earner in the competition.

There is certainly encouragement that Morris can fulfil the role of lower-order pinch-hitter - he'll have Buttler for company too of course - with the seventh-best strike rate in the competition's history of 157.87 (minimum 125 balls faced). Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers and Pollard trail him.

When the attention on finances among the eight franchises is greater perhaps than ever before, every team will be forensically analysing the contribution of each of their assets.

IPL 2021 TEAM GUIDES

Chennai Super Kings

Delhi Capitals

Kolkata Knight Riders

Mumbai Indians

Punjab Kings

Rajasthan Royals

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Kings XI no more

Another year and another name to get used to. Kings XI Punjab are dead, long live Punjab Kings.

"Kings XI Punjab had a reference to the playing XI. Punjab Kings is more inclusive and will resonate better with the fans," said owner Ness Wadia, who admitted the change was delayed by the pandemic.

The scrapheap already includes Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers, Pune Warriors, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions. They are the failed Apprentice team names if you will.

The IPL is in a better place than most to poke fun at the names of rival franchise sides. We live in a world of the Winnipeg Hawks, Jaffna Stallions, Trinbago Knight Riders and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, after all.

Our coverage of the IPL is brought to you in association with Dafabet India. For more on Dafabet and to place a bet, click here

 

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