AAR-PAAR Cricket

( I envy Shanouk.. arrey bhaunkata kyun hai bhaai.. main teri jagah nahi le sakata.. )

Respected Brother
Sadar Charan Sparsh

Today morning I gave some more thoughts to the team Allahabad All-Rounders and can disclose only the minimum players over here lest some of the owners and players themselves may get into making life difficult for idea to get into reality..

The parts which I can discuss without much impact -

Owner - Amitabh Bachchan/ Abhishek Bachchan
Partner - Aditya Birla ( Anil Ambani was the initial choice yet I avoided him as then buying back some of the players from Mumbai Indians might become a controversy)
Cricket Coach - Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri if they are available - Mohinder Amarnath could be a beautiful choice as well!
Captain - Michael Clarke

Besides some of the top UP players the team could start off with buying 10 Indian players and 10 foreign players preferably from one from each of the cricket playing country..

My list of players may not necessarily be identical with what might surface with you, cricket coach and captain designate but I am definitely of the opinion to include Mohammad Kaif in the ten from India.. Is he not born somewhere in Allahabad as well.. I also wish Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar could be bought back from their respective franchisees..Oh! am I discloseing more than I should.. I must curtail my thought process before I spill too much of the beans..

I have a feeling that the last week at IPL was arguably the best week the cricketing tournament had so far.. I only wish that the remaining five games and semi-finals and the finals match in the intensity.. unlike last year where the semi-finals and finals appeared as more lull games than some of the league phase in 2008...

With two games each for Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challenge Bangalore the others have only one more game left before the league gets over.. they too would have only one game each after the game in the evening.. I thought I could be impartial.. it is inhuman to be impartial.. man ny nature has to have strong likings and disliking .. How can I be an exception.. till Allahabad All-Rounders takes shape I would continue my support to one Virender Sehwag.. only I know it would nearly be impossible to buy him into the side as he is the icon player for DD..

Let me summarize the tournaments 51 games.. The last one turned out to be the best than all its competing games most of which took place during the last seven days or so..

Most Likely team to lift the IPL trophy - Delhi Daredevils

Most likely player of the tournament (India)- Rohit Sharma/Suresh Raina/Yuvraj Singh

Most likely player of the tournament (Overseas) - Matthew Hayden/Adam Gilchrist/AB de Villiers

Most runs in the tournament - Matthew Hayden/AB de Villiers

Most wickets in the tournament - Ashish Nehra/Rudra Pratap Singh

Most catches in the tournament - AB de Villiers

Most dismissals (Wicket Keeper) - Adam Gilchrist/Dinesh Karthik

The most impressive new player (India) - Shadab Jakati/Naman Ojha

The most impressive new player (Overseas) - Jean Paul Duminy

The most impressive spinner of the tournament - Pragyan Ojha/ Anil Kumble/ Muralitharan

The most impressive all rounder of the tournament - Suresh Raina/Jean Paul Duminy/Rohit Sharma

I know that I have this bad habit of dragging too deep into every issue yet this should help you in making some of your decisions.. if at all you do get motivated enough to float Allahabad All-rounders in the first place.. it would definitely be a good idea sir ji !

Love AAR it could also be called AAR-PAAR The second part is only for rhyming and quite a useful Indian phrase in terms of sporting including cricket...

I do not buy any theories that came forward in support of test cricket.. by international players in DNA today.. It is a dead cricket for me much before.. In fact I would not mind writing the story Death of Test Cricket.. but then I am not a pessimist I would rather choose to write the book .. The Birth of New Cricket - Twenty20 .. ( I know my dear friend Tumpa is all smiles today.. so must be Kashmir di.. and lots and lots of Bengal cricket lovers.. KKR turns the tables on CSK in the most thrilling encounter that was played less than 24 hours back.. I am happy for them all..)

Abhaya India May 20 2009 10:30 AM IST

Post Script: I have decided the most impressive twenty players for your T20 team, and my young son Amrit (10) took part in it.. He did support some players yet wanted some very strong players who may not be available for different reasons.. You could call me at 9869258653.. ( Agar aap iski jaroorat samajhe tabhi.. I know you would do a fine job of owning the new team all on your own..)

