By now based on the current form it is easy to guess the semifinalists of this tournament. Yes Of course I could be wrong but in all probability I could be right. The Mumbai Indians, the Deccan chargers and the Delhi Daredevils are pretty much sure to be present in the Semifinals. The fourth position is up for grabs for the remaining teams. But, of all the other teams the only team that looks worthy of a semifinal position is the Chennai Superkings. Yes they are lower in the rankings but they sure know how to win and will definitely be there in the top 4.
When the tournament started I was cheering for the Kolkata Knight Riders. They seemed to have a pretty good team with Gayle playing and the remaining players that showed lot of hope in last years tournament. They seemed to have set the balance right. But to my surprise none of the good local players of last year were present. Saha who was a very good batsman and scored some handy runs last year is nowhere to be seen. Now we see players like Sanjay Bangar and Akash Chopra. How in gods name can these players be picked for a T20 game. They will not be able to secure a place in the T20 team of 5 year olds. This is what happens when a NewZealander and an Australian are present in the selection committe of a Bengal team. First they managed to strip Ganguly of his captaincy; they might very well wish to remove him from the team. Next they make McCullum the captain of the team. That would be the dumbest move ever. Compare the batting stats of him and Ganguly.
McCullum:
Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St
153 2987 166 28.44 1 15 - - - - 165 13
Ganguly:
Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St
311 11363 183 41.02 22 72 100 5/16 38.49 2 100 0
They are not even remotely comparable. Anyways how can one justify removing the best captain of team India with a player who is a replacement captain for his own team. The only time that McCullum ever showed his talent was the one match against Royal Challengers in the previous edition of IPL T20 and never after that. This achievement has made him God in the eyes of Shahrukh Khan and himself.
After watching the match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders I felt a deep sense of betrayal, a feeling of agony and distrust. The team that showed so much promise with its stars did not stand up to its promise. The most well marketed team of the DLF IPL T20 looked more like a team that wants to make money rather than win matches. The KKR team looks more like a marketing gimmick rather than a team that takes its cricket seriously. So for now I have decided not to watch any of its remaining matches in IPL. They have to prove themselves worthy of my time. They have to atleast come close to the promise that they made with its fans.
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