Spot fixing scandal the only blip on the best ever IPL:

This season of the Indian Premier League will stand out in my mind as one of the best as well as one of the most controversial. The early pace was set by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, but as soon as they were installed as favourites they spectacularly fell away. It is no surprise that their batting centred team did better at home in Bangalore where the boundaries were shortest.

As with most IPL seasons Dhoni guided his team to the playoffs, once again proving he is a great captain. His record as captain probably excuses the poor performance in the final by his Chennai side. The West Indies are always very well represented through the tournament, this year these players were the stars of the show. Dwayne Bravo ended the season as the leading wicket taker, Pollard came into his own towards the end of the tournament almost single handily guiding Mumbai to the title. The other big West Indian provided the most memorable moment of the competition, Chris Gayle’s 173 not out will be remembered for a long time.

The season also saw many endings, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist will not return as players and there are doubts that we will ever see Muralitharan either. Sahara Pune Warriors also ended again, their owners have cancelled the contract to bring them back next season. This season also saw Delhi Daredevils go from top of the league last season to a bottom of the table battle, probably due to injuries to key players such as Kevin Pietersen. The rebranded Deccan Chargers were many peoples favourite to be at the bottom of the league at the start, they surprised many by qualifying strongly.

It was also a season to showcase two potential future Indian captains in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In my opinion the Mumbai captain showed off better captaincy credentials and could overtake Kohli when the call has to be made.

The coverage of the IPL in England has been brilliant, ITV4 showing that cricket can work on channels other than Sky Sports. They only complaint with the coverage was their decision not to show cricket on one the other ITV channels when British Touring Cars was being shown. It is clear that the popularity of the competition has increased in the UK, and the sport is now on a par with NFL.

The only negative to come out from this seasons Indian Premier League was the spot fixing scandal. This is something that will rock the sport and seems much deeper than what has already been revealed. Some famous names have been caught this year, with Sreesanth claiming he has been framed. The arrest of Gurunath Meiyappan an alleged associate of Chennai Super Kings will bring Indian cricket to its knees, as he is the son of the head of Indian cricket. The on-going story has many chapters still to write, lets just hope it does not implicate too many big names. 

Despite the shocking spot fixing news that came out towards the end of the competition I will remember this season for many good reasons. 

Rohit Sharma is India's future

Watching this seasons IPl it is evident that Rohit Sharma is a man on a mission. His aim is to cement his place in the limited over squads and to make the step up into test cricket. It is a little surprising that a player with his ability has yet to grace test cricket, especially as he is now twenty six years of age. 

For many years people have dubbed Rohit as the next Sachin Tendulkar, this unfair comparison may have affected his past performances resulting in him being in and out of squad. It seems that Sachin is now very close to calling it a day in all forms of cricket and a possible replacement for him could be Rohit Sharma. The poor form of the other openers (Sehwag & Gambhir) resulted in him being drafted into the openers role for the last ODI series against England. This was a very interesting move, as  he was given the  chance after the much fancied Rahane had failed.  

In limited overs cricket I see him being an opener, this suits his game very well. I feel he is ready for test cricket and a position at either number four or five should be an option. This season Rohit has seemed to mature as a player, taking over as captain of Mumbai Indians in place of Ricky Ponting. When he was appointed as the captain I was unsure if he could handle the demands of the position, especially for Mumbai the most glamorous side in the IPL. Although he has not had too many tests of his captaincy he seems to be calm and confident with his decision making. 

Other than being a good batsman and captain he is also a stand out player. His batting form has also shown consistency, him having the sixth highest average in the IPL this season. Out of the other five players above him in the list only Chris Gayle has played as many innings. One could argue that his form has been more consistent than Gayle as the West Indian has his average inflated by that one big innings of 175 not out. 

Below is a table showing his career:

	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	Strike Rate
ODI	88	83	2,065	114	30.82	78.22
T20	35	28	531	79	29.5	127.64
IPL	90	86	2405	109	33.87	132.14

The above table highlights both his huge potential as well as his inconsistent form. It shows that he can score quickly as well as heavily, the batting average in ODI cricket shows there is space for improvement. 

