Aug 26 2009
Million Dollar Men: Dollops of Flops
They made not have made all their millions directly from the IPL. But their heroics in cricket history have assessed them as being worth millions, such being the wealth of their talent and power of their performance. Yet somehow their allure failed to add to the glitz of the IPL. In what must be counted as one of the biggest disappointments, while the IPL has sprung up a whole bunch of new names, the stars simply failed to shine, taking just a little bit of sheen away while also, adding to the need to make amends a second time round.
Here are ten top cricketers who never quite found their radar in IPL’s inaugural year, in the descending order of degree of disappointment.
1 down: The vociferous Shahid Afridi
Not only did the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers become one of the most talked about teams but there was also a member of the team who did most of the talking, ironically, not with his bat. Shahid Afridi’s big hitting is now legendary. But his presence in any team can also mean a double edged sword in that if he gets going, it is Boom Boom Afridi. But aggression can get the better of him, with him perishing often as many times to injudicious thinking that betrays the talent he is capable of unleashing to tornado effect. The Hyderabad Heroes certainly saw the Dr. Jekyll side of Mr. Hyde.
In a version of the game designed for trailblazers such as himself, he failed to find the ignition button. But perhaps he was speaking for himself when he spoke about the cheerleaders being a distraction and that cricket was entertainment enough without the need for additional crutches. He had plenty of other talking points, not that involved his bat though. He was also concerned about Test cricket being overshadowed by Twenty20, “I can’t say if 50-overs cricket would be affected by the popularity of Twenty20 but certainly Test matches would be hit hard as people are more interested in seeing instant and exciting cricket.” But his bat chose to remain silent right through.
The fireworks continued to elude despite repeated trials. While his bowling was still handy with nine wickets in the tournament, Afridi’s primary role as a swashbuckling batsman was not vindicated in the first season with a paltry average of 10.12 to show for his eighty-one runs. Undeterred he went about giving his opinion on the two skippers in the team, Adam Gilchrist who took over from an injured V.V.S. Laxman, “Laxman led the team well in the first six matches. But it was a lesson to learn how Gilchrist treated the players after our two losses under him. He (Gilchrist) must be feeling bad, but he does not show it. He tries to absorb it and speaks nicely to teammates. It was amazing.” That only fuelled further when Afridi’s statements were interpreted as those that eventually led to the change of guard for the Deccan Chargers.
He though apologized to the crowds that turned up to support his team and stated, “I know I disappointed and let down my fans with my batting failures. My team finished at bottom because of my ordinary form. It really hurts me. This version of cricket suits my aggressive style of batting. But I took pressure in the league. I wanted to give my best in this shorter version but unfortunately I failed.” There is always time to make amends. With the kind of figures he had in the first season, anything above and beyond would be an improvement.
2 down: Low Point for Ponting
Ricky Ponting was not too unhappy with the auction amount he was eventually bought for by the Kolkata Knight Riders. At USD 400,000, it was considerably lower than Australian team mate Andrew Symonds’ 1.35 million dollar deal for the Deccan Chargers. Ponting expressed his feelings the way he always does, without a hitch, “I thought I might have been able to attract a little bit more than that. I have had my fair share of endorsements over the years and always felt the Indian people have warmed to me quite often when I have been there. Lots of things have gone through my mind, even my involvement in the Harbhajan (Singh) thing, but I thought hang on, Symo (Symonds) was involved in it as well.”
But that was not the only reason why Ponting was miffed. The failure to launch cost Australia’s top cricketer, not to mention the highest paid cricketer that year, additional grief compounded by the fact that he was playing under skipper Sourav Ganguly, a man he did not always see eye-to-eye with. The Knight Riders flattered to deceive after Brendon McCullum’s stupendous kick start and Ponting’s own form (at a 9.75 average!) spoke volumes of how silently Ponting went about through the tournament as opportunity to see arguably one of the world’s three best contemporary batsmen at his best went amiss.
There is no chance of seeing Ponting in the second season as he has chosen to opt out in favour of forthcoming assignments for Australia and it would hurt him to hear Lalit Modi say that the absence of one man would not make IPL poorer.
3 down: Fleming – not quite the silent assassin
Stephen Fleming was one of the men who held the international banner of the IPL when it was officially flagged off. A slightly unusual choice, much like the Indian counterparts who stood witness to the event despite shunning the World Twenty20 championships, the former New Zealand captain did have his explosive and exquisite innings such as the one during the 2003 World Cup against hosts South Africa in the limited version of the game.
