IPL 2019 | Team of IPL Week 1

Openers

David Warner: Chris Gayle definitely played a blistering 79-run innings to give Kings XI Punjab a win in one of the most controversial IPL matches of all-time, but David Warner’s innings against Kolkata Knight Riders would definitely be considered as of immense value thanks to the precondition it had attached to it. Warner had a lot of baggage on his shoulders on his return to the league, but he showed hardly any of them to guide his way to a solid 85 and followed that up with another eye-catching 69 against Rajasthan Royals. In the context of both the games, those were pretty important considering Sunrisers Hyderabad falters to pick themselves up in the middle-over after his dismissal and that just proves his importance to the set-up. 

Jos  Buttler: To partner the Aussie, there was only one contender and it is not because of the “unfair treatment” that Buttler was subjected to by Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin. The Englishman was quite authoritative during his stay in the middle and his 69-run innings was the major reason behind Royals being in the safe side of the run-chase for the most part of the game. Nevermind, he failed to understand Rashid Khan in yet another game, but Buttler fits the bill nicely in this team as both Warner and he like to play long innings with the strike rate never threatening to derail the franchise. Quite potent. Isn’t it?

Middle-order

Sanju Samson: Well, that one innings alone is sufficient for Sanju Samson to stamp his authority in the Indian Premier League and he straightaway makes it to the team. Unlike his 92 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2012 or that century against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, Samson’s century against Sunrisers Hyderabad was a class act, as he pierced the gaps with surgical precision while also taking the team to a comfortable position after Jos Buttler’s early dismissal. No way, I am keeping him out. 

Nitish Rana: The Delhi-born player has been a paradox on the Indian domestic circuit, having garnered a reputation of being a destructive performer in the IPL and a regular non-performer in the domestic cricket. Consistency has never been a buzz word for the KKR recruit, but with two consecutive half-centuries in the first two matches, he is on the way to change that reputation once and for all. The 26-year-old has also made sure that the over-reliance on Sunil Narine to give them a start and Andre Russell to finish things off has reduced a fair bit. He opened in a game and batted at No.4 in another, but to bring balance to the team, I am slotting him at No.3. Fair enough?

Rishabh Pant: Pant is an audacious T20 superstar and no matter what people call him, he will be in my XI and there are no two ways about it. His 78 against Mumbai Indians was the reason why he is so hyped so early in his career as Pant played that innings on the back of an approach that was not natural, even on the standards of modern-day cricket, and was also a symbol of the changing relationship between the batsman and bowler. Pant hopped around the crease to dictate where the ball would be bowled according to where he wanted to hit it and even world-class bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah left wondering what they could do to stop the Pant carnage. 

Yuvraj Singh: Is there a better sight in cricket than seeing Yuvraj Singh on full flow, unleashing those vintage lofted sixes with high backlift? Never ever, an Indian cricket fan goes mad over a six if it wasn’t by Yuvraj. And that was simply the reason the Southpaw occupies the spot despite Robin Uthappa having a slightly better record in the first week of the tournament. It is not to say that Yuvraj doesn’t deserve the spot even. His 53 in the first game was a fine innings and when he hit Yuzvendra Chahal for three sixes in three balls in the previous game, it is sealed.

All-rounder

Andre Russell: If one player still has it to change the course of the game just within the space of a couple of overs, it has to be DreRuss. One of the vital cogs in Kolkata Knight Riders’ wheel, Russell changed the match’s direction single-handedly, while being the franchise’s highest wicket-taker in the season so far. Has anyone done enough to be in the XI than Russell? Well, probably, we have to wait for another week for the same.

Spinners

Yuzvendra Chahal: Trust me, it was a very difficult pick. Chahal’s performance in the league could be viewed in contrasting ways, but having him in the team as the only leg-spinner, ahead of Imran Tahir, was not going to be an easy choice. However, if you look at it, Tahir played both the matches on spin-friendly tracks of Chepauk and New Delhi, but Chahal’s second match against Mumbai Indians was at a batting-friendly wicket, but he showed great heart to pick four wickets. 

Harbhajan Singh: The man still has it. When Chennai Super Kings bid for Harbhajan Singh, there was a lot of apprehension about how the off-spinner was going to approach his career, but as it turned out, he is still a match-winner. In Chennai, he sent the entire RCB top-order packing by bringing his doosra craftily while also ensuring that the runs didn’t flow at all. He straightaway makes it to the XI for that single performance alone.

Pacers

Jasprit Bumrah: Is there a better bowler in the league than Jasprit Bumrah right now? The Mumbai Indians fast bowler has been the cog of Mumbai’s (dis)organised wheel this year and no matter, Malinga’s experience, he was going to be the spearhead of the line-up and he excellently carried out his job. Especially against RCB, with 22 runs to win and with AB de Villiers being out there, it was going to be a tough job, but Bumrah bowled with panache and conceded only five runs in the penultimate over. It was the ultimate gold dust in a T20 cricket match and something that goes on to show Bumrah’s legend in a grand way. 

Kagiso Rabada: Despite his inexperience of playing many matches in the league, one thing is now clear that Kagiso Rabada doesn’t care about anything but bowling those fiery deliveries on a regular basis. Against Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, despite not being able to take many wickets, he ensured that the run-scoring was the most difficult proposition against him and in both the matches, he ended up with an economy rate of 6.39. To go with that, just imagine Bumrah and Rabada bowling in tandem from two ends, what a combo will be?