Teams struggling to cope as they search for the right balance

In sport,indeed as in life,balance is the key to success and its a word used very often in the media and in strategy sessions....

In sport,indeed as in life,balance is the key to success and its a word used very often in the media and in strategy sessions; balance between attack and defence,front foot and back foot,the number of batsmen and bowlers in the side,the old and the younger and now,in the IPL,between Indian and overseas players. And as teams figure out the vagaries of pitches and the weather,the old question of balance is returning to haunt them. And a couple of high-profile teams are struggling to cope.

Much of the hype surrounding the IPL centred around the overseas players. There was a reason,though not a particularly strong one,for it,because the top players last year,Watson,Tanvir,Marsh,Jayasuriya,Bravo,McGrath,Morkel,were imports. But it is the job of the analyst to peer through the hype,to look at the nuts and bolts,and it was clear then,as now,that eventually the seven Indian players in the ranks would be critical.

That is where the Royal Challengers,Bangalore,are struggling. Pietersen and Ryder,in spite of their current form,were inherently good buys,as I believe is Roelof van der Merwe,who might still have a role to play in the IPL. But the Royal Challengers arent as well served with home players. You might argue that in retrospect,swapping Zaheer Khan for Robin Uthappa wasnt a good idea,but by keeping wickets,and surprisingly neatly so far,Uthappa has actually provided them the option of playing another bowler or batsman. The problem is,that player doesnt exist for them.

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Virat Kohli and Praveen Kumar are decent players in this format but there is not much beyond them. Anil Kumble has delivered in two games out of three,and that is a bonus from someone who has already retired,and like last year,Rahul Dravid is by far their best player. It should surprise nobody but the intellectually lazy and those that hunt for glamour. Beneath their rubble last year,only one man was standing and that was the captain!

Bangalore have already tried Akhil,Vinay Kumar,Karan Sharma and Rajesh Bishnoi,and are nowhere near filling their last two Indian spots. And a look through their squad doesnt throw up much either,unless they look at Sreevats Goswami,who kept well and batted with gusto last year. It could get worse,for while there might be a replacement for Pietersen when he leaves,there appears none for Dravid when he returns,as expected,for a break to Bangalore to be with his wife for their second child.

Rajasthan Royals are struggling just a bit too,though it might be too early to draw firm conclusions with them. Their Indian players sparkled last year and each of them,Asnodkar,Yusuf Pathan,Ravi Jadeja,Siddharth Trivedi and Munaf Patel,was a revelation. But they were,with the exception of Pathan,support players.

The game-breakers were Watson,Tanvir,Smith and Warne and while on the surface it might seem that Mascarenhas and Henderson for Watson and Tanvir might be a decent swap,it remains to be seen how big a role they play and allow the young Indian players to do what they really are good at playing the cameos. I fear they are going to miss Watson because the top order is looking a bit thin at the moment. But you never know with them because the captain is exuding great confidence!

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The side probably most badly off at the moment is the Kings XI Punjab and maybe their fortunes will turn. Even more than the Australian supporters,they were interested in the announcement of the Australian team for the little series against Pakistan! But as a good fund manager will tell you,you need to hedge your bets and Punjab have been hit by an over-exposure to Australia; that and injury to Sreesanth.

And so while it is too early to pronounce favourites,three teams are looking better than the rest. It is no coincidence that they have the best domestic players. Delhi Daredevils with Sehwag,Gambhir,Karthik,Tiwari and Mishra (though their Indian bowling still doesnt inspire confidence); Chennai Super Kings with Parthiv Patel,Raina,Badrinath,Dhoni,Balaji and Gony and Mumbai Indians with Tendulkar,Dhawan,Zaheer,Harbhajan,Nayar and Dhawal Kulkarni (with the only possible weakness being a wicket-keeper good enough to bat in the top seven).

Meanwhile if you like picking underdogs,look no further than Deccan Chargers with Gilchrist in form,Gibbs on home turf,Edwards firing but critically,with Rohit Sharma,Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh in excellent form.

Now,if only the weather can hold!