Bought by the Chennai Super Kings, Fleming was predictably expected to translate the finesse of his opening role to the cause of getting the Chennai team to steady starts. But Fleming appeared largely out of his element, often searching for the middle of his bat or desperate to pierce the field. Sedate and undermined, Fleming knew his batting was failing the team and spent time off the field and in the dug out than on it, giving way to younger, nobler intentions.
It is little wonder then that with a view to using him in a role where he will perhaps be able to serve best, the Chennai Super Kings decided to employ Fleming’s services in the position of the team coach, Kepler Wessels’ contract standing not renewed for a second year. Perhaps Fleming’s innovations as a captain will now yield better results for Chennai than his own bat did.
4 down: Gibbs – guzzling down gloom
Another reason why such a batting heavy Hyderabad Deccan Chargers failed to take off was because of Herschelle Gibbs’ form. In fact, it would be appropriate to say that the collective failures of their batsmen, a cluster of some of the world’s best explosive batsmen, led to their eventual low ranking in the points tally.
Priced at a 100,000 less than the USD 675,000 paid to Afridi, Gibbs could have viewed the faith of his franchisees as an opportunity to earn back his form and a permanent place in the South African team, something that has tailgated him without doubt until the last couple of years. An explosive batsman at the top of the order with a hand-eye coordination to rival only the likes of a Virender Sehwag or Sanath Jayasuriya, Gibbs has the ability to win a match single handedly, apart from boasting of being an electrifying fielder.
But Gibbs could not provide the Chargers’ innings the momentum they desperately needed. When he landed in India, he had hoped that he would be able to change the team’s fortunes. But at an average of 18.55, the Chargers were going nowhere, at least not to the top. Gibbs’ off field amusements and positive mind frame failed to inspire the team; it appears only his bat can do the trick.
5 down: Joint Sharing Venture - Ganguly and Dravid
One would want to be less harsh on Rahul Dravid simply because he was by far the highest run getter in the Royal Challengers Bangalore team and led like a true captain, with grit, when many questioned his captaincy as well as his presence in a Twenty20 arena. But being icon players and captains of their respective teams, both, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, failed to justify their icon status and if anything, raised uncomfortable queries about why men who rejected the World Twenty20 would lead a young man’s team in the IPL.
Their figures are virtually identical. While Ganguly made 349 runs at an average of 29.08, Dravid made his 371 runs at 28.53. Ganguly would win the war of half centuries, having made one more than Dravid’s two and top scoring with ninety-one to Dravid’s seventy-five. But neither stood out for memorable performances as an enduring image of the IPL, now established as a powerhouse of Twenty20 tournaments. It would be too critical on Ganguly but given his lasting image as one who could turn it on with some panache and one who has been a veteran of successful one day matches for India, he would naturally come across as the favourite to adapt to the format, while Dravid was clearly the under dog in a competition of expectations between the two former India captains.
6 down: Kallis – Leaving Something Amiss
There was a furore when Jacques Kallis was left out of the South African squad for the World Twenty20 hosted at home, so much so that Mark Boucher, his South African team mate and now also at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, was up in arms over the decision. That though only meant a rap on the knuckles for the South African wicket keeper and Kallis feeling the need to redeem himself.
Kallis may be enjoying a bit of limelight this year, having surpassed 10,000 international runs in both, Test and one day internationals, but it was not easy going during the inaugural IPL. The Royal Challengers Bangalore were dubbed largely a ‘Test’ side and the criticism extended to Kallis as well, rather harshly given that Kallis has been a colossus in the one day version of the game as well. That Misbah ul Haq could have well made this list with an average of 16 was not discounted. But that Kallis has had not only three additional matches but also, a wealth of experience makes his presence a must on this list.
And the first year of the IPL was not where Kallis managed to change that mindset. He averaged a measly 18.09 with 199 runs in eleven matches with a lone half century to his name. His bowling did not really prove the Royal Challenger’s stock weapon either with just four wickets at an average of 77.75. Kallis had under achieved, and the unsavory expectations received an unusual day in the sun.
7 down: Special Appearance by Shoaib Akhtar
That could perhaps explain his career really. Shah Rukh Khan felt almost vindicated in his pursuit of ensuring that the Rawalpindi Express did make his mark in the IPL when Shoaib Akhtar made a spectacular show on debut. But like with most matters pertaining to cricket in his life, success was short lived mired amidst controversies, and memories even shorter.
