IPL 2014: Delhi Daredevils - Rally behind Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen needs to find the right team combination

If an outsider has a look at the Delhi Daredevils squad, the first question that would pop up in his/her mind is who has been entrusted with the role of captaincy, given that the role of coaches in cricket has become restricted.

For a case in point, look at what happens with Chennai Super Kings: Although they have a top notch tactician in Stephen Fleming, the team pretty much takes the MS Dhoni way of playing cricket, with Fleming being restricted to man-management. At the maximum, he can come up with suggestions over which Dhoni has the final say, as revealed by Fleming himself during the IPL last year.

Coming back to the Daredevils, Kevin Pietersen will be the one taking up the captaincy mantle. Could it have been better? I don’t think so (they could have wished for Rahul Dravid from RR, but he’s retired). Now, why is captaincy so important with the Delhi-based team?

Look at the composition of the squad. They have a slew of players in contention for the 6 (7) batting positions, and, with the exception of Pietersen himself, the others have either been misused terribly so far (read: Manoj Tiwary, Kedhar Jadhav, Saurabh Tiwary) or overrated (read: Murali Vijay and Quinton de Kock in subcontinental conditions).

A clueless captain, like Pune Warriors’ Aaron Finch in IPL 2013, can end up hurting the team big time. Had this squad been given to Finch and the Warriors, it would take a season for them to understand that they are doing it wrong and a season more to find ways to nullify the issues. Chances are that they would still have arrived at the wrong issues to fix.

You may have tried putting up the final playing 11 of all the teams, at least those who play fantasy cricket would have done it, and, once DD release their playing 11, look how far you have been off with respect to the way you have filled up the top 7.

What should the Daredevils playing 11 be, and what will it be (at least for the first few matches)? Where will they end up? What are the tactical shifts they need to make? I try to answer all the questions here.

First things first: Let’s just take Quinton De Kock out of the equation, or else the very thought of having to explain why a subcontinental team doesn’t need De Kock will get on my nerves and reflect in the tone of the article.

He is a South African top order batsman. He is not AB de Villiers. He can’t attack spinners.

While these may be enough, I have got more, too. He averages 13.33 in 3 T20Is in Sri Lanka (strike rate – 81.63) and 12.80 in 5 T20Is in Bangladesh (strike rate – 98.46), scoring a combined 104 runs in 8 innings in conditions similar to what he will be facing in the IPL. He has batted so poorly that knocks such as 38-ball 48* and 19-ball 30 at the UAE against Pakistan have to be considered as exceptions.

Moreover, in the 19-ball 30, he faced only 3 balls from spinners – 1 from Shoaib Malik and 2 from Saeed Ajmal – with majority of his runs coming against the pacers, before getting out to a spinner finally.

In the ODIs as well, he averages only 18.33 in Sri Lanka, scoring a paltry 55 runs in 3 matches. Again there are 3 knocks with scores of 40, 112 and 34 in the ODIs against Pakistan that may mislead you into believing that De Kock can be tried on the UAE decks. Dig deeper, as these stats can hoodwink you.

Let’s leave the 112 alone, and take into account the 40 and 34. Out of the 98 balls he faced to score those 74 runs spread over two matches, 33 were bowled by spinners. He managed to score only 18 runs off them, besides being dismissed by spinners – Ajmal and Shahid Afridi – on both those occasions. What does that mean? Being an opener, he has got off to a good start against pacers, who are used to bowl 5-over spells in ODIs, but, as soon as spinners are brought into the attack, his struggles have begun and eventually he has been put out of his misery.

The century is the only thing that stands in the way of establishing him as a poor player against spin. To that, I say, Yusuf Pathan has a 70-ball 105 in South Africa against a pace attack that had the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel; it doesn’t mean he can play on bouncy tracks.

I don’t say that De Kock will forever remain this way. He can certainly improve, but let us not hype him to the hilt. He surely doesn’t deserve a place as of now, even as a wicket-keeper. The 4 foreigner slots are pure gold, and need players of the highest calibre from the available lot. De Kock isn’t one, and I trust in Pietersen to get this right.

Kedar Jadhav is the trump card – use him in combination with Manoj Tiwary to kill the spinners

The gross misconceptions:

Playing Manoj Tiwary and Kedar Jadhav any lower than number 4 will end up damaging both their careers and the team’s fortunes, which is what has been happening so far.

