IPL 2016 | Kohli, Dhoni and Ashwin feature in the major talking points of the season

A cricketing extravaganza like no other, the IPL first unveiled 8 years ago has swallowed the cricketing world hook, line and sinker. Everything is larger than life, the performances on the field or the controversies off it. In fact, many have derided the IPL to be less of sport and more of entertainment. And yet, despite all that glitz and glamour, the World’s best players have congregated year after year to display their skills and prove their worth. In such a competitive environment with the best pitted against the best, gripping stories will inevitably be made and riveting dramas invariably created.

Years later, if we were to look back at IPL 2016, we would find it impossible to see beyond Kohli and his heroics. Make no mistake, what we have been fortunate to witness over the past few weeks is well beyond the realms of ordinary. Awed as we might now be over his exploits, proximity does not allow us to truly appreciate the transcendental brilliance of his achievements; the passage of time alone will gift us the requisite perspective for that. Over the course of the season, about a 1,000 runs have cascaded from Kohli’s bat, yet, numbers would not begin to even reveal the enormity of Kohli’s exploits. Kohli has, for long now, been recognized as a special talent. His ability and temperament were never in doubt; neither were his hunger and passion for success. What astounds us though is the sheer magnitude of these admirable qualities. His desire to win is only surpassed by his loathing for losing and his incredible ability only upstaged by his inspiring temperament. Kohli today is the representation of all we love in Sport. Kohli was by far the best batsman in this IPL and he knew it only too well. The confidence on display was overpowering and infectious at the same time. No target was beyond him, and no bowler too good for him. He imposed his will on the opponents, on his team-mates, on his fans and it looked at times, on his destiny itself. Today, it is no more a blasphemy to compare Kohli to Richards or Tendulkar; rather it is a perfectly reasonable exercise. Forget the fans, in the years to come, Kohli himself will look back at this phase in his career with gratitude and reverence. We do not know how much longer this glorious form of his would persist (long may it), but as long as it does, we would do well to cherish and celebrate it. Kohli’s batting in this IPL is truly an ‘I was alive when….’ moment.

If Kohli occupied one extreme of the spectrum, Gayle inhibited the other. Big things were expected of Christopher Henry Gayle; and why ever not? Here is a man who calls himself the ‘Universe Boss’, and to be fair to him, struts around like one too. When Gayle is playing well, no ground is ever big enough; as for the match situation, it is utterly and completely irrelevant. Gayle’s batting elevates the mood and while it lasts, makes the world seem a better place. What transpired thi season though, has been most sobering.

In a team over-flowing with batting superstars, Gayle has struggled to even merit a place. And when he did manage to get a game, he didn’t trouble the scorers much at all. 7 single digit scores in 9 innings meant that the promised Gayle storm fizzled out even before it started. Meanwhile, off the field Gayle found himself embroiled in storms of an altogether uglier nature, admittedly of his own making. Does IPL 2016 finally herald the terminal decline of Gayle? Only time will tell but we do fervently hope that Gayle has some more magic left in him. Gayle has performed extraordinary things in IPL before and irrespective of future performances, the fans and IPL itself would forever be indebted to Gayle.    

Mustafizur Rehman, or "The Fizz" as he is better known now, is all of twenty years. Before coming to the IPL, he had already made his debut for the Bangladesh national team in all three formats of the game. His bowling average in Tests, ODI’s and T-20’s is 14.5, 12.3 and 13.9 respectively; the batting equivalent of that would probably be averaging above 100 in all the three formats of the game. These are staggering numbers. And yet, for the Indian fan, these numbers counted for little; the IPL 2016 would be where Mustafizur would have to prove himself.

But Fizz did not succumb, rather he revelled in the lime-light and flourished under the pressure. Match after match, he bowled beautifully, confident of his craft but also aware of his limitations. He exhibited courage by constantly pitching the ball up, displayed variety by unleashing a multitude of slower balls and showed maturity by having exemplary control. Even the biggest rivals of Sunrisers Hyderabad could not begrudge Fizz his success. The IPL would like to claim that it has un-earthed a rare talent, but that would be untrue; it has merely provided the stage for a brilliant young man to display his talent to the world, and for that alone the IPL can be proud of itself. May the Fizz have many more such magical IPL seasons.    

Dhoni - Not just the same without CSK

This year though, there was no Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni’s team, built ever so carefully, was ripped apart and Dhoni found himself the Captain of Rising Pune Super Giants. Dhoni still had two of his trusted lieutenants, Ashwin and Du Plessis, but we were soon to find out that it was just not the same. Dhoni had a good IPL season. He averaged over 40 at a strike rate of 135 and his keeping was top-notch. But this team, unlike Chennai Super Kings, did not respond to him. CSK was known for winning the clutch moments; this team managed to lose just about every one of them. As Dhoni realized that the Midas touch has deserted him, he became increasingly haggard and the excuses started to tumble out. He began to dis-trust his own players as Ashwin was handled poorly and the fractious relationship with Irfan Pathan culminated in an ugly run-out. Going into the last match, Dhoni’s team faced the ignominious prospect of finishing last. When all seemed to be lost, Dhoni rolled back the years, played at his imperious best to win the match for his team and restore a semblance of dignity.

All in all, the transition from a King to the Giant has not been smooth for Dhoni. But Dhoni belongs to that rare breed of champions who have mastered the art of bouncing back and we wish Dhoni a kinder IPL 2017.

At 29 years of age, Ashwin should be approaching the peak of his prowess. This is about the age when spinners begin to truly understand their craft and gain a mastery over it. Ashwin looked like he was getting there. Over the past few years, Ashwin had become increasingly more confident and batsmen across the world had begun to fear him. He was arguably the World’s best spinner and his stature was reflected in the rankings. Ashwin is ranked number two in Tests, number three in T-20’s and number 10 in ODI’s. In all the cases, he is the highest ranked Indian bowler. And yet, coming into this IPL it was apparent that all was not well with Ashwin, the warning signs had begun to appear in the recently concluded T-20 World Cup, where Ashwin was ranked a lowly 27th in the highest wicket takers list.

The IPL 2016 was going to be crucial for him as it was to show whether the poor performance in the World Cup was a mere aberration or an ominous sign of things to come. As the IPL draws to a close, it looks like Ashwin’s worst fears have come true. 6 spinners have taken more wickets than Ashwin in this IPL; 4 of them have been Indians and each of them will be competing with Ashwin for a place in the Indian team. Ashwin has taken 10 wickets from 14 matches while his teammate the Australian Spinner, Adam Zampa, has taken 12 wickets from just 5! Most alarmingly though, Dhoni’s dis-trust of Ashwin has only seemed to increase. In 14 matches, he has bowled just 44 overs against his quota of 56 overs. For any player, the confidence of a captain is important, but for a spinner, it is essential. It is hard to comprehend whether Dhoni’s loss of confidence contributed to Ashwin’s poor form or if it was the other way round.

Krunal Pandya plays catch up with Hardik Pandya

Of all the numerous rivalries that a guy has over the course of a lifetime, the rivalry with a brother is the most enduring one. Sure, you genuinely celebrate their successes and agonize over their failures but deep down, there exists a primal craving to do one better than your bro. So when Hardik made his debut for India and became a household name, a burning desire seemed to have been stoked within the elder Pandya.

IPL 2016 has definitely given Krunal bragging rights over his more flamboyant younger brother. Krunal’s heroics might have not yet earnt him an Indian cap, but if the desire continues to burn just as strongly, it is only a matter of time. The day might not be far away when we see the Pandya brothers batting together for India; the IPL 2016 can take some credit for it.

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