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The IPL franchises have brought about major changes in their preference of players. Delhi Daredevils in particular, who have not retained even a single player, may go in with a totally revamped side in this tournament. Much of this has been prompted by the ‘Joker card’ rule this time that allows players to be taken back even after they have been let go. Lesser the number of players a team retains, more the Joker cards it gets.
There have been some surprise exclusions considering that those players have done well for their sides. Also, there have been some baffling retentions even when franchises have the option of the Joker card at their disposal. Here are 5 retentions that could have been avoided, also considering some of the better players that the teams have agreed to let go.
5. Manan Vohra
The KXIP franchise owners gave the biggest surprise this year when they retained this youngster; both to the cricket followers as well as to the man himself who is pleasantly surprised because he had never entertained any hopes of retention.
He had a modest last season with the bat and the only thing that made the team management stick to him was probably the 187 he made in the domestic arena against Jharkhand. It is still a baffling move. Other names have been let go with only David Miller being retained in addition to him.
With the introduction of the Joker card, they could have tried retaining fewer players. If at all they wanted to retain two, definitely somebody else instead of Vohra should have been given preference. He may well be very talented, but he is still to prove his worth on a big stage like the IPL where cricket of an international level is played.
It will be interesting to see how this move by Punjab bodes for them in the coming season.
4. Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu
The Mumbai Indians have retained the maximum number of players (5) they could have. They have shown a lot of faith in their players which is only natural since they were the winners last time around, and they would definitely like to leave the winning combination undisturbed as much as possible.
That said, they could have gone with the obvious retentions of Malinga, Pollard, and skipper Rohit Sharma and opted for fresh faces from the pool of uncapped players at the auction. They have instead shown immense faith in Rayudu. Agreed that he has been a successful campaigner for the Mumbai Indians with the bat and behind the stumps as well, but considering that names like Mitchell Johnson and Dinesh Karthik have been omitted, his retention seems to lack any reason. Both of them have more experience of international cricket than him.
Mumbai probably decided to stick with him since he has been there since the third season, or the fact that, they don’t want their team changed much. One could argue that the franchise might have become attached to their players, which should not be the case in a competitive league. Trying out new players or just having more joker cards at their disposal might have been a better move on their part.
Gautam Gambhir
Okay, he is the captain of the side. But the Kolkata Knight Riders may now want to move on. There was a time when Gambhir was everything in the team, he even led them to the title in 2012. But no one can deny that he has seen a slump and will be viewing the IPL as a means to be recognised on the international stage again. For that matter even Sunil Narine hasn’t been in the best of touch lately.
The Knight Riders should have gone in for more experimentation considering that last season did not go very well for them (they were 7th in the points table). Also, Gambhir may not find it very easy to return to international cricket and perform to the best of his ability. He last represented India almost a year ago, and that will certainly be playing on his mind.
Whether he will be the best of leaders this time is also in doubt. The Knight Riders could have gone with Kallis as the international retention. Probably considered him for captaincy as well. Why not? He has retired from Tests and will take part in the IPL for a couple years more probably. He can certainly lead the way using his experience and his immaculate understanding of both the batting and bowling departments, being one of the best all-rounders of the world himself.
His ability to play spin well was definitely one of the factors that facilitated his retention. Seeing the clean-up and the experimentation trend last time, KKR would not have been wrong in not retaining this Delhi opener.
Harbhajan Singh
Many may not agree with his name being here in the list, and I myself had to think a lot before including him. But he hasn’t had a good recent of form and has stuck with the team solely because of his performance last year wherein he took 24 wickets.
Player retention has been mostly done seeing their recent form and has certainly been overlooked for Harbhajan. He has been out of the national side for quite a while now, and he will certainly be low on confidence in the lean patch that he is going through. He has performed well in the domestic circuit recently but has been totally cut off from international cricket. Somebody like a Mitchell Johnson who was one of the best bowlers in 2013 should have been given greater preference. The Indians might have gone out of their way to retain the maximum allowable players. They might have wanted to try out a newer combination this time with better in-form players.
Still, he would be keen to get into action and produce good results. Personally, it would be a treat to watch the Turbanator amongst the wickets once again. His aggression and antics on the field have been greatly missed and the Mumbai supporters will keenly wait to see him play. Only time will tell whether he will justify the faith placed in him. It was probably what was required for him, and it will be up to him to grab this opportunity with both hands and bounce back on the international stage.
Ravichandran Ashwin
It has been a fairly obvious trend. The teams that have done well in the past have retained most of their players (both CSK and MI have retained 5), whereas franchises like the Delhi Daredevils have made it clear that they want an entirely new combination this time, save probably Sehwag.
Ashwin may be currently the best Test all-rounder and one of the most consistent performers for the Super Kings over the years. Still, that does not justify his retention when a name like Albie Morkel does not feature in the retention list. True that, after the retention of the 4 Indian players, there is only one international spot left and Bravo was chosen over Morkel. But it looks bizarre when you see the players finally retained and the ones who are not. Chennai have certainly not gone ahead with the best pool of retained players.
While retaining Dhoni and Jadeja seems apt, they could have tried experimenting a bit by not retaining Ashwin and maybe opting to go for another bowling option at the auctions. A winning combination cannot last always and should be changed to make way for newer and better combinations when the time comes. This is where Chennai may have faltered.
With just 15 wickets in 18 games, Ashwin’s last season was by no means extraordinary. As regards international T20 cricket, Ashwin played just the 1 game last year against Australia at Rajkot. Chennai may have gone too far by selecting Raina as well, who is undergoing a lean patch himself. In a league like this, it may not be the best idea to have blind faith in your players all through the years, especially with the Joker card made available. Let us see whether Ashwin can prove his worth this time around.