Manoj Tiwary:

In the 2011 IPL season, the only year where he was used in a position where he should be by the Knight Riders, he ended up scoring 359 runs in 14 innings at an average of 51.28 per innings. In the seasons that followed, Gambhir’s love for the Bislas and Pathans ruined his IPL career. It has led to people think that Manoj Tiwary is not good enough to be in an IPL team, thanks to KKR.

Capability:

He has his specific roles: To attack spinners, milk them for runs in the toughest of conditions imaginable and score at a strike rate of 110 (85 in ODIs) against pace bowlers in least threatening conditions. ‘Least threatening’ is the key word, as he has had his troubles against swing as well as against bounce when tasked with taking on the bowlers. In ODIs, though, as a no. 4 batsman, you don’t necessarily need to attack the fast bowlers to be successful. When it comes to spinners, having played at Eden Gardens – a spinner’s paradise – all through his career, he can be up against any challenges that come his way.

Ideal role:

Tiwary is unlucky to have not played as many ODI matches as he should have by this stage of his career. However, I would not have him in any of the top 8 international T20 teams, as, by being not able to hit the pacers out of the park at will and not negotiate swing, he becomes a serious liability.

It, however, becomes a totally different scenario when it comes to the IPL teams, which are likely to play most of their matches on tracks that aid spin. Ball doesn’t swing down here and the oppositions try to strangle the batsmen by bringing in the spinners earlier, thereby playing straight into the hands of Tiwary.

So, he gets the nod in my DD line-up at number 3, not any lower.

Kedhar Jadhav:

Capability:

Jadhav is a notch better than Tiwary against pace and equally good against spinners. As a result, he comes across as a much more versatile and skilled player than him.

Ideal role:

The Maharashtrian slots in at number 4 with ease due to his ability to play spinners and change gears when needed against pacers: just the expectations of an ideal no. 4 in subcontinent.

Murali Vijay:

Vijay, a one-season IPL wonder, neither has capability nor role-play in T20s, at least in my team. I have had enough of him. Quoting one of my earlier articles – a tactical analysis on Chennai Super Kings – which was written ahead of the Champions League 2013,

Statistically speaking, Vijay’s record of 312 runs in 15 innings at an average of 22.28 and strike-rate of 109.09 in IPL 6 doesn’t give him an automatic qualification.

Not to forget he was dropped by CSK the season before for a series of woeful performances; he returned late into the tourney to score his only 50+ score in IPL 5 against Delhi Daredevils.

Some muddled thinking from the Delhi think-tank led to Morne Morkel being dropped for Andre Russell and in turn, forcing the Daredevils to include Sunny Gupta, who looked overqualified for being a nets bowler, leave alone a part of the Delhi Daredevils team. The off-spinner ended up conceding 47 runs off his three overs and Vijay made complete use of the hapless bowling attack to score a 58-ball 113.

Going beyond the mere statistics, from my observation in the last couple of years, I believe his problems start when he is trying to accelerate, an issue that has crept into his playing style of late.

He looks stylish, compact and comfortable when he is not trying to force the pace. He applies himself strictly when the bowling is harmless, which is pretty much the case in IPL, but the moment he is required to step up the gear, his shortcomings show up.

Therefore, Vijay is out of my team.

Dinesh Karthik:

Dinesh Karthik has to open. Yes, he is inconsistent, and yes, he isn’t what you ideally want to have at the top. But, when you have got him for Rs. 12.5 crore and your other wicket-keeping option is De Kock, you would do well to hope he finds his best form and stick with him. If he manages to find his touch back, it would do a world of good to the team.

The DD Powerhouses:

To complement the uncertainty that is DK in the top 2, you need to add some certainty, and, when it comes with flair and brains, you should take it.

Enter the messiah – Kevin Pietersen as the other opener

Even though he is Pietersen, he is still a South African- born Englishman. It doesn’t make sense asking him to play in the middle order when the spinners will have the best chance to pick up the wickets, more so when you have got alternatives. Give him space and employ him when any subcontinental pitch in the world will be good for batting. Let him gauge the nature of the pitch, have an effect on every Indian youngster who comes in, guide them and the team to glory.

Perhaps one needs to be reminded that when Pietersen was going through one of the most wretched phases of his career while playing in the UAE against Pakistan, he was promoted as an opener and fortunes changed all of a sudden.

JP Duminy vs. Ross Taylor:

Ross Taylor would play a crucial role in deciding DD’s fate – by sitting out

With the first 4 spots sealed and the no. 6 position being too low to play either JP Duminy or Ross Taylor, they have one spot to fight it out. Batting wise, the results wouldn’t be too different. However, with his valuable and underrated off-spin bowling, Duminy gets the nod ahead. His entry is likely to get delayed with solid players up top, and that would prevent him from being exposed to spinners, one of his weak points.

