How World cup 2019 will affect the IPL teams

It is no secret that there are a lot of apprehensions about the IPL being scheduled in close proximity to the 50-over world cup which will be held in England this year. The BCCI seems to be caught between the twin crossfires of performance and fatigue crisis due to overburdening of players and the financial pressure in relation to broadcaster earnings and the earnings of the board itself.

Though the BCCI has by now made it known that it is trying to host the maximum number of matches within India itself. But with the general elections around the corner, IPL certainly has to precede the world cup and given that the world cup is the ultimate tournament and played only once in 4 years it is certain that the BCCI will be forced to give due importance and thereby take necessary precautions by resting certain key players and managing their workload.

Cricket boards including ECB and CA have already announced that their players won’t be available post-May 1. Going into the auctions the teams, therefore, made it a point to try and avoid inclusion of players who would be forced to return midway through the tournament. It was, therefore, no surprise to see the likes of Carlos Brathwaite being bought at around 5 crores while some notable names like England Limited Overs Captain Eoin Morgan and others including swashbuckling opener Alex Hales and all-rounder Chris Woakes went unsold this year.

While a few teams have done well to avoid the risk of losing key players and hampering team combination by some smart buys in the auction, others have failed to achieve similar results. This article takes a look at how this World Cup will thereby affect the IPL teams and their chances in the upcoming season of the IPL.

1. Chennai Super Kings

Will CSK be able to retain its title?

Chennai Super Kings is one team that will perhaps remain insulated from changing their squad due to the upcoming world cup. The questions that CSK will face in terms of team combinations are more likely to be based around the form of some of their key players rather than availability.

With Shane Watson having retired, David Willey and Sam Billings are the only active ECB/CA players in the squad off which Sam Billings’ chances of breaking into the England ODI squad, for now, seems bleak.

And with Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi and Shane Watson at their disposal it will be fair to say David Wiley will not be missed. As far as the Indian players are concerned, the BCCI will only be happy to see MSD get as many matches as possible under his belt. He has not played many International matches of late and hence is severely short of game time.

With the consistent flow of runs off his blade and his finishing abilities on the wane, the IPL would provide him the crucial chance to get some good game time and also a chance to regain his lost form. The other key players including Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh do not seem to be in contention to break into India’s World cup squad.

2. Delhi Capitals

Changed Name Changed Fortune?

Delhi Capitals just like CSK are mostly insulated from the World Cup commotion. After facing immense criticism for giving the Ranji season a miss, both Shikar Dhawan and the BCCI will be hoping that Indian opener Shikar Dhawan uses this edition of the IPL to hit peak form before going into yet another Multi-nation event where "Gabbar" has proved to be the most destructive.

Delhi has cleverly opted out of including any active Australian or English player in the team set up. Shreyas Iyer has not broken into the Indian team and Rishabh Pant was recently dropped from the Indian limited-overs team with the selectors preferring Dinesh Karthik as the second choice keeper.

Given the frequency of team reshuffles that Delhi has, it will be fair to say that Delhi’s concerns would be better attributed with them gelling as a team rather than due to player availability.

3. Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR will look to go 1 step further this term

KKR depends a lot on their explosive superstar, Chris Lynn, and the KKR think-tank will be concerned about grooming a suitable replacement for the Aussie. The big-hitting top-order batsman is almost a certainty in the Australian squad at-least as a backup opener.

Albeit, KKR has a reliable back-up in Robin Uthappa, but they will still miss out on the psychological edge they gain over the opposition when Lynn is batting.

The BCCI will want to make sure that Kuldeep Yadav is not over-exposed or over-burnt. However, it is not very likely that he will be rested. As for their captain and India’s new-found finisher; Dinesh Karthik, everyone will be hoping for a few more assurances in terms of performances to calm down a few nerves regarding India’s Middle order. And hence there does not seem to be any worries regarding his availability.