Crack of a match - the 43rd game

Delhi or no tream could have ever won it this one in its dream.. not from the situations like 149 for 3 .. it will always haunt Gilchrist what his team went through in those last three overs.. to finish as 161 all out and loose the game by 12 runs..

We know that Delhi has won it by 12 runs and sort of created a history by winning the games away when niether Viru nor gambhir have really made big contributions.. here is what I wrote to Amitabh Bachchan at the end of the game..

Oh! My Dearest Brother!
Sadar Charan Sparsh,
Are you in competition with me.. for writing such long posts.. there is a difference.. your posts are extremely valuable and contain ricj substance and information for most of us unlike the ones I just keep dragging for I do not know where to stop..
It was very heartening to see the post.. I shall read it in its entirety later in the day.. I did get to read about Sir Khwaja Ahmed Abbas.. and oh I too read a lot of Blitz and Screen mostly at the Barber's shop while waiting for a hair-cut.. Indeed what you speak of the times and terms of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas must be quite true.. His saat Hindustani was a great reflection of his vision.. It is sad that some 40 years later we have no one to take Hindi where it needs to be .. It is all right I do not want you to spoil your sleep over it.. main Hindi se itna pyaar karta hoon phir bhi aaj tak maine hi kabhi is baat ki taraf itana dhyaan nahi diya jitana jarrori hai.. chalo khair hindustan ek mahaan desh hai.. mujhe aur un sabko maaf kar dega jo use khud ki ek rashtrabhasha nahi de paaye..

The match was quite an anti-climax.. I expected Viru to hit the leather to all parts.. yet it was Gilly and Symo who tore it apart to different parts.. and what an unbelievable turn around in the match 149 for three to 161 all out in a space of 17 balls.. yes it was no less than an attempt to harakiri by trhe Deccan men.. They did not deserve to loose the game after such powerful reply by the two aussie known for changing the scenario when chips are down.. today their efforts were let down collectively by the Deccan batsmen. yet I must also add here that it was no ordinary effort from Bhatia, Sangwan and to some extent the fielders in the deep.. de Villiers was quite outstanding.. and of course Dinesh Karthiks last minute fireworks brought some life into the Delhi camp at the end of their innings.. A score taht was quite defendable was about to be torn apart with 2 to three overs to spare.. the way Gilchrist and later Symonds took charge upon themselves.. I am ashamed to say that i did not witness the great knock by Gilchrist as I lost interest in the game.. I was quite sure that 174 was some 30 runs short.. the way Gilchrist batted.. Sangwan according to me had bowled more superbly and I would have picked him my man of the match.. imagine someone sending down a maiden when other bowlers were bleeding terribly from the Gilchristeria and later Symondosis but it was the bhatiaphoid that Deccan could not recover from and lost the game by 12 runs..

Hopefully, in the next game Sehwag would open up and pay some heed to my today's earlier request.. a blitkreig from his bat is long overdue..

Love and yes the pictures are quite nice.. thanks for sharing them..

Abhaya India May 13/14 2009 1:08 AM IST

Let us have some Viro-Technics tonight..

Respected Brother
Sadar Charan Sparsh

I take the privilege of addressing Virender sehwag here on this platform.. I know some of the boys might just be reading the blog here than the well documented writings on my blogs and website.. so here I go..

Dear Viru,
This is Ahaya Sharma, a KVIAN like you who requests you to come into your best elements tonight as quickly as you can.. why.. The tournament has been hijacked by some scintillating performances from Hayden, Gilchrist, Symonds and even Duminy's though in his diminutive style.. even Bravo and Smith have done far better than some of the Indians and day before yesterday we saw New Zealand stars coming into their elements.. AB de Villiers has a century against his name and some of the others from India who have made their presence felt in the form of Suresh Raina ( who missed the century for none of his faults) and to a lesser extent Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma (though more with the ball than the bat..) it s time that someone of your stature take a note of these disturbing facts.. whose tournament this IPL is.. does it belong to India or to Australia and the rest of the world and not so much to India.. true some of the Indians have bowled quite well in RP, Jakati and lately even Bhajji and surprisingly Rohit Dharma and Suresh Raina.

