After being in danger of becoming a somewhat nomadic competition, the Indian Premier League returns to India after last season’s hiatus in South Africa.

The Rajasthan Royals will be among a cluster of teams who should offer a credible challenge to reigning champions Deccan Chargers in what promises to be another helter-skelter season.

Shane Warne’s side won the inaugural tournament in 2008, but they are still smarting from their anaemic end to the 2009 campaign. They lost four of their last five matches to finish sixth in the final table, when one more victory would have seen them progress to the semi-finals. Rajasthan will be delighted to return to India and will look to recapture the impregnable home form of 2008 which saw them win all seven games at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. 

This season, the Royals will play some home games at the imposing Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. Its capacity of 50,000 means a lively atmosphere will be guaranteed and Warne will be hoping fervently the vociferous crowds will spur his side to success. Their first four fixtures will be at the Sarder Patel, with Jaipur hosting the final three group games. 

Rajasthan play their first match on Saturday March 13th away against Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians. The ‘little master’ continues to create stupefying history and recently became the first man to score 200 in a One Day International.  This match perfectly encapsulates what IPL is all about. Every team contains a plethora of world class talent; it’s the best against the best. As well as Tendulkar, Mumbai can call upon the services of dynamic West Indian all rounder Dwayne Bravo and Essex’s effervescent Graham Napier.   

In the weeks leading up to the opening game the Royals have suffered a potentially significant and destabilising blow to their hopes of winning the title. Ravindra Jadeja, the precociously talented all rounder has been banned for one year due to ‘non-adherence of IPL player guidelines’. Jadeja, India’s 2008 Under 19 World Cup winning captain has been expelled from this year’s IPL for attempting to negotiate a more lucrative contract with another franchise.

So no Jadeja then, but Warne still has some mighty fine players at his disposal. Former Hampshire star Shane Watson has been reinvented after a stunning season for Australia opening the batting in all forms of the game; form which earned him the prestigious Allan Border Medal last month. He may form a muscular opening partnership with South African skipper Graeme Smith that will surely strike fear into opposition attacks, but Michael Lumb is also being tipped to play at the very top of the order.
 

 

Ferocious speedster Shaun Tait will open the bowling for Rajasthan and has returned from his self-imposed exile fitter and faster than ever. The South Australian recently bowled the second fastest ball ever recorded - 160.7kph (100mph) in the Aussies' recent Twenty20 win over Pakistan at the MCG. He decided against playing First Class cricket this season, instead concentrating on the shortest form of the game. It’s a choice which will benefit the Royals as the fastest bowler in the world is a great bet to be the tournament's leading wicket-taker.

Twenty20 has rejuvenated many cricketers’ careers and nobody personifies this more than Yusuf Pathan. The 27 year old was a journeyman for Baroda and Vadodara in the Raji trophy until the advent of 20 over cricket. He has found his niche as a hard-hitting middle order batsman and tidy off spinner. His dazzling IPL performances have seen him become an integral part of India’s limited overs setup.

I for one cannot wait for this year’s edition to begin, the intoxicating mix of cricket and Bollywood makes for an alluring spectacle which shouldn’t be missed. We will have reports from all of the Rajasthan Royals matches on this website.
 

Neil Evans

    



 

 

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