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IPL 2021: Mike Hesson banks on X-Factor Maxwell, power player Kyle Jamieson to win games for RCB

The Royal Challengers Bangalore raised many eyebrows when they bided aggressively for Glenn Maxwell in the auction earlier this year. However, the director of the franchise, Mike Hesson said that they were looking for players who can bring X-factor in the game during the middle overs—an aspect of the game they lacked in the last season.

"He (Maxwell) is fantastic and fits in the middle-order for us. We wanted to have a player of his quality during middle overs and at the back-end as well, he brings in a huge amount of experience," Hesson said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

Speaking about the Australian's prowess to turn the game on its head, Hesson said, "On his day, he can turn a game on its head. We need to use him in a space where we can maximise his skills and we are looking at how we do that.”

Along with Glenn Maxwell, RCB also bid aggressively for the young New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson who rose to prominence on the back of strong performances in Tests against India. He had impressed Indian and RCB skipper Virat Kohli in the two-match Test series held in early 2020 and Hesson said that the young Black Cap would be a ‘power player’ in the upcoming season.

"It's about complementing with skills and what brings to the group, obviously with bat he has skills about being a power player," Hesson said on Jamieson’s credentials ahead of the IPL 2021.

Hesson added that Jamieson will bring immense value to the pace bowling department that is rich with Indian talents such as Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini. He said that all three of them have the different skillset to offer to the team and will make up for a formidable challenge at different stages of the games in the upcoming season.

"Siraj is exceptional with the new ball. He has the ability to swing the new ball while Kyle will get that bounce and bring in different challenges. Saini has a little bit more pace and bowls a different length. They will be used in different phases of the game,” Hesson concluded.

The 14the edition of the IPL will commence on April 9 with the inaugural encounter scheduled between the RCB and the defending champions the Mumbai Indians.

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Big blow for CSK? Hazlewood skips IPL to spend quality time with family

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood became the third Aussie after all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and wicket-keeper batsman Josh Philippe to skip the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League citing bubble fatigue. Hazlewood, part of the Chennai Super Kings in the last IPL edition, said that he wanted to spend quality time with family having spent a huge amount of time in various bio- bubbles since last August. "It's been a long 10 months in bubbles and quarantine at different times, so I decided to have a rest from cricket and spend some time at home and in Australia in the next two months," cricket.com.au quoted Hazlewood as saying. The line length specialist was also upfront about his priorities being representing his nation all refreshed instead of warming the benches in India. "We've got a big winter ahead too. The West Indies is going to be a long tour, with Bangladesh (T20 tour) potentially thrown at the end of that,” he said. "Then potentially the T20 World Cup leading into the Ashes, so it's a big 12 months, as it always is with Australia, and I want to give myself the best chance to be mentally and physically ready for that. That's the decision I've made, and it sits pretty well with me," added the 30-year-old. Hazlewood who has 30 wickets combining Tests and ODIs wish to compete for his side New South Wales in their pursuit of what could be a rare quadruple if they go on to retain the Sheffield Shield (Four Day) and win the Marsh Cup (50 over). Having already won the WBBL through Sydney Thunder Women and BBL through Sydney Sixers, New South Wales could cape off an unbeatable domestic season if they win the Shield and the Cup. "The workloads are a bit too low … to play (both) Wollongong and the Shield final if we make it – hopefully I can use the next two weeks to build up and if we're in the Shield final I can play that," said Hazlewood.

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ICC on lookout for WTC Final broadcasters after Star retains only subcontinent rights

The International Cricket Council would be looking to get broadcasters for the one-off Test, also arguably the biggest Test event on a global scale- the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship Final. Star India, the official broadcast partner of the international cricket governing body decided to retain its rights only for the subcontinent, selling the remaining back to ICC. "It made sense for Star not to worry about selling the rights of the one-off match in none-too major cricket markets where their team is not playing. Apart from India, Star will have the rights in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the biggest markets in world cricket," Cricbuzz quoted a source close to the deal between ICC and Star India. Even though New Zealand is a finalist in the event, it is going to be a heck of a challenge for ICC to sell the rights for the Kiwi nation broadcast. The main reason behind such a situation is the timing issue as during the final the New Zealanders would be having chilly winter nights back home, not considered well enough for wholesome Test match viewing conditions. In other nations, especially England, Australia and South Africa, ICC might find suitable buyers. Another interesting area of sale could be the UAE and US / Canada market as the Indian diaspora there might be interested in the Finals viewership. The WTC Final between India and New Zealand at Southampton, England, will be played between 18 and 22 June.

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IPL 2021 | Team Preview: Riddled by Iyer injury, will Spiderman come to DC's rescue?

