|
An interesting story doing the rounds was how V.V.S. Laxman, captain of Deccan Chargers, had refused his ‘icon’ status to help increase the budget of his team. Well, with so many icons already in the side and the classy Hyderabad batsman leading his city team, it is not difficult to now see the reason.
Man for man, the Chargers look the team to beat with Adam Gilchrist, Anrdew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs and the free-scoring Chamara Silva in the line-up — not to speak of Laxman, who never really had enough opportunity to show off his quality in the limited-overs game.
There are, of course, major doubts over the availability of Symonds beyond the first two weeks — but that does not necessarily damage the balance of the team.
If only a couple of big names mentioned above can occupy the crease for a major number of overs, the Chargers will be on course for a challenging total — while there are the utility men who can chip in with both bat and ball.
Chaminda Vaas or the spunky Kiwi Scott Styris, a free player after his recent retirement from international cricket, or even Sanjay Bangar — who made up the all-rounder’s quota in India’s 2003 World Cup side — can all be extremely useful players in this form of cricket.
The presence of both Gilchrist and Symonds in the same team is certain to keep the turnstiles busy at all of the venues the Chargers play.
While Symonds may be the most expensive pick for the team at $1.35 million (Dhs 4.9m), second only in the payment charts to Chennai Super Kings’ Dhoni, ‘Gilly’ is second to none in terms of popularity in India.
‘Boom Boom’ Afridi may not be quite a purist’s delight with his cross batted swipes and heaves, but in this form of cricket, who really cares?
Sport Extra prediction: They could go all the way.
Deccan Chargers
Owner: Deccan Chronicle
Bought for: $107.01 million (Dhs 393m)
Designated player: None
Most expensive player: Andrew Symonds (Aus) $1.35m
(Dhs 4.9m)
Coach: Robin Singh
Squad: V.V.S. Laxman (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs, Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Zoysa, Scott Styris, Sanjay Bangar, R.P. Singh, Rohit Sharma, Halhadar Das, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Pragyan Ojha, P.M. Sarvesh Kumar, Venugopal Rao, Paidkalva Vijaykumar, Arjun Yadav.
Player to watch: Andrew Symonds
He may have gone for a prohibitive price at the auctions, but then one does not have to be a cricket analyst to justify the price tag of Symonds. Arguably the top No 6 ODI batsman in the world, the best thing about Symonds’ batting is his philosophy that attack is the best form of defence — irrespective of the situation. He also has the knack of picking up wickets in a bunch with either his gentle away swingers or some tricky off-spin.
Fixture List
April 20 Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata
April 22 Delhi Daredevils Hyderabad
April 24 Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad
April 27 Mumbai Indians Mumbai
May 1 Kings XI Punjab Hyderabad
May 3 Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore
May 6 Chennai Super Kings Chennai
May 9 Rajasthan Royals Jaipur
May 11 Kolkata Knight Riders Hyderabad
May 15 Delhi Daredevils Delhi
May 18 Mumbai Indians Hyderabad
May 23 Kings XI Punjab Mohali
May 25 Bangalore Royal Challengers Hyderabad
May 27 Chennai Super Kings Hyderabad
May 30 First Semi-Final Mumbai
May 31 Second Semi-Final Mumbai
June 1 Final Mumbai
|