I assume your stitches have healed well.. you did take quite long to get into action.. don't sit out and watch Symonds Gilchrist or even Gibbs hoisting the limited yet effective bowling attack that DD possesses give them back something in return.. come send the leather for some hunting.. just tear apart any attack that Gilly stews in his backyard.. let him also know that when it comes to big hitting there can not be a better answer than Virender Shwag in the world of cricket.. a long strong and great knock is what is least expected from you tonight.. it is upto you if you choose to set the stadium ablaze with your kind of firebrand cricket.. Don't let your great admirers in the lurch and feel otherwise that with the IPL gone to South Africa.. Indians forgot the art of stroke-making and scoring brisk runs against their names..

Don't yopu allow the RP or Vaas to settle down or give some breathing space to even a Suman a Sharma or a Rao.. just give them a feeling of that helplessness of how to bowl a good line or a length to you.. just show them what kind of guts it takes for them to bowl to someone like Sehwag at his best..

If not now then when.. take this from me that Deccans are going to be the opponent in the semi-finals.. so let them have a rehearsal of what Delhi's daredevilry is all about.. and yes I do feel that it is not wise to dislodge the opening pair that has been forged in your absence.. You could come one or two down wherever you feel you could do the maximum damage.. let Deccans be surprised with the highest score of the tournament if they dare to put Delhi into bat.. yet if you do win the toss opt to field first.. Delhi has been doing quite well batting second..

Finally, My team for today's game.. You have the full rights to change it to your likings and understanding.. as I told you I have only been an ovserver where as you guys are doing the job in the middle.. yet here is my choice..

Gambhir, Warner, Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Tiwary, Karthik, Maharoof, Mishra, Sangwan, Nehra, McGrath ( or Nannes or Vettori if McGrath feels it better that way.. do seek his opinion..)

The presence of McGrath could come a bit handy while planning a coup against the batting powers of Symonds and Gilchrist.. so if you do think it appropriate give the old man hs first game.. he deserves it a great deal..

Best of luck dear.. though I do not feel very good of the chances of Delhi pulling ths one from the Deccans who just might play Gibbs ahead of Vaas or Smith.. and yes Rohit is bowling quite well.. preserve against him.. yet Suman can be hoisted to whichever part of the ground you feel like to send him.. the two should be not allowed to bowl more than five overs between them.. Have a great day.. I wish to see Delhi at the top of best performances in the table of best/worst performances beating the 211 mark set by Royals..

Bye for now.. go get into the act of fearless stroke making and do not get bogged down by the praise that has been heaped upon you.. you deserve every chance to score the fast runs to take Delhi further ahead.. non-stoppable status in the IPL 2009. For me a half-century or a century has no meaning, I want that you make quick runs.. say a quickfire 60 or 70 in some 30 odd balls..

Abhaya India May 13 2009 5:55 PM IST
PS brother if you have his mobile, you could ask him to read the message here.. if not today in the next game.. we want to see the Sehwag putting his best foot forward to hail India in the IPL 2009..

My Views here have been meagre..

http://www.angelfire.com/ab/abhayasharma/top_ipl_2009.htm
and
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/abhayasharma/results_ipl.htm
and also
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/abhayasharma/IPL_format_team_bonus.pdf
are some of the most recent updates on my website whic hav much more to offer than my posts here. n fact I could not write or post here even whatever I did write to brother Amitabh on his blog.. even that has seen more of my IPL views than this blog!

I shall write after three fourth of the games get over tomorrow.. when 42 of the possible 56 games of the league phase do get over..

The article in the pdf form is better for reading than what I hae copy pasted here yesterday..

Delhi and Chennai are difficult to be disloodged from top four Deccan are almost there.. and I would want Kinhs XI of Poonjab to be there too.. if wishes could really be horses too.. I know the fourth slot is gong t be fiercely fought between them and the Rajasthan Royals to a greater extent yet Mumbai Indians are not completely out of it and even RCB does have theoretical possibilities of making it to the end..

