IPL 2014: Top five all-rounders IPL teams should retain
The Indian Premier League has led the way in establishing new rules for the game as cricket gradually embraces the bit of commerce that comes along with the borrowed frame-work of club football. The process is still at a very nascent stage of development with a different paraphernalia of auctions, bidding wars etc.
Prior to the player auctions for the new season of the Indian Premier League the format (and even the host country) of which is still uncertain, teams will make a giant step when they retain current squad players. The rules allow a maximum of six players to be retained by each team through five direct retained players and if that is done, then one more indirectly through what is called ‘right-to-match card’. The system differs if the number of directly retained players are less than five.
Retaining players is an important exercise for the franchisees not just because it ensures that the best players continue to fuel a side but also because it ensures a somewhat uninterrupted continuity of identity which is essential for continued support of fans.
Thus, this system is directly beneficial to the larger framework of IPL that depends upon building city-based loyalties as well as for the franchisees who depend upon merchandising through their star-players for their revenues. That is, however, the business side of it.
In 2011, when franchisees were allowed to retain a maximum of four players, the sides who retained a core group of players such as Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians enjoyed more success in the ensuing seasons. However, there is not enough evidence to say that that might be a general rule and not an exception.
What can be said without any hesitation is that the teams who do retain players will have to ensure that they make the right choices as retention will make a big hole in their pockets leaving them a lesser fraction of money to invest in other squad players. In such a situation, talented all-rounders become a precious commodity as they offer more services for the same price giving the side greater balance. Here is a look at five all-rounders that IPL franchisees should retain.
5. James Faulkner – Rajasthan Royals
The Australian is primarily a bowler who enjoyed considerable success in the Indian Premier League as well as the Champions League last year with Rajasthan Royals but he proved his worth with the bat in the ODI series against India last year. He smashed 64 runs of 29 balls to drive Australia to a sensational win in the 3rd ODI at Mohali.
His brutal batting on hard, dry Indian pitches will come in handy for Rajasthan Royals who have traditionally been a side of bit-part players pulling their weight together to punch above their weight. Faulkner is not a Brett Lee or a Mitchell Johnson with the ball but he is perhaps much more effective in the limited overs format as he can deliver the goods in critical situations.
He adheres to a tight line and length, can swing the new ball and has an accurate yorker reserved for the last overs. Faulkner finished IPL 2013 as the second-highest wicket-taker with 28 scalps in 16 matches @ 6.75 runs an over. Moreover, Faulkner is an experienced international even though he is still very young and can provide leadership to a side that will need some after the retirement of Rahul Dravid.