An entirely differnet kettle of fish
This exercise of previewing the teams will focus largely on analyzing the composition of the teams. Based on that we will try to predict which of the teams might make the semi-finals of the competition.
This analysis will have two parts. In part one; we will first look at the composition of the players category-wise. There are broadly three categories – Foreign players, Indian Internationals and finally Indian domestic and junior players. We will break down each team category-wise and see how well each category of players stacks up for a particular team.
Having done that, we will look at the overall composition of the sides – how balanced they are, their strengths and weaknesses, chemistry, leadership, form and their suitability for South African conditions.
This overall exercise will throw interesting light on which teams are best equipped, atleast on paper; to make the semi-finals of the second edition of the competition.
To understand part one, we need to first appreciate the dynamic of each category and the unique challenges they pose for the teams.
Foreign Players
The first one was the limit of 4 foreign players in the playing eleven. This was further complicated by the partial availability of various players. The good thing about this limit is that there is endless choice as highlighted by the fact that many top players missed out in the player bidding. This gives the franchisee an opportunity to pick up some bargains. But at the same time, the franchisee also needs to pick up the match-winners who come for top-dollar. And as is the case with any big investment, all possible angles need to be studied.
Angle one is that, ideally, a franchisee should try to pick up the kind of players who are in short supply in the other categories – the Indian Internationals and the domestic and junior players.
This item happens to be the genuine all-rounder. And there is another argument in favour of picking foreign players who are allrounders. This type of player happens to be the best value for money as they fulfil multiple roles. It’s almost like getting two for one. The format of the T-20 game makes even a lesser all-rounder a genuine and match-winning one– the short duration of the game and its slam bang nature doesn’t call for an all-rounder to be in the class of Botham or Imran – guys who could walk into a test side on the basis of just their batting or bowling ability. Rather it calls for the Lance Klusener variety – ones who can bowl their quota of overs regularly and make a significant contribution with the bat. And in this form of the game, scores of 25+ are also considered to be significant contributions.
It is also noteworthy that similar to one-day specialists, there also exist T-20 specialists, many of them allrounders, who fly low under the radar of the international audiences. A smart franchise could pick up a stud T-20 all-rounder, with little international experience in the other forms of the game, from one of the foreign leagues for a basement bargain price. Just like European football clubs have talent scouts in South America to pick up precocious youngsters for next to nothing; this will require a franchise to develop an international scouting network. The added advantage of such players is that they are unaffected by the international cricketing calendar and can play the full schedule of games.
Alternately, if a franchisee goes for a specialist, they should pick out a practitioner of the highest class. The only justifiable reason for picking up a lesser player is if you are getting a major bargain for a player who fills a major hole in the team.
This is similar to how successful clubs in European football filled their quota of foreign players, in the days when there was a limit on that number.
Indian Internationals
The good thing about this category is that there is no limit on the number of such players that you can have in the playing eleven. This category is also very important because the quality of these players is significantly higher than that of the domestic and junior lot and more or less at par with the foreigners. Additionally, the availability of these players for the entire tournament is guaranteed. In the case of IPL 2009, their experience of having played in overseas conditions also becomes an advantage.
The many good things about this category created a higher demand for them and consequently their prices were highly inflated as compared to the price of a foreigner of similar ability.
The challenge, thus, was two-fold. First you needed to have Indian match-winners and there was a mad rush for the few who qualified as one. Secondly, you needed to find as many fringe internationals as possible so that you could limit the number of players in the playing eleven who belonged to the third category. With budgetary constraints, it was again imperative to find the bargains.
There was also the added twist of the Icon Players. A few of the franchisees were forced to shell out an astronomical amount for players who could have been obtained for far less otherwise. The fact that some of the franchises didn’t have Icon players actually gave them a salary cap edge.
Domestic and Junior Players
This is the category of lesser players but it is important for the simple reason that the last few slots in the playing elevens, after the bidding for foreign and Indian internationals was over, were filled in by players belonging to this category. So if a team didn’t find a decent bunch from this lot to fill the last few places, they were almost playing with a reduced side – a severe handicap.
In the first edition, each franchisee was allocated a feeder zone – they had the first choice to pick players from these states. While it was a reasonable and just method, it impacted two of the franchisees dearly – Kolkata and Hyderabad, for the simple reason that most of the Ranji players from these two cricket associations had joined the ICL. Later all such restrictions were lifted, allowing for free trade to prevail.
Other than grabbing the established domestic stars, the challenge for a franchisee in this category is to scout for and unearth little known domestic players who might have the necessary skills to make an impact in the T-20 game. In India, domestic cricket is largely limited to four-day and one day cricket and therefore, it is difficult to identify players who might be mediocre in these formats but better in the Twenty-20 version. This challenge can be addressed by talent scouting through a network of domestic coaches and scouts. A good example of this was pacer Goni who was recommended to VB Chandrasekhar of Chennai by coach from Punjab.
We will now use our understanding of each category, to preview the teams by analyzing their composition category –wise. That will be followed by looking at their overall strength in terms of the regular cricketing parameters. This will be done in two posts that will follow soon.