Let us see.. I only wish Delhi when they meet Deccans tomorrow should not play loose cricket.. they haveperformed well as one unit as is evident from their victories even in the absence of swashbuckling Sehwag.. Sehawg must play to counteract the prsence of Symonds.. otherwise Deccan appear stronger to win a sweet revenge over Delhi..
Abhaya India May 12 2009 12:45 IST

Implementing Improvements in IPL

Implementing Improvements in IPL ( I cube of Twenty20 Cricket)
Abhaya Sharma, India, May 11 2009 11:12 AM IST

The following suggestions are voiced here for a possible implementation in the next stage of the IPL in the year 2010. Organisers could experiment with some of the improvements such as team bonus points at the end of the league phase of the tournament. Yet before that IO would like to incorporate the major changes in the format: The numbers of the conditions can be seen as having different numbers. They could probably be thought of as amendment notes. For example, amendment 2 specifies the restrictions on number of overseas players.

A. Team Compositions

A team of 14 must be announced in such a way that no foreign team has more than 2 players on the list. A team however could have as many overseas players within that rule, however the playing XI – the ones who can bat and bowl should not have more than one player from a country other than India or the host country e.g. South Africa in present case, A team could have a maximum of 2 players from the host country. ( I assume IPL would be hosted more than once in a year and in several different countries!)
A team if having players from five or more different countries (in 14 players for the game) could use one from each country making away with the present restriction of the four overseas players in its playing eleven . I see this as an opportunity for not only players from lesser cricketing countries like Bangladesh, Ireland, Kenya, etc. and a boost to some upcoming countries like Holland, Bermuda, Canada, UAE, Scotland etc.
A team should not have more than 20 players on its roll at any given time i.e. for a particular IPL tournament. It can however buy additional players that would not be allowed to play as a list of 20 players should be announced one week before the start of the tournament. There can not be more than two players from any country in the list of 20.
Injured players would not be replaced unless the injury qualifies for a replacement in strict medical sense.. a hamstring pull would not qualify as a reason for seeking replacement where as a shoulder dislocation or a fracture should qualify for the same.

B. Playing Conditions

1. A team should announce 14 players before a match starts. The 14 should all field in either first or the second half of the game. One half of a game ideally being construed as comprising of 10 overs. Ideally 3 substitute fielders should come on to the field at the end of first half i.e. 10 overs, if one of them has already substituted for an injured player earlier he could only be replaced after 10 overs from the point of his induction i.e. by the replaced player. The injured player thus can not make an entry before he has been rested for 10 overs.
2. The teams should be forced to have two proper power plays one each of three consecutive overs on either halves of the play (One half should be understood as comprising of 10 overs). Ideally the first three overs of each half. There could also be one additional over that the batting team could ask at any point of the innings for similar field restriction by captain informing the umpires over headphones of the time. The third special Power play can not be immediately after either of the proper power plays as also it can not be the last over of the innings.
The strategic break should be reduced to just 5 minutes with possible reduction of each minute for an injury time reduction in the first half. The teams should induct three fresh fielding substitutes at this stage.
Two bowlers in a team should be allowed a maximum of five overs for two of its best bowlers in each half. If one of the 5 over bowler has not been used in the first half the team could then use only one bowler for a five over spell. The bowler who might bowl the first five over spell must be specified by the captain at the start of the game. The second bowler could be chosen from any of its bowlers as the captain might feel more confident and comfortable with.
There should not be a provision for a runner in a game, a player who is not able to continue to bat should retire hurt and return only if required by his team in the later stages of the innings. I suggest this for players to maintain higher fitness standard.
The runs conceded by ways of extras (like wide, bye, legbyes, freehit scores) should not be added to the bowlers or batsman’s account (the freehit runs should be added to extras!). Yes a no ball should be counted as one run conceded by the bowler and the over with a no ball would not qualify for a maiden over.