Shah Rukh Khan was prepared to go the distance to get his USD 425,000 worth fast bowler from Pakistan into the Kolkata Knight Riders’s ranks. Akhtar nearly missed the entire IPL after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) imposed a five year ban on him to virtually kaput his international career. That he even made it to two matches then was as much SRK’s lobbying for him as was the enormous pressure of watching stars in action in the IPL.
His debut at Eden Gardens was sensational. Defending a modest 133, Akhtar gave his team a performance that involved taking four wickets for only eleven runs. It included the prized scalps of the form of the dynamic duo from Delhi, skipper Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, to send the Knight Riders to a rollicking victory.
But Akhtar lasted just two matches before injury got the better of him. The journey of the IPL, like his cricket life, came full circle when Akhtar, who was backed to the hilt by Shah Rukh Khan and his franchisee, was put up for trade for the second season as soon as the trading window opened.
8 down: Kumble – nothing to rumble about
Despite Anil Kumble’s colossal success as India’s premier leg spinner, one had to wonder what Kumble was doing in a Twenty20 trade when he was not even in India’s strategy in the one day format. Picked to play for the Royal Challengers, he further strengthened the ‘Test’ tag attached to the Bangalore team by simply failing to make an impression, much like the team he represented.
While Twenty20 started out with the image of being a bludgeoning game for batsmen while skewed negatively in favour of the bowlers, increasingly a case is being made for genuine bowlers who are adept in their skills and at variations. But there was hardly a formidable reason to justify his place purely looking at his performances last year. Yet Kumble was sought after, sadly though he could not bring his skills to the fore in the format of the game where he could have set the precedent.
At USD 500,000, he did not come cheap. Picking up seven wickets from ten matches in the IPL, three of which came in a single game, Kumble’s average of 43.42 and a not so economical economy rate of 7.93, it is hard to imagine that Kumble made a lasting impression, one that made a case for making him a regular in the starting line up. He will have to draw from his past successes in international cricket, if he wants to continue to be a force to reckon with post retirement and make a dent in the RCB’s favour.
9 down: Ishant – when being “shaant”(silent) is not good!
“I’ve been off my game lately” would perhaps apply best to the man, nay, lad who walked away with a huge pay check (USD 950,000 to be more accurate) beyond his imagination within six months of being a pivotal member of the bowling attack that took Australia down in the Commonwealth Bank series. Ishant Sharma missed a chance to tour South Africa a year earlier when the selectors had a change of heart at the eleventh hour. But that he had arrived was never in question.
Ishant Sharma found himself in great demand in the days leading up to the IPL and it was quite a catch and a match to watch Ishant in the same team as Ricky Ponting who would have found it bemusing to be sharing the dressing room with his nemesis. But apart from the odd moments when Ponting was seen discussing matters on the field with the fast bowling sensation, Ishant himself struggled to pick up wickets at will.
In fact he was hardly creating a name for himself with only nine wickets in the entire tournament at a not so economical rate of 7.80. He was also perhaps one of the reasons why despite having such a star studded line up, Knight Riders failed to even make it to the semi finals. As young as he may have been, he had raised the expectations and based on his then form and ability, it has to be said that he was a star but one that faded into the background in the course of the tournament as did his team.
10 All out: Not quite Sachin Tendulkar
One may wonder why Sachin Tendulkar is being singled out when he, like V.V.S. Laxman, battled with injury in the course of the duration of the IPL. V.V.S. Laxman fought the indignity of being dubbed a player better suited for a Test team as he warmed the bench. His penchant to throw away his wicket rather casually when in supreme touch has often been Laxman’s bane. Like Dravid and Ganguly, the IPL could have been the platform to prove his critics wrong and led his respective regional team to success with the backing of local support. But the expectations from Tendulkar was exponentially higher than those from Laxman because not only was the former the highest paid icon player but also, because he was a phenomenal name in cricket history whose milestones belonged as much to the one day game as they did to the Tests.
While injury is a valid reason, when these two batsmen of fluency and flair took the field, their performances suggest they had clearly underachieved. With an identical average of 31, Tendulkar played one game more than Laxman’s six, it was simply a case of not having left behind performances that inspire instant recall in a game tailor made for the likes of Tendulkar.
Though he may have been placed in the list in a matter of being the lowest of disappointments, so much is expected of the man who spectators never tire of watching that there was no way he could have been left out of this team, leniency of injury notwithstanding.
That the IPL shone without the light shining from such men of brilliance is extraordinary. One has only to shudder at the imagination of the kind of luster that would surround the IPL should one or all of these men suddenly decide it is their time to shine!
