IPL begins where T20 World Cup left off

Less than a week ago, we witnessed the West Indian team dance their way to glory with DJ Bravo's 'Champion' becoming the anthem for cricket lovers across the world. The manner in which Craig Brathwaite guided his team to a win against England, and the celebrations which followed, typifies everything Caribbean teams have always stood for – swashbuckling cricket, Calypso and unadulterated joyfulness.

However, Darren Sammy's post-match comments also highlighted an emotion one does not normally associate with West Indian cricket – anger. Yet, their triumph over adversity spotlighted everything that is good and hopeful about this sport – they are the champions cricket so desperately needed at this moment.

The World T20 ended with Bravo's 'Champion', and the IPL began with it last night.

The Caribbean carnival provide the perfect backdrop for the ninth edition of this tournament – which is meant to be a carnivalesque celebration of cricket in collaboration with India's second most popular form of entertainment - Bollywood.

It is not just all glitz and glamour though, as the tournament continues to act as a springboard for unknown names and youngsters. This season we will see someone like Murugan Ashwin share the limelight with his famous namesake in the Pune lineup. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have spent a total of 5.2 crores on signing Nathu Singh and Krunal Pandya, and maybe in the next two months one of them will be on the verge of making it to the national team.

However, there is also the other side of the coin to consider. The tournament is about to commence with its fair share of controversies and difficulties.

Capitalism has blurred the line between luxury and necessity over the years, and a PIL filed by the NGO Loksatta Movement aims to make the demarcation prominent once again. As farmers in Maharashtra outlive their annual drought highlights the other side of the IPL. However, it is bound to fall into oblivion as Ramesh Mhamunkar and co. are striving hard to prepare the perfect surface for the opening match between the Mumbai Indians and the Rising Pune Super Giants on Saturday.

This glass-is-half-empty perspective aside, it is not the kind of publicity the BCCI were looking for at the start of the tournament. Having lost two extremely popular franchises to suspension this season, the Indian Premier League might struggle to maintain its popularity among the populace of those two states.

Chennai Super Kings were the most well-supported team across the nation. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men had achieved unparalleled success in the tournament with six appearances in the final, and they have won two back-to-back titles to show for it. However, the Chepauk Stadium will be bereft of the yellow sea this season, and the 'Whistle Podu' anthem. Their absence will be felt on match days, along with that of Rajasthan Royals. The Jaipur-based team had always managed to punch above their weight, and they surprised a lot of people when they won the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008.

However, the advent of two new franchises will also render IPL the opportunity to invade unexplored territories. While Pune did have a team before to represent them in the competition, they and the Gujarat Lions will help the IPL to reach out to a new set of fans.

Suresh Raina, who has arguably been the best batsman in IPL's history so far, will have the opportunity to crawl out of the shadow of MS Dhoni and put his leadership skills on display. They have assembled a fairly strong unit, with the effervescent Bravo and the dynamic Brendon McCullum in their ranks.

Another relatively new team are the Sunrisers Hyderabad. After two disappointing seasons in 2014 and 2015, they were hoping to turn things around after spending some big bucks at the auction. However, Yuvraj Singh's injury – their costliest player – has come as a huge blow for the team. The biggest positive for them, heading into the tournament, is the form of Ashish Nehra, who keeps getting better with age.

A team which has not been improving with age are the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team owner has been in the news for all the wrong reasons heading into the tournament, followed by Vijay Mallya's resignation from the board. On the field, RCB have always flattered to deceive. A team glittered with superstars, the Bengaluru-based franchise are yet to lift the title. Virat Kohli is in the form of his life, while Chris Gayle is fresh from lifting the World Cup – it will be intriguing to see the fashion in which they decide to implode this season.

From the most unpredictable team in the IPL, to the most consistent team of the IPL – Kings XI Punjab. Consistently poor.

David Miller will be their seventh different captain when he leads his side on to the field this season, which tells a tale in itself. Why and how they spent 6.5 crores to sign Mohit Sharma remains a mystery, and it appears they will once again have to rely on Glenn Maxwell's brilliance to guide them to anything substantial this season.

Speaking of brilliance, all eyes will be upon Rahul Dravid this season. 'The Wall' has already shown what he is capable of as a coach with the Indian U-19 team, and now he will strive to achieve something similar with a very young Delhi side. Add to that, they have one Carlos Brathwaite in their ranks!

Moving onto the Kolkata Knight Riders, they were one of the most subdued teams in the auction with Gautam Gambhir opting for stability in this side. Despite that, they have made some shrewd additions, and none more so than the Kiwi all-rounder Colin Munro. With Sunil Narine being cleared by the ICC, and Kolkata winning the trophy every alternate year since 2012, can this be their season again?

Like Kolkata, Mumbai have been lifting the trophy every alternate year as well since 2013, so this will definitely not be their season. However, they do possess one of the best collections of Indian players in the league. An injury to Lasith Malinga and Rohit Sharma's poor form could prove to be a handicap, though.

This season will also provide a different challenge for MS Dhoni. The Chennai Super Kings' biggest hallmark in the previous eight seasons was the stability of the squad. While the other franchises chopped and changed around them, the men in yellow retained their core in nearly every auction. However, this time, the Indian skipper will have to start from the scratch with a new team, new owners and a new set of fans.

His first challenge will be to face the Mumbai Indians at a stadium where his Indian team lost to West Indies just eight days back. The man who played the match-winning innings on the night, Lendl Simmons, will be in the opponent's lineup once again, but this time, the Wankhede Stadium will be cheering for him.

This is perhaps the most captivating charm of the tournament. Hardik Pandya, who was taken apart by Simmons in the semi-final, will be seen playing alongside with him to take on his national team colleagues MS Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane.

With the IPL commencing so close to the end of the World T20 perhaps the tournament's biggest challenge would be the jadedness of the cricket fans. IPL's official broadcaster Sony has predicted that the viewership for this edition may touch 500 million. But, 60 matches across nearly 50 days of non-stop cricket could be exhausting, especially when it is following fast on the heels of another T20 tournament where 35 matches were played in this nation.