IPL 2023: You Never Know With KKR!

First, of course, let’s talk about the cricket star born last night in the match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the 56^th match of IPL-2023. His name is Yashasvi Jaiswal who raced to the quickest ever fifty in IPL history taking just 13 balls and then going on to remain unbeaten at 98 off 47 balls to help his team RR win in style. Aged only 22, the southpaw opening batsman Jaiswal has humble origins—from a poor family in Uttar Pradesh—coming to Mumbai to train in cricket at the age of just ten and then struggling there for years, with no place of stay and doing gigs in dairies and paani puri shops. To make this cricketing dream come true he then started living in a tent with the cricket grounds men till he was noticed by a Mumbai training academy for his talent. He has several feats in first class cricket as the youngest player ever, playing for Mumbai in domestic cricket and he started his IPL stint from the year 2019. Yashasvi has mostly been consistent as an attacking opener in IPL and in the current version of IPL-2023 he’s scored more than 500 runs so far with a century to his credit. Now, who bowled to this marauding opener in the opening over?

 

There seemed to be no earthly reasons at all as to why KRR captain Nitish Rana should open the bowling: because he’s not been even regular part-time bowler; he had in his command three specialized spinners including the stalwarts of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, of course, the latter being totally ineffective in this IPL, but definitely more resourceful than Rana; and KKR was defending a very modest total of 149 which again thanks mainly to his consistent failures as a batsman and also as a captain. But he still bowled. And there flowed from the bat of Yashasvi Jaiswal two sixes, three fours and a couple to make it 26 runs in all in that opening over only. The captain lost his team the match right then and there. And also the prospect of making it to the Playoffs, because with only two more matches to go KKR can get to a maximum of 14 points only if they win both and it’s not going to be enough with the huge negative net run-rate, achieved largely through that match that RR won with nearly 7 overs to spare . So, they could very well be joining Delhi Capitals in being virtually out of the tournament at this moment. If there happens to be deadlock at 14 points each any of the franchises like RR, MI, RCB, LSG and even SRH can make it through to the Playoffs on the basis of net run-rates. For all practical purposes GT and CSK are through with 16 and 15 points respectively.

 

Apparently Nitish Rana had no regrets or that he never cared to show any. He was reported to say later that if a gamble worked nobody would say anything. However, the question remains as to what kind of a gamble that was! To make things infuriating and unbearable he became the most hyperactive skipper ever seen on the field: he was talking insistently continuously to his bowlers and instructing them of what that could never be ascertained, even in the last two overs when RR needed less than ten runs to win with more than eight overs to spare plus nine wickets standing. However, Rana has not been a bad player at all over the years and was performing very well in the IPL when, of course, he was not the captain. Who had made the decision to appoint him to that post and why, also could never be ascertained!

 

That decision is probably only a part of all the mischief that’s been going with KKR franchise management in this version of the IPL: the selection of the playing eleven uneven and haphazard in most of the matches; not utilizing the services of the immensely talented Litton Das and Jason Roy from the initial stages; overdependence on the deadweight veterans like Russell, Gurbaz, Narine and Jagadeesan  irrespective of their performances; playing Rinku Singh much lower down the order even after his feat of the five sixes; the enigma of Shardul Thakur and many more. In fact, there’s an uncanny resemblance between KKR’s tactics and that of the Indian selectors for Team India, like not giving enough opportunities to the youngsters or not selecting them at the right time, persisting with the ageing veterans in all three formats of the game and so on. These are lessons that should never be inculcated by any team or franchise at any level of cricket under any circumstances.  

 

Is King Khan listening?

IPL 2023: The ‘Home’ Celebrations Get Hammered!

The ‘home’ perception and the celebrations thereof owe their origins to the naming of the competing franchises since 2008. Most of the franchises are named after major cities of the country like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru etc. and one or two after the source state like Rajasthan Royals. Obviously, it’s always been expected that the cricket lovers of those cities or states would ideally be the supporters of the ‘home’ team and show full loyalties as respective fans (However, it’s not clear as to whether locals of the concerned city only or the full state should become ravenous supporters or not, because in case of Maharashtra there was another franchise named Pune Warriors once, and so it was ambiguous as to who the state of Maharashtra fans should support). And that’s what’s been happening ever since, although the whole ‘celebration’ syndrome defies all logic: because, first, the players for each franchise are selected through the path-breaking auctions with players joining the teams as per the bids; second, so, there’s absolutely no guarantee that any local cricketers, if available, shall be included in the concerned franchises; third, even if one or two local cricketers happen to get included there’s no guarantee that they’d go on playing for their teams which is actually subject to the glorious rules of the game; then, four, the auctions are not limited to India alone, but open to all cricket playing nations with the exception of Pakistan for reasons known too well; and lastly, there’ve been numerous instances of ‘local boys’ not being bought back by the concerned franchises in subsequent auctions, again depending on the glorious rules of the game that include not just forms but current market values too and very often being even left ‘unsold’.