The DC universe had their Batman and he was good enough to lead them to the finals in the very third year of his skipper-ship. But little did they know that it would be a Spiderman within their ranks that would take up the mantle to try and steer them to what might be their best season (at least they would hope so) in the Big Bang called Indian Premier League (IPL). Rishabh Pant, the hottest property in the Delhi Capitals arsenal right now, especially because of his great showing in Australia and against England in India, has been given the reigns of the team due to the unfortunate absence of their first choice skipper Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbaikar suffered a shoulder injury in the ODI series against England which has now put him out for at least the next two months. The team which had its best-ever season last year, finishing second in the league stage and then reached finals for the first time in their IPL history, has suddenly been thrown under the rails due to the captaincy change. 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Another SMAT star they picked up in the auctions was Tamil Nadu’s left-arm spinner Manimaran Siddharth. Although his chances of playing are minimal because of the flexibility that Axar Patel gives, in 20 Lakhs, Siddharth is a crucial buy. Apart from that they also recruited Ripal Patel and Vishnu Vinod. 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It also has the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Ravichandran Ashwin who have previously captained IPL sides. Knowing the fact that Shreyas would anyhow be available to skipper the side next year, someone from the experienced lot might have been given the chance, especially Rahane, considering that the 32-year-old is coming off a successful Australia tour as a skipper. But the idea behind keeping Pant as the skipper is the future thinking of Delhi and it might be readying Pant for the role that he would have to play sooner rather than later. Another problem in not making Rahane the skipper is the lower probability of him making it to the playing XI in every game. But with Pant becoming the captain, the added pressure might affect his batting - as has been the case with his initial days in international cricket. But if he would have learnt anything from international cricket, then the pressure might just be the fodder to his fuel. Another predicament that DC face is what if Pant succeeds as a skipper? If the Capitals go on to win this season then Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy would come under threat, even if he gets fully fit. If Pant doesn’t succeed as skipper and it leads to a drop-down in his form as the wicket-keeper batsman then the team would be forced to change captains midway and that might cause problems. Fast bowlers hold the key to Delhi's success If there was anybody that could and should have got the credit of Delhi entering the Playoffs and then reaching their first IPL finals, it must be the pair of South African pacers Nortje and Rabada. The two of them together picked 52 wickets. Rabada even got the purple cap with 30 scalps this season. The next DC bowler on the list was Marcus Stoinis, a medium-pacer who scalped 13 to his name. In this season, there are three new additions in the seam bowling department, making it even more strong. With the inclusion of Yadav and Curran along with the full-time availability of Chris Woakes and add to that, a fully fit Ishant Sharma - it becomes a dangerous machine for the opposition. Thus the key to Delhi’s success would be how well the pacers perform through different stages of the tournament. Dhawan, Stoinis & Smith: Trio that could make or break it for DC Shikhar Dhawan was in phenomenal form last season, scoring 618 runs, only behind the Orange Cap holder KL Rahul. With that performance and the 98 in the recently concluded ODI series, Dhawan has set a bar for himself. Considering that the T20 World Cup is in the vicinity, IPL could be a great opportunity for the Gabbar to strike big and get back the numero uno position as India's opener. Along with Dhawan, the two other players that are likely to form the core of the Capitals batting are Aussies Smith and Stoinis. Stoinis, last season, was a freak with the bat, scoring runs whenever they were required. He not only scored runs but took wickets too, making him a priceless option in the XI with 352 runs and 13 wickets in the entire season making him was also the most valuable player for Delhi Capitals. Although he has not been in that great a form since then, scoring just one fifty and taking just three wickets in his last 10 games. Smith though is in red hot form with white-ball cricket ever since his awful time at the IPL. He has scored three hundred and one fifty in five games (List A and ODIs combined) while scoring a quickfire 40 in the T20Is as well. It is going to be these three batsmen who are going to take the DC ship out of the troubled waters. However, if they fail to fire, the onus will fall on young guns like Prithvi Shaw, skipper Pant and Shimron Hetmyer and it would be interesting to see how their contrasting styles work in tandem. Neutral venue a plus point The neutral venues feature would be a bonus for a side like Delhi which has got brilliant fast bowlers for tracks like Eden Gardens and Wankhede, where they play eight games combined, which is more than half their season. For two games at the MA Chidambaram, they have in stock the lethal spinning trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel as well. Both Patel and Ashwin showed their class in the recently concluded Test series against England, claiming 27 and 32 wickets in six and eight innings respectively. And who is not aware of the charms of the evergreen Mishraji, who is also the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history with 160 scalps in 150 games. The remaining four games at Motera are anyways on batting-friendly tracks where they could play any combination they want. So in a way, the neutral venue system looks like a profitable business prospect for the Capitals. What are the chances this season? There could be none better a result than going one step further and claiming the title this time around. With almost all their stars in form, Delhi look like a team to beat. The only downside is the absence of Shreyas. But with Pant being given the reigns, the team can do wonders especially the way Spiderman has been weaving the success waves all around the world. Well, this might eventually turn out to be one DC classic where ‘Marvellous’ Spiderman behind the wickets, might turn out to be Captain Pantastic. Best XI for DC Shikhar Dhawan, Marcus Stoinis, Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (C/WK), Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Umesh Yadav, Anrich Nortje

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IPL 2021: Moeen Ali commends MS Dhoni's leadership, CSK's structure

One of the new entrants into the Chennai Super Kings Moeen Ali is all aware of the legacy of the franchise and commended the leadership of MS Dhoni for not creating a panicking atmosphere for players. Instead, he said, that the captain MSD takes responsibility and make life easier for the players with consistent policies. “It’s very important to have strong leadership and coaches who stay calm, who take the pressure off the players as much as they can and are consistent. We are very lucky we have that,” Moeen said to the CSK website. “I think what differentiates CSK from other teams is actually how they structure everything… from the squad they have to the way they do things. They look a very calm franchise that doesn’t panic.” Moeen said that he has had words with players who have played games and improved their games under the leadership of MS Dhoni. He added that players emphasized the clarity of roles MS Dhoni provides to his players which help them in shaping their gameplans. “I’ve spoken to players who have played under MS and they tell me how he improves their game. I believe a great captain does that,” he added. “I think it’s something on every player’s wish list to play under MS. I think it’s the confidence and the clarity he gives people. It’s exciting,” he concluded. However, Moeen Ali is not missing out on the main purpose of winning the IPL title in the upcoming seasons starting on April 9. Moeen Ali was bought by the Super Kings in the auction for Rs 7 crore for his all-around abilities. He is capable of providing them flourish with the bat both at the top and in the lower order as well as a bowling option with his accurate off-spin.