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| Image design: Bala Kumar |
Hello friends,
15th edition of Indian Premier League has entered its knockout phase & we have got our fab four. After seventy hard fought encounters the best four teams of this edition have reached the knockout phase. If this edition is different as two of the most successful teams of the league could not make it to the playoffs, it becomes even more special as both the debutants in the form of Gujarat Titans & Lucknow Super Giants entered the knockout phase in their very first attempt to grab that coveted trophy. Credit to Rajasthan Royals & Royal Challengers Bangalore too for making it to the top four after some exciting performances in the league phase. The tournament was not short of excitement. Till the last week of the league phase there were continuous changes in teams' standings in the points table which made it even more eventful. Lot of individual brilliance as well as collective team efforts, nail biting encounters, some extremely inspiring leadership instances were the flavor of the season. Not to forget that there were quite a few debutant captains too who were under pressure to perform in the most talked about T20 league in the world. Young talents continue to blossom throughout the season. At the same time the veterans also came to their own during the most crucial phases of the league. Let's now quickly have a look on the top trends during the league phase.
Not so bright for the Knights
Success in any team game depends on few factors. One of the major factor being consistent faith on every team member which provides them immense assurance about their place in the team. That security or assurance about their place can be a major motivator for them to perform. Even in a competitive league like IPL teams have experienced some extraordinary performances from some of the individuals who have been trusted upon by their respective teams. Kolkata Knight Riders team management could have taken a clue or two from some of the most successful teams in the history of the league in this regard. They started quite well under a young and enthusiastic captain Shreyas Iyer. But very quickly the performance went down and they could not recover from that slide which eventually resulted in the ouster for the last year finalists. One of the major reason being their continuous changes in the playing eleven. They made highest number of changes in the playing eleven among the ten teams which showed little or no faith of their team management on the players' ability. In a league like this any player can have a bad game or two. But not showing faith on their abilities or backing them when they are down can produce negative results for the team. That is what exactly happened to them. It has been a trend with them in past too when they didn't back quality players like Kuldeep Yadav or Dinesh Karthik during their tough phases. Surprisingly they did not bother to bid for a captain like Eoin Morgan who did an exceptional turnaround last season with his leadership skills though his own performance with the bat was not satisfactory. Probably that is where leaders turn up and show faith on others. That is how we build strong and long term teams. Shahrukh Khan owned team probably can look at CSK or MI on how to built a strong core team over the years with a major factor being backing the players to perform in any situation. That 's a top leadership rule in any field.
All rounder Jadeja or captain Jadeja
Captaincy is never an easy job. Be it for national team or franchisee based teams as a captain you are always expected to set high standards in whatever you do. So when one becomes the captain of a team he or she needs to be extremely careful about their acts as they are the roll models for their fellow team members. Overall events that occurred revolving Ravindra Jadeja's appointment as CSK captain and his mid season resignation hold quite a few important leadership lessons. First and foremost question is whether he was mentally prepared for this role. The way the entire chain of events happened it does not seem that he was in a good space mentally after taking up the captaincy. We all missed that aggressive and active Jaddu during the matches. His body language was never aggressive as a captain and the same reflected in his as well as team performance too. End result is below par performance from one of the best all rounders in the world & one of the best T20 teams in the world. On lot of occasions Dhoni was setting up the field though Jadeja was present in the field. Being a dummy captain never gives a good impression about an individual's leadership ability. It is known that he does not possess much of the captaincy experience during all these years. But when you are trusted with such a huge responsibility doesn't it make sense that you try your best to justify that faith by putting some extra efforts rather than leaving it mid season? Specially when you have the guidance of stalwarts like MSD or Stephen Fleming, going that extra mile probably could have fetched him some fruitful results too. At the same time if he felt that additional responsibility of captaincy could affect his game then it's fair to say that he could have communicated the same to the team management before accepting the proposal. The debate will continue for some more time for sure. But this incident is definitely an eye opener for any individual as being aware of our strengths and weaknesses is an important factor while taking up any responsibility. Hopefully both Jadeja and CSK management takes required lessons from this incident to take more well thought & planned decisions in future.
The roaring Titans
Your passion is always greater than you experience. That is what Hardik Pandya and his team Gujarat Titans proved in this edition of IPL. For Hardik it was the debut season as captain in the toughest t20 league whereas for Gujarat based franchisee it was the debut season as a team. Challenges were plenty. Pressure was enormous. But the Baroda lad proved his worth as a leader as well as an individual player. His aggressive leadership style will be applauded for backing his players, leading from the front whenever required and taking calculative risks during critical phases of the matches. His players also ensured that they payback on the faith shown by their captain. Some individual brilliances from the likes of Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Wriddhiman Saha are the testament to the positive team environment that Hardik & team management have created in their very first season. Definitely a case study on team building. Before the beginning of the tournament they were criticized for not building a very strong batting unit during the mega auction. There were questions over their bench strength too. But they proved everybody wrong and became the first team to qualify for the playoffs in this edition of the league. Each and every individual of the team came with some unbelievable match winning performances. They did not depend on one or two individuals nor did create any hero culture. Throughout they played as a team and top position among the ten teams is the reflection of that team spirit. Lot of credit to the coaching staff too for this incredible performance. Considering their form and advantage of playing the final in front of home crowd ( If qualify for the final) nobody will be surprised if they go all the way to hold that elusive trophy in their first attempt itself.
The passionate warrior
Passion can drive any individual towards greater success. None of the past failures or any other obstacle can stop you if you are determined on your goal and ready to do whatever it takes to reach there. Dinesh Karthik is a well known name in the cricketing circle for over a decade now. He has earned that name for him by making some unbelievable contributions to the teams that he played for. His passion for the game and helping his team to achieve greater success is surmountable at this point of time. Current edition of IPL is seeing the extraordinary version of finisher DK. Tamilnadu lad has earned all the applauds for his finishing skills this year for RCB. His contribution has been immense this year in changing the fortunes of RCB who were in hunt for a finisher after the retirement of great ABD. Karthik had big shoes to fill in and he did it in style. Below par performances from big guns like Kohli and Maxwell could have built that extra pressure on the inexperienced middle order. But DK held the fort most often than not. At the same time his passion for playing for his country again and helping them winning a world cup is something to appreciate. In sports age is just a number and the talented wicket keeper batter is proving that again and again. His energy in the field is contagious. In a tough league like IPL you always need that sort of a guy who can energize the entire team with his performance as well as spirit. His selection in the national team for the upcoming T20 series against South Africa is a much deserved reward for his efforts. Hopefully he can fulfill his dream of achieving greater success for his country soon.
Stay tuned for more in this space.
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