 

Rest assured, we’re not at all trying to question or raise objections to the ‘home’ patriotism, we only happen to get a little concerned about it, thanks to various what we think sustainable reasons. For one, out of the 43 IPL-2023 matches played till May 1, 2023, in as many as 24 matches the home teams have lost, that is more than 50%--definitely a whopping statistic. This figure includes the match lost by RR in Guwahati also, because in order to bring that north eastern city into the IPL ambit for the first time, the city was suddenly marked as ‘home’ for RR. We’re at a total loss to know for what earthy reasons as RR has always been basking in their proper home shine of Rajasthan and besides, the ruling parties in both states are not even the same. Anyway, as regards our statistical point we must admit that we’re blissfully unaware of what could’ve been the scenario in the previous IPL versions and also accept that we’re not empowered to do that kind of research.

 

As we mentioned we’re also piqued by what happened in that Delhi Capitals match in Delhi against Sunrisers Hyderabad when, fans angered by the ‘home’ team’s abysmally consistent failure to win matches and stay in active contention, erupted into a freestyle fisticuff with rival or general fans inside the stadium. Besides, before that what happened in Kolkata (the iconic Eden Gardens), the fans there too agonized by the ‘home’ franchise’s consistent failure to win matches and stay in active contention despite the incredible Rinku Singh boost they achieved. In that match between CSK and KKR on 23^rd April, 2023, one specially frustrated KKR fan erupted into the public arena declaring that this practice of ignoring the ‘Bangla’ cause at the ‘home’ turf is not at all desirable, but actually very deplorable. Now, it is not clear as to what ‘Bangla’ ingredients he found in that franchise where even the lone player having the surname of Chakravarthy, is neither a Bong nor from Bangla. No doubt, rational and wiser souls have condemned the ‘patriot’ robustly.

 

This brings us to our last point. For MS Dhoni, the inimitable former India captain, he’d be welcome in any place in India and cricket lovers would really love to see him in full flow. And for that matter, former most successful India captain Virat Kohli (although fans have been getting used to watching him fight for a lost cause, always over the years), the present India captain Rohit Sharma (who refused to take Sunil Gavaskar’s advice to take a break and prepare well for the Test Championship match early next month) and quite a few other national and international achievers would also be welcome anywhere in India and general fans would love to see them dishing out inspiring and exemplary cricket.

 

The IPL-2023 has really been an exciting spectacle so far in terms of giving the fans veritable treats of both low-scoring cum high-scoring thrillers, invariably going down to the last over. So, why bother about home or no-home? India is our home and we should make ourselves free to partake in the cricketing bonanza. One positive aspect of the ‘home’ syndrome though comes out loud and clear: the apparently ‘home-infected’ dejected about-to-cry fans suddenly burst into life whenever one of the roving stadium cameras focuses on them! Many more thrillers are yet to come and the climax thereafter! So, enjoy!

And Then the Winter!

When we returned to Kolkata by the third week of January 2023 we hoped we still had a chance of catching the winter that we miss most often due to our compulsory visits to Maharashtra. As per our own experience in previous years in the city of joy the month of February could still be cold or even chilly if you're lucky! We had the stock of the woollens ready to welcome us in. However, to our utter disappointment the temperatures kept on climbing making the use of all my sweaters, jackets, blazers and so on an wasted thought. The summer looked to be around very early this time. In fact, in several regions of the country there were heat waves! February heat waves, imagine! 

Early March we came to Assam as another integral part of our compulsive itinerary. The first few days were almost the same in terms of heat, except that the nights were much cooler, but still not enough to justify the use of sweaters one of which I carried in my bag as a reasonable discretion. From the 15th of that month things changed, as if to recompense our unfulfilled desires. 

Weather became cloudy. Rains, not exactly downpours, became intermittent; there were thunderstorms in various parts; and a steady cold breeze became the order of every day. All these factors made the air cool, and then really chilly. I thanked myself profusely for my discretion of carrying a sweater. I wore that continuously for at least ten days and thought remorsefully about the unutilized stock cold shouldered by the cupboards of Kolkata! 

We don't know if the conditions thus created are thanks to the unseasonal rains or the westerly winds or the ominously omnipresent climate change phenomenon. But anyhow, we had the winter that we desired so much to enjoy, even though we'd discovered it quite a bit  late. Yes, and then the winter, belated but most welcome! 

Over the 'wintry' days we got the news that these conditions were observed in most parts of the country, and that the month became the coldest March in more than seventy years. 

Now, what but to brace for the looming summer which, as the Met department has already declared, is going to be rough with above normal temperatures in almost all the states of India. But as usual, we cannot be too sure of anything. Soaring heat that then becomes intolerably humid has been the state of things in the last at least three years, with add-on of the Pandemic. Only wish the Homo Sapiens had found a solution to tackle climate change and global warming effectively. To be safe, let's not worry too much!