Vivo back as official sponsor of Indian Premier League

Will Pucovski set to undergo surgery on injured shoulder

Emerging Australia batsman Will Pucosvi is set to spend a lot of time out of the action due to the shoulder injury he sustained in the third Test match against India earlier last month. The right-hander is set to undergo surgery on ‘shoulder subluxation’ and will miss most part of the Australian domestic season. The surgery and the long period of rehabilitation will jeopardise his chances to get back in the Australia squad for the Ashes series due to be held later at the end of the year. Pucovski was selected for the Test series against Australia on the back of splendid performances in the early Sheffield Season but a blow on his head and subsequent concussion ruled him out of the first two Tests of the series. He later came back in the third Test at the SCG only to miss out once again due to the shoulder injury which he picked up while trying to dive in fielding on the fifth and final day of the SCG. He has been missing in action since.

IPL 2021 auction: Mark Wood pulls out to spend time with family

England pacer Mark Wood has opted out of the auction for the next edition of the IPL scheduled to take place today. He was sought by franchises for the raw pace and the ability to bowl yorkers in the latter half of the innings, but the pacer opted to spend some time with the family in the period when many of his England teammates will feature in the league. Wood had set his base price of Rs 2 crore before the auction but now has withdrawn his name from the league. Wood has returned to India to join the England squad on the ongoing series against India after missing the first two Tests of the series. Wood played in the two-match Test in Sri Lanka before heading back to the UK under a widely contentious ‘rotation policy’ adopted by the team management. Wood had made his debut in IPL in 2018 edition when the Chennai Super Kings had bidden for him at Rs 1.5 crore. He bowled poorly and ended up conceding 49 runs off his four overs in the solitary game he played for the franchise. Later, he was released before the IPL 2019 auction and since then he has gone unsold in the last two auctions.

IPL 2021: KKR eyes some big buys with limited resource ahead of mini-auction

Despite being the two-time IPL champions, the recent years for Kolkata Knight Riders has been far from impressive, Despite having several big names in their arsenal, the Kolkata based franchise hasn’t managed to gel as a unit which has resulted in their below-par performances in the last three years. Under the captaincy of Dinesh Karthik, KKR had shown glimpses of their repertoire but hasn’t been able to take it to the next level. Karthik was removed from the captaincy last year and it was handed over to Eoin Morgan. KKR did manage to outclass Rajasthan Royals in their final group game last year but that wasn’t enough to book themselves a spot in the playoffs. When it comes to the history of IPL, KKR hasn’t had the greatest of times in the first three editions under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly but the induction of Gautam Gambhir as the skipper totally changed the dynamics of the franchise. The southpaw led KKR to two championship titles but since his departure, the team hasn’t managed to form a solid base which hasn’t really kept them in the best of shapes. Going into the mini-auctions, KKR will surely look to balance caution with aggression and form a team which might just help them to seal their third IPL title. Barring Shubman Gill, none of the top order players has been consistent and especially after batting first, the franchise hasn’t managed to post big enough total for their bowlers to come into action. They will surely be looking to get some big names in their kitty despite having limited resources. Strengths Shubman Gill at the top of the order looks a sorted guy but his strike rate had come under the scrutiny quite often in the last