If I were to do a straw pole of Indian cricket fans I am pretty sure that most of them would say that Kohli is the best young player. I do not disagree with this statement but feel an argument could be made to support Sharma's case.  It all bodes for exciting times for Indian cricket, taking many back to the early days of the last great group of players. Comparisons of Sharma, Raina, Kohli, Pujara and Dhawan could be made to Sachin, Ganguly, Sehwag, Laxman and Dravid.

There could be another argument in the future about the next captain. Right now vice captain Kohli is a shoe in for the role, but if the selectors go against his overly aggressive style then again Sharma or Raina are an option. Like Tendulkar he oozes class when batting, the only issue is if he can handle the pressure. The future for Rohit Sharma looks very positive, it is all in his own hands as to how much of a name he could make. 

Delhi Daredevils are IPL's unlucky team

This years IPL seems to have been one of the best yet, nearly all the matches played so far have been very close. There has already been two super overs, both involving Chris Gayles team RCB. He has also smashed the record for the fastest century as well as the highest ever T20 score.

It has also seen Pune Warriors bottom of the group once again, there problems seemed to have started with appointing Angelo Matthews as their captain from the start. Him being captain resulted in probably their two best allrounders sitting on the side, Steve Smith and Luke Wright. There has also been two hatricks, one for Amit Mishra and the other for Sunil Narine. The biggest surprise for me is how Delhi Daredevils went from being the best team in last years group stage to being one of the worst this. 

In the IPL it is very hard to turn around a bad start, this is exactly what the Daredevils had. They started the tournament without their star bowler Morne Morkel, their premier Indian batsman Sehwag and one of the best batsman in the world Kevin Pietersen. They also got David Warner and captain Mahela Jayawerdene off relatively poor international form. 

Somehow Delhi have clawed themselves back into a position where they could scrape through to the next round. They have to win every game from now and hope other results go their way. I still think they can do it, although it will now be a shock for many if they manage the feat. 

I have been saying this from the start that on paper Delhi have as good a squad as CSK. The balance they have with world class talent is amazing, its a shame they have mainly been off form. Teams like RCB or Sunriseres do not have the balance they do. They are either a batting side or bowling side, this is a reason why CSK have been so successful in the past because they have the best all round team. 

In my opinion if Kevin Pietersen had been there we would be looking at the table very differently. Same could be said if Morne Morkel, last years leading wicket taker had been playing from the start. The spinning option in Shabaz Nadeem is not bad either a very underrated bowler who could be a good answer for India one day. 

I do not believe that Delhi will win the competition this season but feel they have been the most unlucky of all the teams. To lose on a super over is all ways hard, it is even harder when you haven't won a match before playing it. 

Would England cricketers make an impression on the IPL?

So today another story has re-emerged about English players wanting to be a part of the money spinner that is the IPL. Apparently the ECB are in talks with IPL chiefs after pressure from players to negotiate a way for England's cricketers to enter into next years competition. 

This story seems to be true and there is a suggestion that the BCCI could move the competition a few weeks earlier and the first test series in England could be pushed back a bit. This would allow England's top players to be a part of the competition for a longer period, thus making them more attractive to the teams. For this reason I have looked at the players who would have a chance in the IPL and if English cricketers would make an impact on the competition. 

In theory looking at Englands past performances and the domestic T20 competition they will make a big impact in India. Over the course of international T20 competition England have been near to the top of the rankings. There are however a few signs that these players will not have as much impact on the competition.

A few England stars who have made been selected in the Indian Premier League, these have had mixed success. At the top of the list has to be Kevin Pietersen, he has established himself as one of the biggest names in the competition. In contrast to Kevin Pietersen there is Luke Wright, a player who has been in a poor Pune Warriors squad for two seasons and is yet to play. 