C. Bonus Points in a Match
There has been a voice of concern that teams performing extraordinarily in a match should be awarded bonus points.. A win should earn a team 2 points from a game and bonus points may be added for one or more conditions being achieved by a team. Here a team can earn more than one bonus point and even a losing team might just earn a bonus point for some great performance.. this is important as it would nullify the impact on their standings on simply loosing a game which they might have lost very narrowly. Here are my suggestions for one bonus point each for the teams satisfying any one or more criteria below: (adequately speaking these should apply only to the games which have seen a minimum of 15 overs by each team!)

A team batting first that wins a game by a margin of 50 or more runs (inclusive, 49 run win does not qualify your team for bonus. i.e is cruel yet it has to be like that bonus should not come easily)
A team batting second that wins by 9 or more wickets
A team that wins with 30 or more balls to spare (the rule applies to either team whether batting first or batting second)
A batsman who scores 90 or more runs for his team earns a bonus ( available even in rain or light- shortened matches as well)
A Bowler takes 5 or more wickets for his team earns a bonus for his team ( available even in rain or light- shortened matches as well)
A team posting a score of 200 or more runs earns a bonus for its team ( both teams could each score this bonus thus nullifying the impact of a close defeat)
A team having used 7 or more bowlers in an innings, it could be counterproductive if the seventh bower goes for more runs that could cost the team a game.
A bowler sending down a maiden over earns a bonus for each maiden. This should have seldom been possible and it should deter the batsman to being overcautious against the bowlers.
A team earns a bonus for scoring 30 or more runs in an over (inclusive of extras)
A team earns a bonus if it gets three batsman out in three consecutive balls, wickets could be spread between two bowlers and also include run-out.

D. Super Bonus Points at the end of League Phase: To be counted in decidng the four semi-finalists. The teams qualify for further 2 point bonus if they satisfy any one of the conditions. Multiple bonus points are available
Two bonus points are to be given to a team who uses the maximum of its 20 players in the final XI of one or the other league match.
Two points to be awarded to the team that has maximum runs per over in the tournament
Two bonus points to the team that has conceded the least runs per over in the tournament.
Two bonus points to a team that has five or more consecutive wins in the tournament. To be awarded only once.
Two bonus points for a team that has captured maximum opposition wickets.

Here comes a surprising negative bonus. I don’t know if it could lead to better team planning and management and curb the betting syndicates. These negative bonus points could come harsh on non-performing teams. I suggest a negative bonus of 3 points for each of the following conditions.

A team fails to win even one fifth of the games in the league phase
A team that has lost five continuous games
A team that has never been able to bowl any opposition out in a game. That is little harsh, yet I retain this to encourage bowlers and fielders
A team that fails to register even a single total of 160 plus runs in the tournament (in a 20 over game)
If a team fails to take more than 3 wickets per match in the tournament.

Game 35 could be a virtual final..

Dear Viru (The swashbuckling Sehwag) - This poem was written for you quite a few months back when Bedi and Sandeep Patil were highly critical of him on Star News.. It may not fit well yet for the last stanza I wanted to iclude it here.. Viru people in India have short memories.. Wisden cricketer of the year may nt mean anything to them if you could not take Delhi Daredevils to win the second edition of IPL.. and your chances would become very strong if Mumba fails to make it to semi-finals.. Am I reading too much too early.. Read on

A Huge Game is on the cards …

Delhi need to put every trick to work in order to really seal Mumbai’s chances of making it to semi-finals..

The first encounter between the Delhi and Mumbai lads is going to be a virtual final of the sorts..

Mumbai according to me are one of the very best side in terms of the available potential only difference has been that they have not been able to realize that potential on the ground. His game is almost a do or die situation for the Reliance owned team. The team would in all possibilities emerge a winner if somehow they get to chase a score below 170. To be considered among the giants like Chennai, Deccan and Delhi they will have to pip Rajasthan out of contention, could it be that simple or straight forward as I write it here.. I doubt. None of the teams is going to allow Mumbai an easy go at them in the forthcoming matches just for the reason that they are one of the tough sides to beat if they makeit to semi-finals.

Delhi feel if they win the toss.. they have won on most occasions.. should immediately put Mumbai in to bat and hope to restrict them in the region of 160 to 170. Any score beyond that has proved a little too difficult for the opponents yet ask Dhoni and Sehwag even 189 and 186 were not seemingly enough during this tournament.. yet Kings XI had successfully defended a modest 119.

