Sunil Gavaskar
After one week of the DLF Indian Premier League there have been some great games and some ordinary ones. There have been some upsets as fancied teams have bitten the dust against teams that they should have beaten comfortably.
At the time of writing no teams looked certain to get to the semi-finals and since there are almost ten more games for each team there should not be much of tension even if they have not made a great beginning.
It is a boom period for Indian cricket
What the initial games have shown is that some of those who were not great successes in this format earlier are now coming to grips with the game and are now displaying some top class initiative.
The likes of Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Adam Gilchrist are big hitters in all forms of the game and so are totally at home in this version. They don’t need a second invitation to thrash the ball and they don’t even need a sighter to hit the first ball they face into the stands.
Yusuf Pathan’s 37 ball century was hailed by Shane Warne as one of the best innings he has seen and for that he has been taken to task by some who have much lesser credentials than the great leg-spinner.
They feel it is blasphemy that Warne didn’t include their favourite players' knocks as the best the wizard of Oz had seen. While they have even called him the greatest bowler of his generation even when there are others especially from the sub-continent who may dispute that with facts and figures, they are not allowing Warne to say what he wants.
Amazing isn’t it, that they can say what they want with finality while somone like Warne who has played so much cricket and brought so much flair and joy to the sport cannot say what he wants, leave aside the simple fact that he may have said 'one of the best' and not 'the best knock' he has seen. Be that as it may what is the Indian Premier League without a bit of spice and controversy ?
Pune and Kochi are two new IPL teams
When he was signed by the Royal Challengers many thought that he would not be able to make the adjustments that were required for succeeding in the T20 format but at the time of writing, Jacques Kallis had not only not been dismissed in three games but had also got his team off to rollicking starts and featured in a splendid run chase and given them just the impetus that is needed to get to the semis. For his scintillating batting and clever bowling, he is the CEAT International Cricketer of this Week.
Professional Management Group