The players who have been selected in the past are, Pietersen, Morgan, Flintoff, Broad, Shah, Bopara, Wright, Collingwood, Lumb, Napier. Three of the players on the list have not played for their franchise, a few of them have not been re-selected and a few of are bench warmers who bring on the drinks. It is a real shame actually because England do have some good players who can make a big impression.

If you look closely at IPL teams then it is very noticeable that most teams have young relatively unknown Australians and South Africans in their squads.  The problem lies with the fact that there are many South African and Australian coaches in the IPL. This is the reason why their younger players are bought up. If England players are given a chance it is likely that they will be used in the same way as these young players from the above named countries. 

The IPL fairly keeps a quota system on foreign players, this being that only four can play at one time. This unfortunately would effect English players, the reason I say this is that most teams already have their four top players. So either they go to one of these teams and sit on the bench or go to a lower ranked team.  

Looking through England's players I believe that Bairstow, Butler, Samit Patel, James Anderson, Graham Swann, Bopara and Steven Finn could all have a positive impact on the competition. It would also develop these players further, facing top players and training with other players from different backgrounds. 

I can take Eoin Morgan as an example, he is currently back into the KKR team but this is only because the worlds best allrounder Shakib Al Hasan is injured. If Shakib was fit, I can guess that Morgan would be back onto the bench. If a player like Morgan struggles to get into a team it does not bode well for the other English players. Luke Wright in my opinion is the fifth or sixth choice foreign player in PWI, I do not really rate their captain Matthews who is somehow keeping Steve Smith out their squad, but that is a totally different issue. 

In short I believe that England players could have a massive impact on the IPL, but the reality of it is that they will not. I do not think teams will give the players a chance, they will just stock pile the good players into their squad to fill in when others get injured. English cricket will still benefit because the players will be training with world class players, but they will not get game exposure in Indian conditions. This valuable experience is being taken up by average Australians and South Africans like Aaron Finch and Ben Hilfenhouse.  

RCB v MI what a special match

Like the IPL or hate it, yesterdays game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians produced something special. There were several talking points produced by this match. Firstly I would like to state that Chris Gayle stole the show with 92 runs not out whilst injured. This was a special innings just confirming that he is the most destructive batsman in the Indian Premier League. 

A mention also has to go out to Jasprit Bumrah who is yet to play any first class matches but made his debut yesterday. What a feeling it must be to play your first match with Sachin Tendulkar and Rikky Ponting in the dressing room. His first wicket was that of Virat Kohli, what a feeling this must have been. 

The real point of interest for me was to see two of the greatest batsmen in cricket history bat together. This is something special that only competitions like the IPL could produce. At one stage both Ponting and Sachin were batting whilst Murali was bowling. This was the scene that all cricket fans dream of. 

The partnership looked pretty good, the only way that RCB looked like getting either of them out was through a run out. Eventually that is what happened  Sachin fell first, Ponting soon after being stumped. The partnership looked good but there has to be much more to come from these two. 

In my opinion they should be opening together, although many of the pundits on the TV disagreed. Dinesh Karthik did perform yesterday but I believe that he is the number five batsman in the team. I would have put Rohit Sharma up at number three, Ryudu at number four then Karthink and Pollard swapping depending on the game situation. Yesterday I am in no doubt that if Pollard was promoted up the order MI would have won the game. He faced two balls only, this is something they need to look at. 

The first match between KKR and Delhi was not competitive at all, this was the game to start the tournament off. 

Hyderabad Sunrisers - IPL 2013

They are listed officially as a new team but in reality they are still pretty much the Deccan Chargers all but in name. The players have all been retained so will still see Sangakara, Parthiv Patel and Dale Stein take the field. 

The Sunrisers have decent players, but they never seem to work for them. This year Ishant Sharma is back, this after he spent alot of the past season injured. He and Stein together will be a threat to any team. 

Darren Sammey the West Indies captain is the newest addition to the squad, he will add experience but may find himslef out of the squad every now and then. 