Jimmy Neesham:

Jimmy Neesham showed that he isn’t all slam-bang in his Test debut against India back home. How does that mean anything to him playing at No. 6 for DD, you may ask? It doesn’t matter, yes.

I took that up because Neesham is quality, and more so because I earmarked him for greater things, here— Players who can take CLT20 by storm

With added options of medium pace bowling, an asset when you consider that he is just the 5th bowler, and his natural finishing skills, Neesham has to play.

The Ross Taylor goof up:

Playing Taylor ahead of Neesham seems to be most popular choice. Just think of how would your batting order look like then? Out of your two best players against spin, one will bat at No. 6 (Jadhav) and the other will sit out (Tiwary). You need players who can take the game to the opposition at No. 3 and No. 4, and Ross Taylor and JP Duminy won’t do that on these pitches. Even KP would be left rattled under pressure.

It is not the names that win you games, so maximise what you can get from these players. You don’t play at Hamilton or Johannesburg to have fancy names in the middle.

Bowling unit:

The four bowlers fill in automatically – Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Sharma, Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Rahul Sharma:

Actually after the first time that I saw him in action in IPL, I thought I would never have to explain the importance of having him in the team. Sadly though, his career has taken the downward spiral ever since. For a bowler who made Michael Hussey struggle in Australia and Chris Gayle in a flat deck at Pune, he should be in the Indian team with the World Cup 2015 to be held at Oceania, where pitches suit his style of bowling.

Being a spinner who loves to extract bounce, the UAE decks aren’t what he would typically relish. He is more than just that, though. Rahul Sharma has the ability to choke even the best in the business through clever variations in pace and length, and the only factor that can stop him is himself. Anyway, he deserves a look in to know what kind of an effect he can have.

The last spot shoot-out

(Mayank Agarwal, Siddharth Kaul and Rahul Shukla):

Flat deck – Agarwal at No. 7

What are the typical expectations of a batsman when you play him as low as No. 7?

- Apparently, exceptional slogging abilities and not even an iota of thinking behind what he does, a role which Agarwal fits in perfectly.

I rate his hitting abilities very high, if only he can have saner top. Despite him being used as an opener by the state teams and even in IPL on occasions, I don’t think he suits the purpose, for he can neither play the ball when it turns nor when it seams around. He is a monstrous hitter, and I would even go as far as to say that he deserves a place in the national team for his hitting abilities down the order.

Kaul – When the pitch has some grass on it, his 4 overs up front will be a real asset.

Rahul Shukla – With a bit of juice on the track, the pace that Shukla generates should come in handy.

First choice replacement:

Saurabh Tiwary:

After a stellar season with Mumbai Indians in IPL 3, he has absoutely done nothing till date. It is not entirely his mistake, although he should take a fair share of blame, too. The Royal Challengers Bangalore think tank mistook him for a finisher while buying him ahead of IPL 4 which has resulted in all the mess.

One aspect of the game that was quite evident in his days with Mumbai was that he needed time to settle, just like a certain MS Dhoni from the same state of Jharkhand does. RCB, however, failed miserably in their ploy to try him out at No. 5/6. With the kind of top 4 they had, Tiwary almost always came in late into the innings, only to neither get his timing nor power behind his shots, whereas in Mumbai Indians he was used as a number 3, sandwiched between an assured Sachin Tendulkar and a versatile Ambati Rayudu.

Simply put, a batsman who could pull Dale Steyn off the front foot can never go wrong: Saurabh Tiwary did it with disdain and to different bowlers over a season.

Since the matches are going to be played on decks that offer extra spin, the other Tiwary gets the nod in my 11. The only other debatable position is no. 7, a spot which Saurabh would never want to think about.

I don’t really think that DD have a weak bowling up, like many do. 5 above average bowlers in Coulter-Nile, Shami, Nadeem, Rahul Sharma and Kaul/Shukla when combined with the part time options of Duminy and Neesham under an astute captain in Pietersen will punch above their weight. The batting order needs to be sorted out, though. The sooner the ‘expected DD 11‘ changes to ‘my DD 11‘, the better and the more exciting it would be.

In KP, I believe! Do watch this space, as I will be taking you through the roller-coaster ride as Sportskeeda’s Daredevils blogger for the season.

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Edited by Staff Editor