Opportunity can mean differently for different people. For two new franchises, it is a chance to own a piece of the six billion dollars worth of IPL pie. For the BCCI, it is about en-cashing multi-million dollar cheques, whether in rights, revenue or sponsorship. Most of all, for 22 players, it is a chance to go out there and make an impression.
For KL Rahul, it is about making a mark as captain and leader of a new group, something he might not have been able to do at previous franchises. For Quinton de Kock and Mohammed Shami, it is a new chapter at a new team. For Krunal Pandya, it is cutting the umbilical cord with Mumbai Indians and building on the reputation he earned there. Expanding that analogy further, for Hardik it is about finding out if he can be his own man, a leader of a group of players and make work decisions like putting himself up at number four through an entire IPL season.
For Deepak Hooda, it is about building on the responsibility he was given on his India debut. Back in February, when he made his ODI debut against West Indies, the team management was thinking of him in a middle-order role. Someone who could marshal the innings in middle overs in case of a collapse, or finish things off with power-hitting when a base was set. Oh, and he should be able to bowl a few overs, for India have the 2023 ODI World Cup in mind.
Lucknow’s Ayush Badoni slammed a fifty on his IPL debut. Image: Sportzpics
Hooda has time on his side for that tournament, but like most on the fringes, to dig out of the domestic wilderness, he needs opportunities to make that mark. At Punjab Kings, that opportunity didn’t come through consistently. For a lack of proper batting balance, Kings were always fiddling with their batting line-up and Hooda often found himself on the bench.
He is now at a franchise that will afford him those consistent opportunities. Lucknow has only a 20-man squad, thanks to the ten teams stretching the mega auctions’ pool, and much of their strategy is to get the Indian core group of players going. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Rahul vouched for him in the middle order and pushed an auction strategy to buy him. Never mind that LSG lost their maiden IPL game, but the way it progressed, you can just see how Hooda fits into their plans with both bat and ball.
Without Hooda’s half-century, Lucknow would have never escaped the grasp of embarrassment after struggling at 29-4. Similarly, without Rahul Tewatia’s blitz, Gujarat wouldn’t make up the par-score difference in a flash and ultimately cross the finish line. In that, Tewatia is sizing up his own opportunity. Can he finally push the national selectors into giving him a call-up? Time will tell.
When we talk about opportunities regarding these two new teams, the clearest conclusion is in how the squads have been stretched thin. The number of marquee Indian players stays the same. The number of high-quality capped Indian players stays the same. The overseas players come and go as per their availability. It is in the uncapped players and youngsters that the franchise must find their team balance as well as create a template for future IPL seasons. Trust the scouts and their networks to have more impact on future auctions and strategies.
It is precisely why we must look beyond Hooda and Tewatia after this maiden match-up for the IPL’s newest two teams. They highlighted that aforementioned aspect as Ayush Badoni and Abhinav Manohar Sadrangani made their marks.
“He packs a punch and can play 360 degree shots. He is baby AB”, said KL Rahul post-match. It was heady praise for Badoni after notching up his maiden IPL half-century, and that too in trying circumstances. While he didn’t showcase his full range of shots on this day, his pulled six off Lockie Ferguson was enough to underline his ability. Earlier, he had hit the same bowler through the line to the long-on boundary. Ferguson, mind you, is no slow pony.
“Where have you been hiding?” Harsha Bhogle asked him in the mid-innings’ break. “Iska kya jawab du (what should I say to this)?” Badoni replied. His face told a story, one part describing the neglect he endured under Delhi’s murky cricketing system and the other part reflected part relief that the IPL might give him a stage to escape those shackles.
Badoni boasts of a 185-run knock in an Under-19 Test against Sri Lanka and a 28-ball half-century in the Under-19 Asia Cup final. He belongs to the high-class pedigree of cricketers that have sprung from the famed Sonnet Club. If Indian domestic cricket is a wilderness, then Delhi cricket circles are almost a black hole. Few ever escape the clutches of the incessant politicking here, and those who do have always gone on to make a name. After missing out during IPL auctions, dawn has finally broken through for Badoni and he was picked up by Lucknow. They are certainly treating him better.
You look at his counterpart in Gujarat and can chart a totally different pathway for Manohar. He has only played four T20 matches before this one and boasts a strike rate of 150. Play those highlights again and you can see why Gujarat fast-tracked him – his bat speed is a joy to behold. Manohar doesn’t have much footwork but on the sharp end of a T20 game, when 15 are needed off 7 balls, you don’t care about aesthetics.
“I have seen his power-hitting in the nets and I was sure he would help us cross the finish line,” said Rahul Tewatia. Three powerful strikes and Gujarat romped home. Karnataka has a much more structured club and domestic system compared to Delhi and rest assured we would have heard of Manohar sooner or later.
It has come sooner for Manohar and just about timely for Badoni lest we lost him forever, precisely because the IPL wares are stretched thin thanks to the addition of these two teams. That’s not a cause for concern, but a point of immense reflection. More youngsters will get a chance to make a mark in the IPL, and perhaps barter a quick ticket to the international stage, for the overall betterment of Indian cricket.
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