South African Quinton De Kock is an exciting player, but is behind both Parthiv Patel and Kumar Sangakara as wicket-keeper. Deccan chargers were good until they let Gilchrist go, after that they have struggled. I do not see much  changing in their form or luck, so therefore predicting another poor season for them. Sangakara is likely to keep the captaincy, but it is yet unknown as if he will be given the role or not. 

Captain: Unkown

Star Man: Dale Stein

Six Hitter: Cameron White

Leading Bowler: Dale Stein

My prediction: Group stage

Pune Warriors - IPL 2013

Pune Warriors have been very unlucky this season, there captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out for the whole competition. I believe that it will be former captain Yuvraj Singh who will take over the captaincy, although it would not surprise me if Steve Smith is given the job. 

Pune have always been towards the bottom of the table, but  I feel they have a good chance this season. The loss of Clarke is a blow, I think they could surprise a few people this year. 

The other foreign players are good, Angelo Matthews, Marlon Samuels, Steve Smith, Luke Wright, Tamin Iqbal and Wayne Parnell. These are all players who are made for T20 cricket. Marlon Samuels has also starred for the West Indies in their World T20 victory. He will be key to their chances, if he is to perform they may upset a few of the bigger teams. 

This is a team that has been inventive in the past, showing faith with Steve Smith as a batsman and on the odd occasion promoting Parnell as a batsman. Talking of Smith he is up there as one of the best fields in the tournament, this is with Pollard and Kohli. 

Captain: Unkown

Star Man: Marlon Samuels

Six Hitter: Marlon Samuels

Leading Bowler: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

My prediction: Semi Finals

Punjab Kings XI - IPL 2013

This team has been constantly finishing near the bottom of the IPL group over the last few seasons. It will take them something special to turn their form around. That something could be one of the openers, Adam Gilchrist or Paul Valthaty. We all know how good Gilchrist can be, especially in the shortest form of the game, but he has been retired from the other forms of cricket for a long time now. Valthaty had alot of expectations on him because of the season before when he scored a few centuries making a bit of a name, but he did not live up to these expectations.

The crowd and fan support for Punjab is huge, with the team carrying the whole state. They do not have that one Punjabi player who can galvanise the crowd further, so again this will be down to the likes of the openers, Shaun Marsh and David Hussey to perform. 

Whenever Punjab are playing there is always a side show Priety Zinta and her celebrations, this is probably because their cricket isn't that great. They have plenty of players who are experienced in T20 cricket but these players are ageing. I don't see to many players fearing from Mascarenhas, or Mahmood as there bowling has slowed down considerably from their peak. 

Surprises can happen in the IPL, but I really believe that Punjab will be near to the bottom of the table at the end of the season. 

Captain: Adam Gilchrist

Star Man: David Hussey

Six Hitter: Adam Gilchrist 

Leading Bowler: Parvinder Avana

My prediction: Group Stage

Rajesthan Royals - IPL 2013

The Shane Warne project is over, he used to be the captain and coach of Rajesthan. Now Rahul Dravid does both of these roles, he also opens the batting. Last year Rajesthan pushed hard to get out the group and only just fell short. I predict them to be even better this year as they have a young side packed with experience.

I like the fact that they have a collection of players who are not big names, but good players. People like Brad Hodge, Owais Shah are good players in T20 cricket. The star man Shane Watson has been off form for a while now and needs to perform if Rajesthan are to do anything. 

Kevon Cooper was a surprise package of last season, he started the tournament on fire, taking many wickets and scoring alot of runs. He made a bit of a name last season but went off the boil, this season will tell if he was playing out of his skin or if he was actually good but the fame got to him. 

Sreesanth will finally get the chance to show himself to the Rajesthan crowd after he was injured for his debut season with the side. The other bowlers who may feature depending on the squad make up include Brad Hogg and Shaun Tait, both are inconstant through age or accuracy. Dravid and Rahane have shown they have a good partnership, both will want to carry this on. It is the first time we get to see Dravid after his retirement. 

