It’s been a high-octane IPL this year, what with six teams still jostling for placings in the points table. Only four, of course, qualify for the play-offs, so the next few days should be exciting.
But one issue that has raised queries is the sustained failure of high quality batsmen like Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakara, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, most of whom have either been dropped from some games or chosen to sit out themselves.
I’ll add even Sachin Tendulkar to this list albeit with the qualification that this piece is being written before Monday night’s game between Mumbai Indians and Hyderabad Sunrisers.
As always, Tendulkar has been the Pied Piper, attracting huge crowds wherever he’s gone. But his bat hasn’t been able to do magic as of yore. Though he has hasn’t flopped completely, Tendulkar’s run-making is way below his own high standards.
The track record of these players in international cricket hardly needs to be emphasised. They represent the crème de la crème of batsmen in the modern era. Moreover, they’ve been splendid performers in the IPL in previous years. So what explains their listless performances?
Age and fitness, of course, are major issues. Most of the players mentioned above are on the wrong side of 30. Those who aren’t, like Sehwag and Yuvraj, have been hit by fitness issues which have contributed substantially to their below-par performances and cost them their places in the Indian team. Age has not so far been seen as a constraint in T20. In past years, we have regaled to the exploits of Tendulkar, McGrath, Warne, Muralitharan. But this season has seen a shift, and younger players are hogging the limelight while the older ones are struggling.
There are exceptions like Mike Hussey, who is leading Chennai’s charge and Rahul Dravid who has been brilliant with bat and captaincy. Jacques Kallis has made a late recovery with both bat and ball. But these players have been the exception rather than the rule. Muraltharan, for instance, has hardly got a game for Bangalore though he was a leading wicket-taker in earlier years.
It could be justifiably argued that Gilchrist is rusty because he plays no other cricket except the IPL, and that Tendulkar has given up limited overs cricket completely. But what does one make of Jayawardena, Sangakara and Ponting struggling so badly for runs?
The two Sri Lankans have been in terrific form for Sri Lanka prior to the IPL and Ponting, while he has retired from international cricket this season, was in such great touch in domestic cricket that there were demands for his recall for the Ashes.
Clearly age is beginning to matter because the T20 game has gotten more `physical’. This is evident from the standards of fielding achieved this year. Strong legs and strong lungs are now mandatory for any player: a run conceded, a catch dropped, a single missed and lack of strength in hitting fours and sixes can be hugely detrimental to a team’s interest.
There is an important sub-text to this development — largely for players who are in their mid-30s, but also those even younger: that star value diminishes rapidly in the flip-flop world of the IPL unless a player is on the top of his game. With all players up for auction next season, this has huge financial implications too.
Sangakara, Jayawardena, Sehwag, Yuvraj are already experiencing this excruciatingly; so too Zaheer Khan, who hasn’t played a game yet this season. And it extends to younger players like Yusuf Pathan too, who has been like a dud cracker this year.
This is disappointing not just from the fans’ point of view. How the franchise owners view these players in next year’s auction remains to be seen, but I think there will be many surprises in store.