Have enough depth to deal with Warner absence if needed: Saha
With the second edition coinciding with the general elections, the Indian cricket board had to shift the tournament to South Africa. With the first edition creating a huge buzz there were fears that relocation could depreciate its value.
But matches were attended in big numbers. The quality of cricket too was high. While Delhi Daredevils topped the standings, it was the Adam Gilchristled Deccan Chargers who stole the limelight in the knockouts. Chargers had sneaked past Kings XI Punjab into the semi-finals on better run-rate. They then went on to defeat KOLKATA: The jury may be out on whether David Warner will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad but Wriddhiman Saha said while it would be unfortunate if the swashbuckling Australian isn’t there, the team has enough depth to deal with the situation.
“To the best of my knowledge there hasn’t been a decision on this yet but if he isn’t playing, we can replace him,” said Saha speaking at a media conference on Tuesday.
“Yes, it would be a setback initially if the captain is not around because a team is built with certain plans around the skipper but I think, we will be able to get around it,” he said, While the action was enthralling, there was some off-field drama that left a bad taste. Two new teams -Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala -- were inducted while Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals were almost thrown out as BCCI wasn’t happy with their ownership referring to the possibility of Sunrisers, who bought Saha for ~5 crore this term, missing Warner because of the ball-tampering controversy in South Africa.
That the ball-tampering issue would feature prominently in a conversation with an international cricketer, who is perhaps the best wicket-keeper in the business in redball cricket, was inevitable. Saha said such a thing couldn’t 21) 618) Controversies continued to rock IPL as Kochi Tuskers were terminated for breaching the terms and conditions while five players were caught in a match-fixing sting. Later, BCCI banned TP Sudhindra for life, Shalabh Srivastav was banned for five years while Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali were banned for a year each. Also, hours before the auction, Pune Warriors pulled out of IPL before deciding against it later. They didn’t participate in the auction though. Super Kings were chasing a hattrick of titles but were upset by Kolkata Knight Riders. Playing at home, Chennai have happened without the whole team backing the decision.
“It is difficult to believe that this was done by one or two people without the rest knowing about it,” he said. That being the case, Saha felt punishment too should be meted out evenly. “I think it is unfair that someone would be punished more than others,” he said.
When the focus of the interaction shifted to the 11th edition of the IPL, Saha said one of the advantages of Sunrises is that they have a strong bowling unit. “As a team we would back ourselves to defend a low score. Our bowlers can win matches and that gives batsmen a rivals, China’s Liu Jinyao and Li Xue.
The two Indian youngsters dominated the final from the first series, progressively building a gap between them and their closest rivals.
They eventually finished with 478.9 points, just 1.8 points away from the current world record.
India occupied the second place with 18 medals, including seven gold, while China continued to lead the medals tally with 22 podium finishes, including eight gold medals. lot of confidence,” he said. Fronting their bowling is last season’s highest wicket-taker Bhuvneshwar Kumar who finished the season with 26 scalps. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who took 17 wickets in 14 games, too is in the side and Saha said he hopes training for a week in Hyderabad would be enough to get an idea of how to keep to the leg-spinner.
Saha, who hit a 20-ball 102 (6x14, 4x4) in a T20 match for Mohun Bagan recently, said he can’t help it if he is identified as a Test-match specialist, adding that he gives his best in whatever format he plays. “It is not really my fault that I have played nine ODIS in over eight years. I try to do my best and then let the selectors decide,” he said. This time, it was Deccan Chargers whose contract was terminated due to non-payment of dues. They were replaced by Sunrisers Hyderabad. As the tournament progressed, another spot-fixing scandal emerged with Royals’ Ajit Chandila and
S Sreesanth,
The number of teams reduced to eight after Pune Warriors India withdrew over financial differences with the BCCI. Due to general elections, the first 20 matches were held in the UAE. Kings XI topped the table thanks to the exploits of Glenn Maxwell and made the final. In the summit clash, batting first, they posted 199 thanks to a 55-ball 115 by Wriddhiman Saha. It looked like Kings XI had one hand on the trophy but their bowlers buckled under pressure with Manish Pandey’s 50-ball 94 guiding KKR to their second title.
660) 23) Pune finally came close to their maiden crown but buckled under pressure. They had beaten Mumbai in the first three matches, including Qualifier 1 but lost the final by one run, chasing the lowest total in an IPL final – 129. It also saw the rise of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who for the second season in a row won the Purple Cap.
David Warner (641) Bhuvneshwar Kumar (26)
It would be a setback if the captain is not around because a team is built with certain plans but we will be able to get around it. WRIDDHIMAN SAHA, On Sunrisers skipper Warner’s absence.