Captain: Rahul Dravid

Star Man: Shane Watson

Six Hitter: Brad Hodge

Leading Bowler: Sreesanth

My prediction: Group stage

CSK - IPL 2013

The most successful team in IPL history, it is no co-incidence that they are. With Dhoni as the captain, he has seen it all and won it all. There tactics are to retain the most players, this has given them a bit more consistency and familiarity. 

The yellow kit is in my opinion the nicest out of all the teams, which is good for branding. As for the team they also have some very huge brand names, Dhoni, Raina and Vijay have all been stars of past seasons. Ashwin is the key bowler. CSK lacked the much needed pace options last season and yet still pushed hard for the semi finals. 

This season I do not see too much changing, it will be interesting to see if Bravo and Albie Morkel can fill this void again. They have some players coming  into the competition in form, Dhoni, Ashwin and Jadeja all starred for India recently. Faf Du Plessis has also had a good year, I will think he will play instead of Mike Hussey. 

Murali Vijay is an interesting player, he broke into the Indian side just before the first IPL as a very correct batsman. He then spent the next few IPL seasons as a blaster who didnt bother with feet movement, now he is back to his old self lets see how he approaches this. 

As mentioned above Bravo, Jadeja and Morkel give CSK great batting depth, its just the fast bowling options I worry about. We know one thing, that is Dhoni's team will be competitive.

Captain: Dhoni

Star Man: Dhoni

Six Hitter: Suresh Raina

Leading Bowler: Ashwin

My prediction: Group Stage

RCB - IPL 2013

Who knows what you will get from this team, they are either sublime or terrible. They can beat any of the teams on a good day but will they have enough good days this season? 

I remember last season a game they lost where Vettori had run out of all his regular bowlers so he asked Kohli  to bowl the second last over. This over cost them the match. The good news is that Vettori will not make that mistake again, he is no longer the captain, it is now Kohli. 

I can't believe I have gone this long without mentioning Chris Gayle, he is the teams extra factor. He has taken to this competition like a duck to water, its his stage. He has made himself the first name that anyone would think of when talking about RCB.

Another quality player in their ranks is just only the South African limited overs skipper. AB Devilliers is definitely one of the best and most inventive batsmen in world cricket. As for spin options RCB have Muralitharan, Vettori, Gayle and Dilshan. Another fun part of the IPL will be watching Zaheer Khan waddle around the boundary. 

Their Indian players include Pujara and Vinnay Kumar, both players who will want to stake a claim for the Indian team in the shorter form of the game. 

Captain: Virat Kohli

Star Man: Chris Gayle

Six Hitter: Chris Gayle

Leading Bowler: Dan Vettori

My prediction: Group Stage

Delhi Daredevils - IPL 2013

When Delhi topped the group stage last year it was all looking very good, they were by far the best team in the group stage. Everywhere you look in their squad you see a top player. 

Last season Delhi invested in many of the worlds leading batsmen, to their already star studded batting line up. They had Warner, Sehwag, Pietersen, Jayawardene and Ross Taylor to name a few. Well now Taylor has left, probably just to be guaranteed a place in a team. Others who do not come close to making the Delhi Darevils team are Andre Russel and Van der Merwe, two players I rate very highly in T20 cricket. 

The big signing this year is Johan Botha, the spinner they didn't really have last year. His signing will cause problems in selection for Delhi as all their top stars will want to play. It was probably having a selection of too many top international players that cost Delhi last season. They could not fit in their best bowler Mourne Morkel in the crucial semi-final. 

You would think Delhi are all about Sehwag, but I believe that Kevin Pietersen has become a bigger star in Delhi. Last season there was a massive craze for him, giving him the attention that eventually lead to his isolation from the England team for a few months. I am also very keen to see if Unmukt Chand is given a chance in the side, this is a player who we keep hearing about. I think that this will be a blue year with Delhi beating Mumbai in the final.

