Indian Premier League (IPL)

[prasen9]

So after several matches more, the leaderlist:

Impact Ratings/match (qual: 3 matches): Bumrah, Mayank Y, Asutosh, Kuldeep, Kuldeep, Parag, Rana, Chahal, Dube, Abhishek, Rohit

No, the Kuldeep, Kuldeep is not a typo. Those are two different Kuldeeps.

Among batters, the top 8 would be: Ashutosh, Parag, Dube, Abhishek, Rohit, Samson, Gill, Kohli

Of these seems like Rohit, Gill, Kohli are whom the selectors like. Dube may also get infor his ability to hit spin. Youngsters Parag and Abhishek may be too early according to the selectors. I would be fine with Parag at least.

Backup keepers?

#35 Rahul, #40 Karthik, #47 Kishan, #69 Pant

It is clear that Pant has not still learned to play meaningful innings in T20s but the media goes ga ga over him as do retired players. Let us see. My vote is to whoever does well in this IPL - just go with form. So, that is Rahul now. Let's see if he can hold on. He is above the others because he is a bit more consistent. And, Pant is relatively slow - relatively meaning accounting for the match average run-rate and the opposition strength of bowling. Pant is deadly against Venkatesh Iyer.

[SaniaFan]

How are these WKs doing in terms of keeping? Who is dropping most chances or missing stumping? Do they consider fielding when calculating impact value?

Also are these values from cricinfo impact player rating as I see some differences in terms of their position.

[prasen9]

SF, yes, I took it from ESPN CI Impact Ratings sorting them by Impact/Match. The Impact/Match supposedly rewards people for catches and stumpings and wickets for allrounders. But, I think all of their keeping in T20Is is about the same. And, we should just choose the best batter. Then, the Batting Impact/Inning is perhaps a better metric. Note that this changes match to match. So, if you check after a few more matches, you will see something different. Be sure to click on BI/inn - otherwise you will see aggregate rankings.

Batting Impact/Inn (qual:3 inning): Ashutosh, Riyan, Abhishek, KL Rahul, Rohit, Sanju, Shubman, Kohli,

Backup: Karthik, Shashank

Kohli is fading match by match. Dube has not had a good knock for some time I think. And, Yashasvi had a smashbuckling 2023 but is awol this time.

I think we have seen enough of Chahal, Jadeja, and Axar. We should go with Riyan and Abhishek but they are not bowled much. Maybe Dravid should have a word with their respective team captains that they are in the radar and 1-2 overs will not hurt that much because there are so many bowlers who are really bowling crap and getting tonked anyway.

[PKBasu]

Yashaswi Jaiswal calmed some nerves with a fine 104* off 60 balls against the hapless Pandya-led MI. The latter is in terrible form with bat, ball and as captain. The move from GT to MI was a disaster for him, and he surely doesn't merit a place in the squad for the T20 World Cup on current form. The team is being selected this coming Saturday.

[prasen9]

In a match with teams scoring above 210, Ravindra Jadeja SR 84 and Padikkal SR 68. Both played 19 balls each. RJ is mentally a slow batsman by nature. So, he should be sent after DLC so that he has no other option but to hit. When sent in such situations he has performed well. Given a choice, he is too cautious.

[PKBasu]

I'm amazed that CSK is still doing what proved disastrous for India at the 2009 T20I World Cup. I can never forget landing at Heathrow full of confidence that India would easily chase down the England total, and being frustrated throughout my journey in to London on the black cab, as Jadeja's slow scoring (having come in at #4) destroyed India's chances. I had a ticket for the final, but cancelled it and went to Wimbledon with my wife instead (where we watched Federer, Djokovic, Serena play their R1 matches on Centre Court).

[prasen9]

Fundamentally, the old guard plays the Dhoni way. Leave it for the end. Common sense says that is a bad idea. A better idea is hit in the power play overs like crazy. That is because you have only two fielders outside and so the chances of you getting out is lower. The new Dhoni is like the old Dhoni but not like the vast-middle Dhoni. When Dhoni came he used to bat carefree. Then, he figured out that you should take less risks, etc. Which worked for a while. Then, when the inefficiencies in the game got squeezed out, he did not adapt. Now, he is coming at the end and playing carefree. Jadeja in his first 3-4 years in tests would hit no matter what. Now, he will not hit almost no matter what.

I have not done a full analysis and thus can only say from small analysis I have done. The idea that you need an anchor batter and the other batter will hit actually results in more risk. The better option is both batters will hit if you have a bad ball and both will not hit if you do not have a bad ball. Of course, that depends upon what type of batters they are, etc. But, designating one batter to take singles and defend and the other to hit is not a very wise strategy.

Today, all batters can hit if they want. The question is why do they not want that. Except when you are playing to prevent a serious dent on your NRR, especially in knockout games, there is no sense in playing slowly. You can score 80 all out and lose the game and that is fine. Because if you score 150 you are going to lose anyway. The key is to aim for the 170/180 so that you have a fighting chance. Not really a 150. That does not come by playing at a SR of 84 or 68. I know this is one innings and one should not draw conclusions. But, I have seen this many times and that is the cause of disillusionment.

This will only go away when the old guard goes away - Dravid, Jadeja, etc. Rohit seems open to innovating. We will see who wins out. But, to win the WC, we need to hit every ball - when the wicket, ground, and weather is conducive. On a difficult pitch, bad weather, etc. you need to adjust. The best teams adjust the best. Cricket is complicated.

[SaniaFan]

Whether we like it or not Pant may have booked his ticket for the world cup today.

[prasen9]

So you think who among Samson and Rahul will be out? Or is Rahul going to be taken as a batsman and some other batsman like Yashasvi or Gill or Dube is out? Yes, Pant has lots of backers and after this innings he has played better than Kishan or DK overall in this IPL.

[prasen9]

Batting leaders (using BI/inn):

Abhi Sharma, Ash Sharma, Parag, Sanju, Dube, Rahul, Gaikwad, Shashank S.

The Kohli fade has happened. Rohit too. Gill, Tilak Varma, Karthik also not really winning matches although they played some good innings.