4. Kings Xl Punjab

Punjab would look forward to ironing out last year's mistakes

Sam Curran was one of the costliest buys of this IPL auction. His performances of late, especially against India, has raised expectations from him and Kings XI Punjab will be expecting that he delivers. However, provided this happens, Kings XI will again be hampered towards the fag end of the tournament and given their dismal run last year in the 2nd half of the tournament, this could well be playing on their minds already.

Moises Henriques is a like for like replacement for the young all-rounder and doesn't seem likely to make it to the Australian world cup team and Kings XI would hope he has a good season.

Kings XI is not very likely to be presented with any other serious headache in terms of player availability. With Jadeja being the primary limited over back-up to the Indian Spin Twins in Chahal and Kuldeep, Ashwin is almost a certainty to play through the entire season provided his fitness permits.

5. Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB would like to start the season with a bang

Royal Challengers Bangalore does not have too many major concerns other than for their most important player, Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper has been in a league of his own for the past few years. Unlike most contemporaries, Virat has been representing the country in all 3 formats. And with the copious amount of cricket that he plays, it is certainly advisable that he takes a break.

But then again Virat is a supremely fit individual and has made his own calls to keep himself fresh and firing. The chances of Kohli taking a break through the season is actually bleak unless of course in the case of an injury. And RCB will pray with utmost sincerity that he remains free of any niggle.

Other than for Kohli, Moeen Ali and Marcus Stoinis are almost certain to miss the tournament post-May 1. However, with Colin De Grandhomme, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar at their disposal, RCB would like to believe they have those eventualities covered.

6. Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH will look forward to having their best batsman back

Sunrisers Hyderabad gave us a few stunning performances last year en route to the tournament finals. And with their all-time best batsman David Warner all set to return to the tournament this year SRH should be all the more confident. However, looking at the depths that the Australian team has plunged to without his services along with that of Steve Smith, it is for certain that he will walk into the national team.

And this along with the call back of Jonny Bairstow to the English team is what will concern SRH the most. Also, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is supposed to shoulder the fast bowling duties with Jasprit Bumrah at the World Cup, would be constantly monitored by the BCCI officials.

However, given that he has not played any of the test matches in Australia, his availability is not likely to be majorly affected. SRH, however, seems a well-rounded team to conquer any possible hiccups.

7. Mumbai Indians

MI will look to begin positively rather than leaving it too late

By the looks of it, Mumbai Indians seem most likely to be hit by the World Cup commotion. The three most important players for the Mumbai Indians are Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah; all of who are almost a certainty for the World Cup.

While Rohit Sharma not being a regular in test team might mean he might be available for the entire duration of the IPL, the same cannot be said for the other 2. Jasprit Bumrah is certainly India’s X-factor in the pace bowling department. A fit and in form Bumrah at the World Cup is as critical to the Indian team as is a fit and firing Virat Kohli.

Having had a demanding schedule over the past one year including tours of South Africa, England, and Australia and with the tour to New Zealand coming up, it is more than likely that MI will miss the services of its ace pacer at-least in the group stages.

Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, is India’s first choice all-rounder and has just recovered from a back injury which saw him being ruled out of the Asia Cup halfway through it.

Thus, it is more than likely that his work-load will be constantly monitored as well. With Jason Behrendorff not likely to make the cut into the Australian WC team, the overseas recruit would not provide many headaches to the MI think tank.

8. Rajasthan Royals

RR will look to replicate the success they had in the inaugural season of IPL

Unlike MI, the 3-4 most key players for the Rajasthan Royals are all overseas stars. But quite similarly to MI, Rajasthan are likely to be heavily hit by the World Cup. Post-May 1, once the Australian and England Cricket Boards call back their players, Rajasthan will look a pale shadow of the team that they start with. At least on paper.

Rajasthan will miss the services of their captain Steve Smith along with others including Jos Butler, Ben Stokes and in all probability even Jofra Archer. Each of these players is more than capable of winning matches on their own and the RR team doesn’t seem to be one capable of replacing them at-least by the looks of it.

But then who is to say that they can’t do the unthinkable, especially after what they achieved under Rahul Dravid and Shane Warne. The Royals and the fans would be hoping that they do that again.