Captain: Mahala Jayawardene

Star Man: Kevin Pietersen

Six Hitter: Sehwag

Leading Bowler: Mourne Morkel

My prediction: Winners

Mumbai Indians - IPL 2013

In sport every now and then you get a person or team who are called the nearly men. The best example of this is Jimmy White who famously kept loosing the world championship in the final. Mumbai Indians are the nearly men of the IPL. They are always one the favourites to win the competition, they have the best fan following mainly due to Sachin Tendulkar yet they seems to falter in the semi finals or final. They have won a Champions League, but this is not a competition that many people take to seriously. 

Once again Mumbai have a new captain, this is after Sachin was the captain in 2011, Harbhajan in 2012. This year the job is given to their big money signing Ricky Ponting. Its not a surprise that Harbhajan had been stripped of the captaincy after last year he could not control his players attitude towards umpires. 

What will be interesting is to how Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting will play  together. This will be a sight to behold. I can imagine them batting while Kallis is bowling, this will be the three players of their generation going head to head. 

Once again Mumbai will be one of the best fielding sides with Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard out there, passing on the messages of Johnty Rhodes. Mumbai have a strategy of recruiting many young Indian players as well as young relatively unknown players. This has been pretty successful for the team on the whole.   

Team Facts:

Captain: Ricky Ponting
Star Man: Sachin Tendulkar
Six Hitter: Kieron Pollard
Leading Bowler: Lasith Malinga
My prediction: Runners Up

KKR - IPL 2013

The reigning champions, Kolkata were the surprise package of last season. Not too many people expected them to win and now the pressure has increased on them to play just as good. Their success of last year was mainly down to a few key factors, these were mainly in the form of Kallis and Narine. 

They also have good players in Brett Lee, Brendon McCullum, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan TenDoeschate and Eoin Morgan. The only problem is that these players cant all play at once. The flop of the IPL over the last two seasons has been Yusuf Pathan, surely he will fire this season. 

The team will be once again be lead by Gambhir, a man on a mission. Last May he must have been ontop of the world, being the captain who won. This time around he has to prove himself again, he has been dropped from the national side. 

In terms of the Indian contingent there is promising fast bowler Shami Ahmed,  wicket keeper Manvinder Bisla who is as good as any attacking batsman in the competition. 

Off the field the owner Shah Rukh Khan will want to continue his gloating, I am sure that he enjoyed the last IPl more than any other. The seasons before had been very poor for KKR, always falling short. I do not predict them to win the competition this year, but I think they will run the winners close. 

Team Facts:

Captain: Gautum Gambhir
Star Man: Jacques Kallis
Six Hitter: Brendon McCullum
Leading Bowler: Sunil Narine
My prediction: Semi-Final

IPL 2013 nearly here

The umpires are dusting off their hats, the owners suiting up and Danny Morrison warming up his vocal cords, this can only mean one thing. Its back, IPL 2013, starts Wednesday 3rd April. It may not be every ones cup of tea but it seems for now the competition is here to stay. I for one love the competition and will be watching with interest. I will nail my colours to the wall and state my liking for Delhi Daredevils. 

I was very disappointed last season when they fell short in the semi-final despite being the best team in the competition. This year we have a change to the team names, what used to Deccan Chargers are now Sunrisers Hyderabad. In my opinion this was a farce, the team had been punished and were thrown out because the owners problems. It would have made more sense to award the contract to another city, like Ahmedabad. 

The usual suspects will be in the running for the tournament, Mumbai Indians will want to show they are more than a team who are perennial losers, either in the semi final or final. On the other hand Chennai Super Kings will want to get back to winning ways, being the most successful team. If Delhi falter this year then they could be labelled the new Mumbai Indians. Last years surprise winners Kolkata Knight Riders will want a repeat of last year, while all the other teams will need to rise to the challenge. 

I have below listed a few predictions:

Winners: Delhi Daredevils - They were the best team last year, topping the group. A star studded team with many top international players. They threw away the semi-final last year by not playing Morne Morkel the leading wicket taker in the semi final for tactical reasons. 

Leading Wicket Taker: Lasith Malinga - He has been there and there about in this category since IPL 1 and there is no doubting that he will take many wickets. 

