(CONTD.)Of course given that the auction process has been made an unequal exercise it is easier said than done. After Coach, chose the best Captain material Indian or foreigner available in the pool who is likely to get along best with the coach. Next, the team with the right balance of batting, bowling and all important fielding prowess. Bowling:chose the best bowling attack with emphasis on getting THE BEST WORLD CLASS SPINNER considering Indian conditions of slow tracks as also another 2-3 spinner batting all-rounders .Then comes the pace attack combo with a mix of pacer all-rounder who could bat well. Finally batting: break it up into 3-4 good openers, middle-order batters and another 2-3 best finishers, pinch hitters. Most important: Delhi management must be very sure about the wicket they are going to have that is going to suit the team they have picked. The management has to be very sure about the compatibility of the side and the wicket and there can be absolutely no confusion or compromise whatsoever on this issue.
(contd..)As a Delhiite It was really sad to see Delhi though started reasonably well in the earlier versions somehow saw gradual decline over the yrs to end at the bottom of the table. In a way it is good that Delhi have decided to start all over again and now their strategy should be to build a side aimed to to challenge the best right from the first yr itself and win IPL7. This way the side will be always in the hunt and even if it makes it to the semis this yr it will stand good chance to win the title in the subsequent versions. Aiming at anything less will reduce the side to an ‘also ran’ right from the beginning to all the subsequent versions. That way the Delhi strategy to start from scratch appears to be the right decision. Roping in Garry as the coach is yet another great decision. Now Delhi will have to go all out and pick THE BEST available in the pool.
Thanks to complete control and conflict of interest of BCCI chief N Srinivasan the IPL, otherwise quite exciting and competitive is continuing to remain monopoly of top teams like Mumbai and Chennai. After six versions it was only proper for all IPL teams to start from scratch and start auction all over again afresh for all players that would have allowed teams other than Chennai,Mumbai etc. also to have equal chance of building a team that could win IPL championship. It must be understood that teams having the best players in the first yr start with an advantage and virtually becomes a handicap race for most of the other teams while the top honors mostly remains limited to these sides starting with advantage. Further, The match card or Joker card is an additional privilege given to the biggies to maintain their monopoly at least for the nest 3 IPLs. Given this background and taking IPL7 as the starting yr of a fresh cycle of domination or remaining as the also- rans for the next cycle of 3-6 yr, now it is a challenge for lesser sides like Delhi,Hyderabad,Punjab,Raj etc. to meet the challenges of building a side that could vie for the top prize. And make no mistake about it , the building of that Champion side has to be done this very first yr of the 2nd cycle or else the race is lost for the next 3-6 yrs.