This game Mumbai must also consider to look for some formidable combination of players.. unfortunately for them their strike spinner has let them down terribly.. If I were in place of Sachin I would not have thought twice to ask the turbanator to take a forced break.. especially against the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir and Dilshan some of the best exponents of playing spin well in the world.. He will need to strengthen his batting from whatever is available.. the only trouble is that Jaysuriya, Malinga and Duminy pick themselves with no arguments whatsoever.. that leaves Bravo.. some people in the commentary box were very critical of Bravo letting himself got out the other day when the game was very much within their hold.. I doubt if I could agree with that.. I do not know what other options does Mumbai have if they choose to drop him and even Harbhajan Singh..

The selection of foreign players is almost as difficult for their opponents into today’s very important game.. it is a bit of an irony that Delhi could not give a game to McGrath so far with half of the tournament over.. If McGrath is sitting out Delhi would probably some day rue their chances of winning the tournament.. I feel there must be space made to accommodate the greatest bowler of our times.. his experience alone on the filed could make a subtle difference to Delhi’s chances.. He is sure to walk in place of Nannes who despite his good bowling potentials and a good line and length besides his speed still counts among the worst three spells of the tournament, alongside Kallis and Flintoff.. Warner has done well enough in his two games but I think today he would be required to make room for Vettori to return. It really hurts to ask someone as successful as Warner to take a place in the dugout..

Though I know it is a tough game Delhi should win this under two conditions.. one that they field first and chase a score of less than 170 and second that they are able to post a score in excess of 180.. With Sachin, Sanath, Duminy, Nayar a score less than that may not be appropriately defendable..

My team for Delhi Daredevils the correct batting order in case they are forced to bat first:
Gautam Gambhir, de Villiers, Dilshan, Sehwag, Karthik, Tiwary, Vettori, Mishra, Sangwan, Nehra, McGrath. There are no other options available for making a perfect winning combination. If prevailing conditions suggest that spin may not seem to work as well as it worked so far in the tournament, it may also be the right time for Maharoof to make an entry as well, in place of Vettori.. He was quite heroic in some of the games in the first edition of IPL in 2008.

I would rather wish a very good luck to Sehwag and Delhi teammates as this is going to be their biggest ordeal on the field.. and yes in case Viru has not yet recoverd from his stitched up finger Delhi can entirely forget to win this one..

In the end I must add that the game is tilted in favour of Mumbai Indians as it is much more important outing for them if they wish to remain a force in the tournament.. a loss here might make their task of making to semis a semi-dream..

Abhaya India May 9 2009 11:33 AM IST

PS Do not become bind to any of my decision.. the fact remains that you are a far bigger cricketing brain than an Abhaya Sharma could ever be.. but do ponder over points I mentioned here.. before you decide the XI for an important game like today's..

The report of First half of the IPL 2009

Half –Way Covered at IPL 2009

28 Matches have been played at the IPL 2 underway at South Africa. Not all the teams have played equal number of games some have played seven, some others just six and a couple have played eight games. The standings show the Deccan Chargers ahead of the rest followed by Kings XI of Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Royal challenge Bangalore. The other three teams Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are not far too behind. Only Kolkata Knight Rider’s are staggering at a position where only a miracle can lift their chances of making it to be counted amongst Semi-Finalists.

There have been some tremendous competitions amongst the sides.. some have been one sided affairs and a few have been washed by rains.. two hames completely abandoned and two others affected before they could be completed for the desired 20 over levels.

Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina, and surprisingly Brad Hodge of the Kolkata Knight Riders are among the top three run getters. Their teams do not find place in top four. Of course Gilchrist, Gibbs, Dilshan, Rohit Sharma, Duminy, Kallis, Dravid, Tendulkar, and even Yusuf Pathan are among good runs with their bat. Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Dhoni are not counted too much, atleast not at this stage of the tournament. Pietersen and Flintoff did not match the amount of money their teams spent on them.