Most sixes: Chris Gayle - When thinking of this category only one name came to mind. Others who could possibly challenge him are fellow West Indian's Pollard and Marlon Samuals. 

Player of Tournament: Virat Kohli - As this is a guessing game, I have gone for my favourite player. He has not always lived up to his potential in the past IPL's and for that reason I think he will fire. He is also the captain of RCB now, which is a big stepping stone for the Indian captaincy in the future. 

Player to watch out for: Nathan Coulter-Nile - A young Australian bowler who is very highly rated. He could be good if Mumbai Indians play him. He will be under the guidance of players such as Ponting and Tendulkar. 

Click on the team names below to go the team page:

- Kolkata Knight Riders
- Chennai Super Kings
- Mumbai Indians
- Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Delhi Daredevils 
- Rajasthan Royals
- Punjab Kings XI
- Pune Warriors India
- Sunrisers Hyderabad

IPL auction wont be as eye catching as the last few.

Its that time of the year again, the IPL auction on 3rd February is the first indication that the new season is close. This is normally the time where I start to get a little excited about the upcoming competition, this year however is different. I will be seeing what happens at the auction but I do not believe that it will be an affair as big as the other auctions. 

As always there are lots and lots of young Australian and South African players up for auction. In contrast there are only two England players up for the list Ravi Bopara and Matt Prior. Looking at the players who are up for auction I do not see any player getting close to the fee paid out for Jadeja to CSK last season. The highest base priced players are Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting both players who have something to prove in the shortest format of the game. Clarke having retired from international T20's a few years back. 

Johan Botha with all that IPL and T20 experience will attract many teams, he also brings a bit of leadership to a team. It seems that the majority of these players will be used to fill up squads but as we have seen in the past, a player who shows quality can be given a chance. Teams such as Delhi are packed with foreign stars so they will most likely be looking towards the Indian players such as RP Singh, Manpreet Gony or Abishek Nayar. 

All in all it will be interesting to see who goes where, only then we will be able to know what teams to watch out for. As for me I will stick to supporting Delhi Daredevils as they have a team containing Kevin Pietersen, Sehwag, Jayawardene, Warner, Ross Taylor, Irfan Pathan, Mourne Morkel and Yadav. 

Why the CLT20 does not excite me

Is it just me or has this years champions league twenty 20 come around totally at the wrong time? It comes on the back of a great summer where England and South Africa battled it out world number 1, the West Indies showed class to lift the WT20 and a few good series starting up.

I am a big fan of T20 cricket as it is quicker and often packed with great players from across the globe going head to head. The issue for me is that right now the competition comes off the back of a great WT20, and before some great series's. I have seen alot of T20 games and I am missing the other formats at the moment. 

Another issue which has been highlighted by an Australian selector is the fact that their players get no break before a key series against South Africa. He highlights Starc and Cummings in particular need of rest. It could be argued that they are getting good practice of bowling on South African pitches. 

I do not like the fact that some players qualify for this tournament for two teams, meaning they have to elect a team to play for. This year Narine and Brett Lee have elected not to play for Sidney. It is a little funny that the players always choose the IPL team, I wonder why. I guess the only way to stop this is stop players playing in foreign leagues. This would reduce my enjoyment of the IPL.  

If this was a true champions league I think that the champions of all countries  should be able to go straight into the group stage. This would probably mean the fourth IPL team would have to qualify. This is the first year where all four IPL teams have gone straight into the competition, mainly due to their financial power. It may be good for the competition if a non IPL team wins this year, but me being a Delhi fan I hope not. So far we have seen a few good matches, in particular I liked the way in which CSK were totally outplayed by Sidney Sixers and how Delhi are looking really strong. 

A good thing about the tournament is that I get to see more of my favourite team Delhi Daredevils. It was a good chance to take another look at Chand who I think is a great player. I guess that I will be watching this competition with interest as it progresses but I think the real deal for me will be the Australia v South Africa test series starting soon.