year. However, we are not quite sure what was the approach of team management and whether he was instructed to play the sheet-anchor’s role. We have already seen how aggressive Gill is. For a player of that stature and still not getting his strike rate up is a matter of concern for KKR but given his skill sets and some stellar performances for India in the recent past, KKR will surely be looking forward to seeing him come out all guns blazing in the next edition. The captaincy department has been handed over to Morgan but KKR hasn’t parted ways with Karthik either. So it’s a win-win scenario for KKR in this regard. With so much international captaincy experience under his belt, Morgan will surely look to lift the team in the upcoming edition with his strategies and planning with Karthik helping him out. The bowling department also looks more or less sorted with Pat Cummins spearheading the attack. He will be assisted by Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, the two mystery spinners which KKR are very proud of having. It proved to be the breakthrough year for Chakravarthy last season which also earned him a national call-up which was cut short in the end owing to injuries. They might also go with Kuldeep Yadav if they want a wrist spinner in their XI. Guys like Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti also showed glimpses of their abilities in the last season and will look to be a bit more consistent going into the next edition. Potential Targets for KKR Mohammad Azharudden Mohammed Azharuddeen has been one of the talking points in the Indian domestic set-up ever since he smashed that blazing century in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He is a top natch youngster to have and his ability to smash the ball from word go despite not taking too many undue risks will play a perfect foil if given the opportunity to open with Shubman Gill. It will also allow the young sensation to play his natural game and the issues regarding the strike rate might just drop down a bit. On a personal front, I definitely feel that the KKR team management might go on a bidding war to acquire the services of this 26-year-old. Dawid Malan The power-hitting England middle-order batsman has been a sensation in the shorter formats and his ability to strike the ball big and play sensibly in the middle overs might just make the KKR team management go after him. The No 1 ranked T20I batsman, Malan has gone on from strength to strength in the last couple of years and his introduction to KKR might work wonders for them. In the recently concluded BBL, we have seen some stellar knocks from the blade of the southpaw. Yet to be a part of the IPL, Malan could be in the radar for several teams but in my perspective, KKR might go on a bidding war to acquire his services. Piyush Chawla That might sound odd given the fact that he was smashed for plenty while playing for CSK last year but Chawla had been an asset for the two-time champions previously. Maybe the Eden Gardens surface is more conductive for his style of bowling and hence the KKR team management might be tempted to buy him back. Jason Behrendorff/Mitchell McLenaghan I have given out two names here because both the bowlers offer similar sort of a balance to any playing XI. With Pat Cummins and Lockie Ferguson already in the KKR set-up, they might look for some variety in the fast bowling department and having a left-arm pacer is always a luxury. While McClenaghan has been a proven customer in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians, Behrendorff hasn’t got enough opportunities in the cash-rich league but one among the two could be on KKR’s radar. PLAYERS RETAINED: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (c), Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Harry Gurney, Ali Khan PLAYERS RELEASED: M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Siddhesh Lad, Chris Green, Tom Banton Auction purse left: 10.75 CR Slots available: 8 Overseas slots: 2

