Indian Premier League(IPL) has been one of the most democratic forms of cricket played in India, as anyone who catches the eye of selectors from Ranji, club to tennis-ball cricket can be picked and fortunes just turn overnight. We have seen this with the likes of Yashashvi Jaiswal, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh and many others.
The probability of playing for India is 1 out of a million, but playing for an IPL team increases by 80 times. The sport which is worshipped, watched and betted highly in India is the livelihood for many.
After the legends of yesteryears like Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Sourav Ganguly and others retired, since this was not their preferred choice of play in their career, a new crop of players took their place and these were the ones who played T20 cricket since the start of their career.
MS Dhoni’s Legacy as a skipper
Since the last few years, IPL and Dhoni have become synonymous with each other. When nothing would matter – not the opposition, fanbase or stadium – and even when he has an average season. Everything turns yellow. Everything turns Mahi. Everything turns Dhoni.
A shrewd operator behind the stumps, a cheetah between the wickets, and the Hulk with the bat. He has been one such phenomena which has truly encapsulated the IPL for Indians.
A Ticket Checker from Ranchi, known for its zero cricketing legacy, erupts onto the cricketing scene with tennis cricket and then hops on to the bandwagon of India with 2004 Pakistan series and ‘finishes off in style’ with 1 Champions Trophy, 2 World Cups and 5 IPL trophies.
These 5 IPL trophies are the reason why he has been regarded as a GOAT (greatest of all time) in the IPL. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has been his team since he started playing IPL, only exception being 2016 & 2017 when the franchise was banned for a couple of seasons. But, they came back with a bang in 2018 and Dhoni got all credit for this because his team was called ‘Dad’s Army’ due to their ageing players.
There are rumours that there is no team meeting, because Dhoni just likes to give small pep talks. He has game plans in his mind. He picks players that no one would even think of like Test-specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, an out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane or even unheard players like Mukesh Singh.
Rohit Sharma made Mumbai Indians a formidable team
From Yellow sunlight lets move to Ocean of Blue, the only other team where the Sun sets, ‘Mumbai Indian’(MI). The most valuable IPL team as a brand, owned by the second richest man of India, Mukesh Ambani. The team which is almost exactly opposite to CSK. They have a proper corporate setup. World class support staff, best management and superstar cricketers.
The major reason why they have such a ruthless way of shrugging their most successful captain in a post note manner. Rohit Sharma, a Mumbaikar, started with Deccan Chargers (DC) in 2008 and was bought by MI and made captain in 2013. MI lost only 3 matches that season and beat CSK in the final to win their maiden IPL trophy which would eventually lead to a total of 5 trophies in 8 years.
MI has great talent scouts which picked players like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, a good mix of foreign stars like Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard. It has been an all-round team with Rohit as their leader. No player could match the status of Sachin Tendulkar for Mumbaikars and MI, but Rohit has made a name for himself and that can be seen with the social media backlash of fans around his removal.
RCB era during strong trio of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle
The other big name and team is Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB has always been considered as one of the best teams on paper but they have come up short in every season.
However, they are the best with their social media game. RCB is only the third team along with Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, which zero trophies in the cabinet but the fans don’t dilute their spirits. It might be the strength they get while crawling in Bengaluru’s traffic, but they have had the best of players like Virat, Ab De Villers, Chris Gayle, Glenn Maxwell and many others.
But beyond social media and RCB cafes, it has many things to achieve in real. Virat has been one of the best batters not only in the IPL but also in the country for almost a decade. He is the sole spark in this chilled team.
Change of guards in RCB, MI and CSK
Last year, RCB announced that they are moving ahead from their best player and made Faf Du Plesis as their captain. MI has already unceremoniously removed Rohit and got their Gujarati boy Hardik Pandya back in the chaos. With the latest development of MS Dhoni stepping down as CSK skipper, and handing over the charge to Ruturaj Gaikwad, we can surely say that batons have been passed.
The three Indian Legends of IPL are now in the viewing gallery as the pipers in the wagon. Some by choice, and few by force are now transitioning the leadership. The players we see now are IPL prodigies who have seen this game when in their nappies. They play fearless cricket and the only way they know to play the game.