The bowling department belonged to Spinners, that too quite surprisingly, the game was actually considered a death bed for spinners when the first edition of IPL was about to start earlier last year. Yet the kind of success that has been enjoyed by Pragyan Ojha, Apanna, Jakati and Yusuf Pathan speaks more in favour of novices than the stalwarts like Harbhajan Singh, Muralitharan or even Kumble (his five for 5 spell standing). Among paceman too it was generally the young breed that did earn more recognition. Abdulla being the leading wicket taker followed by RP Singh and Malinga. Praveen Kumar and Munaf patel did better than most other known contributors to the game of pace attack. Kamran Khan might have been notified for his suspect action but he was too good for most of the opposition. Only Laxmipati balaji and Nehra counted greater deal from the experienced bowlers.

In a nutshell, the underdogs performed much more strikingly than the established names. Virat Kohli held maxiomum catches alongside de Villiers in the tournament. The two or four major contributors who counted on the higher side of the age were Hayden, Gilchrist and Dravid and Tendulkar. The south African factors of the team also helped the cause of teams doing well, de Villiers has the lone century, Duminy and Kallis have been among runs, Boucher and van Wyk behind the stumps and van Merwe counted with his spin attack.

The team that was picked by India on the basis of their performances in the current IPL season for the world Twenty20 World championship is quite acceptable or should I say the best picked team in the recent times. Though I thought one could make room for Virat Kohli and maybe also Munaf Patel. But then given the limitations of the number of players that could be selected and additional wicket keeper required for a long tournament, the slectors have done a splendid job. The omission of one of Sachin or Dravid does make one feel soar but then the game is supposedly to be played by young pair of legs in the field and it is quite understandable despite such a hoopla of oldies playing goldies by our news channels especially Aaj Tak. I give the selectors a 9 out of 10 marks.. 9 as they could not muster strength to leave out Harbhajan Singh and Gautam Gambhir, the latter has a tremendous batting record and his inclusion is seconded by me.. but probably I would have picked Virat Kohli as one of the true all-rounders in the team. Dinesh Karthik has been lucky with striking the form lately.. he is the only fortunate inclusion.. if Harbhajan is a somewhat dubious inclusion, it appears his huge hitting came to the rescue of non-performing spinner.

The second half promises to be as exciting as the first half or maybe much more exciting as some of the Australians might finally join the competition some of the West Indies players may also be leaving soon. Their young players did make quite a mark of their own especially Edward Fidel, Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo. Gayle was out of colors as was McCullum and that could have been the reason for such a bad ranking of Kolkata..

Special mention must be made of the coveted hat-trick performed by Yuvraj Singh of Kings XI Punjab against Royal Challenge Bangalore and the lone century by AB de Villiers of Delhi Daredvils against Chennai Super Kings.

The two pages I am sporting at my angelfire website:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab/abhayasharma/top_ipl_2009.htm
and
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/abhayasharma/results_ipl.htm

Have a nice and great time with IPL 2 may only the best team win the second edition.

Abhaya India May 4 2009 7:39 PM IST

Team India for Twenty20 world cup

Batsman - Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni
Batting All rounder- Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh
Bowling All rounder- Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Abhishek Nayar, Praveen Kumar
Bowler- RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra

Given the performances in the first half of the IPL 2 in South Africa, I would rather love the above players to be selected for the Twenty20 world cup team for India. There are certain slots that do have some competitors for example there is a fight between Ojha and Mishra and also Munaf Patel and Kamaran Khan or even Laxmipati Balaji. Maybe Abhishek Nayar might just not fit the bill too well as of now but given his fielding capabilities I would still love to include him, he could face the challenge from Zaheer Khan for his experience. The other major change could be if Sachin does not want to be part of the team as he sometime back suggested that could make way for Ravindra Jadeja or even someone like Sreevats Goswamy. Even These are only speculations- the replacements – the sixteen that have been in the table deserve more than their probable counterparts. Let us see how does BCCI selectors think of my suggestions. They generally are known to think different to my suggestions. It is all right, they are the better informed people than me.
I do not know when they pick the final team for the next month's big event on the cricket's international calendar.
Abhaya India May 1 2009 6:39 PM IST