Heavy pocketed, rebranded Punjab walk in IPL mini auction with ‘Get Big or Get Out’ attitude

Over the years, the franchise from Punjab has always entered the auction pool with a lot of money in their hand, but have somehow gone out of unsatiated. This time, the rebranded team, with a new logo, a new name (Punjab Kings) and a new Twitter handle, will look to renew their luck as well when they walk into the auction room with 53 crores in their bag to shop for five foreigners and nine domestic players at the maximum. The idea for the team, therefore, would be to ‘Go Big’ themselves in money matters and get their opposition to ‘Get Out’. The amount of money that they have is a double-edged sword which can very much hurt them as well. Team Scenario- Punjab Kings Purse- 53.2 crores Available Indian slots- 9 Available overseas slots- 5 Retained Squad KL Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, Harpreet Brar, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Mohd. Shami, M Ashwin, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Jordan, Prabhsimran Singh Aggressive opener is the need of the hour The Punjab team in the last season lacked the most when it came to finishing at the end of the innings. Batting first, if Chris Gayle got out early, the run rate Punjab generally stumbled down. None among Mayank Agarwal and skipper KL Rahul was able to increase the run rate by keeping the partnership going. To cover for that and also to make sure that if Chris Gayle fails they have an equally destructive backup ready, the Kings could go for Dawid Malan as their first choice buy. Dawid Malan Malan, 33, is the number one ranked T20 batsman in the world. There is no doubt in the fact that he would be in high demand across the tables in the auction room. But Kings have got the amount of money that no other team has. For a man who has scored a hundred and nine fifties in just 19 innings in his international T20 career and has an astonishing average of 53.43 to go along with a butchering strike rate of nearly 150, shelling out big money shouldn’t be a problem for the Kings. Alex Hales Along with Malan, his compatriot Alex Hales could also be in contention having finished as the highest run-scorer in this season’s Big Bash League (543 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of more than 160). But the only place where Malan has an edge over Hales is that he is a left-hander and will be crucial for a left-right combination with KL Rahul at the opening slot. Elusive search for all-rounder cum finisher Having released the likes of Jimmy Neesham and Glen Maxwell along with Krishnappa, the team is in a dire need of genuine all-rounders. Since they have five overseas slots left, they would like to consider the possibility of buying two genuine foreign all-rounders to go alongside Chris Jordan. These could be Moeen Ali The English all-rounder could be a perfect bet for the Kings, especially on the quick Mohali wicket. With the ball coming on to the bat nice and easy, Ali could be the ideal finisher too coming in at six or seven. Ali has recently displayed his prowess with the bat in the last concluded Test between India and England and his six prowess could never be doubted. He is more than a handy spinner and could give four overs in each game easily. Shakib Al Hasan With the BCB scheduling the Bangladesh Sri-Lanka series in between the IPL, the prospect of buying a Shakib-Al-Hasan who might not be available for the entire duration of the tournament is a risky one. But if any team that could and would like to take a risk, it is the Punjab franchise as they have almost nothing to lose. Ben Cutting The Sydney Thunder all-rounder might be on the wrong side of the thirties, but it’s just one season that the team would be signing him for. And if cutting delivers on the promise and the reputation of being a genuine all-rounder that he carries with him, Kings could be in for an exciting season. The 34-year-old hasn’t shown much promise off late, but few glimpses that were on display during the BBL made sure that franchises notice him. Along with foreign all-rounders, Indian players would also be on their radar. Since Punjab has a lot of spaces left to fill, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they go for most of the top performers from the IPL. The two people who would be on their target are: Shahrukh Khan Khan, a beastly built lower-order batsman who can bowl a few overs off break in the lean patch and can save few fours standing at the short cover or can hop and get you an extraordinary catch at the cow corner is multi-utility player from Tamil Nadu. Having burnt himself in the Tamil Nandu Premier League (TNPL) year after year, he finally got a chance to represent the South Indian state in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy(SMAT). Not letting that opportunity go past unnoticed, he won his team the quarterfinal and played a quick finisher in the final as well. Thus Khan could be one player whom the Punjab franchise would like to bid heavily for. Vishnu Solanki Solanki, also a SMAT star is another batsman that Punjab would eye to fill the void left by the exclusion of the likes of Karun Nair. Fast bowling resources need fresh fuel Punjab’s was one of the worst fast bowling attacks in the tournament, leaking huge amounts of runs both in the powerplay as well as the death overs. The bet to go after Sheldon Cottrell, Hardus Viljoen and Neesham didn’t really pay off. Even Mohammed Shami and Chris Jordan were also expensive in a few of the games. To get rid of that problem, Punjab needs new fast bowling recruits, that too foreign as they already have enough Indian bowlers in their kitty. Jhye Richardson and Wes Agar could be prime targets. Even Tom Curran for that matter is not a bad option, neither is Mustafizur Rahaman. But give a choice, the team would obviously like to go for Jhye, who could also bat a bit and is lethal with his inswingers, which would be handy in the evening at most Indian grounds. Agar with his big climbing bouncer and effort length ball, combined with his ability to throw in yorkers at will is another bowler that the Kings would like to target. If they think to go beyond them and also search for Indian talent, Umesh Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot and Lukman Meriwala could be the potential targets. But considering the fact that they already have Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Ishan Porel, it would be hard to imagine them going for too many fast bowlers. Handy off-spinner to cape off the auction In the end, since they have a lot of money left in the purse and might not be able to get Moeen Ali, the kings might go for an off-spinner in the squad. They have Harpreet Brar who bowls left-arm orthodox and fulfils the criteria for a finger spinner. But having a genuine off-spinner is not a luxury and hence Punjab could easily afford that. Surprise Buy Punjab has an ability to surprise with its selection policy and thus if it decides to get Maxwell on board once again at a lower price, it might be surprising for many but not us. Another surprise package could be either one among Kedar Jadhav and Hanuma Vihari, mostly because the matches might be held in Mumbai and Pune and on spinning tracks, these guys could be handy with their ability to bat and ball.