New Delhi: They were hailed as Knight Riders. The bunch came with a dynamic king, designer attire, war-borne helmets and anthem crooned in proud baritone. All equipped to rule the battlefield and conquer, dominate and tear opponents apart, the knights stepped in and the tale unfolded on expected lines.
In the inaugural match of the inaugural IPL, Brendon McCullum tossed the Royal Challengers Bangalore out of the field with the meanness of a deft slaughterer, a memorable knock of 158 which still remains the highest individual score in T20s.
But what followed is a topsy-turvy tale of an epic that could have been. The scimitars lost their shine. The revered knights turned mere onlookers and the crowned demigods struggled against even the merest mortals. Yes, they still made news but they would only be about the off-field controversies and dressing room revelations.
Gradually, even the ardent admirers started parting with their patronage and the 'fake IPL player' became the most interesting news about the side.
The team was shuffled and re-shuffled during the three difficult years. Sourav Ganguly was removed from the helm and brought back again. Yet, nothing seemed to work in their jinxed territory.
Come this year, team owner Shahrukh Khan has played his cards carefully in the pre-season auctions. The team think-tank took brave leaps by leaving out the likes Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle. And if that force creased eyebrows, dumping of people's favourite Sourav Ganguly gave a heart-attack to the people of Bengal.
Dada, the emblem of Kolkata's integrity and nation's pride is now a history chapter and when questioned, the management termed his desertion as a strategic decision.
Proven performers were lapped up, led by the man who revived Indian innings in the World Cup final - Gautam Gambhir - with a match-winning 97. Add to that the names of Yusuf Pathan and dependable Jacques Kallis, the bunch surely looks promising.
While Gambhir, Pathan, Kallis, Ryan Ten Doeschate and Eoin Morgan form the core of their batting lineup, their bowling will be engineered by the old warhorse Brett Lee accompanied by Shakib Al Hasan and able line of domestic bowlers like the previous year’s much-lauded Jaydev Unandkat, Delhi transfers Pradeep Sangwan and Rajat Bhatia and former India pacer Laxmipathy Balaji.
And with players of the ilk of Brad Haddin, Manoj Tiwary and Manvinder Bisla adding to the batting strength, the jinx should finally be broken.
The team's major positive is its line of all-rounders ranging from the top-ranked Kallis and Shakib and continuing up to Laxmi Ratan Shukla.
But all said and done, the real test would be on the field and how they cope up with the absence of Sourav, Gayle, McCullum, Hussey, etc., remains to be seen.
The miserly left-arm spinner Murali Karthik, now in the Pune team, will be sorely missed and if Shakib fails or gets injured, domestic recruits- Sarabjit Ladda and Iqbal Abdullah look too brittle to be potent spinning options on sub-continental tracks.
Squad:
Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Jaidev Unadkat, Iqbal Abdulla, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manvinder Singh Bisla, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Sarabjit Ladda, Shami Ahmed, Shreevats Goswami (Foreign) Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin, Shakib Al Hassan, Brett Lee, Eoin Morgan, Ryan ten Doeschate, James Pattinson.
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