Memories are incredibly short in cricket, especially so when it comes to the Indian Premier League, where people barely remember what happened last week. Cast your memory back, then, to the pre-COVID years (yes, that far back) - Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are exiled from the IPL following the spot-fixing investigation; M.S. Dhoni leads a bits-and-pieces team raised from CSK’s ashes, against a purple-clad outfit called the Rising Pune Supergiant. They finish rock-bottom in 2016, and in response Dhoni is deposed as captain - an ignominy of inexplicable proportions. Pune make the final that year, but Dhoni’s clout as an IPL playmaker is at an all-time low. CSK return to the fold in 2018, but with a team full of rusty old machinery. T20 has transformed into a power game in their years away, but Dhoni and his boys - nah old men - are back in yellow, and no one gives them a chance.
What does Dhoni do? He rolls back the years and leads CSK to their third title, beating spectacular odds, younger teams, analytics, match-ups, Moneyball, madness and common sense. You expect him to recede into the sunset after this glorious fairytale, but he doesn’t - he’s back in 2019 with the same bunch of creaky old veterans - Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, the works. And he comes within one shot of winning the thing again, before losing the final off the last ball against the Mumbai Indians.
Surely, that must be the end then? Nay, he returns for one more final hurrah, in 2020, and CSK are promptly handed a hiding in the COVID season, in the UAE. The murmurs begin anew - “He’s overstayed his welcome. Should have quit on a high.” Dhoni was having none of it. He was back in charge in 2021, and went on to win the damn thing yet again, despite not having the home advantage of games in Chennai.
After a fairly forgettable 2022 season, Dhoni’s CSK is back again - a side that backs experience over exuberance. Dhoni looks visibly older - like those ageing South Indian superstars, donning jet-black hair dye, and a few sessions in the gym, attempting to paper over the swarthiness of the years. The writing may seem to be on the wall, but write him off at your own peril. For no one knows who writes this man’s scripts.
No one argues over Kohli’s place in the pantheon. His ODI numbers are spectacular, and he has a legitimate shot at overhauling many of Sachin Tendulkar’s records in that format. He is arguably the greatest Test captain in India’s history. The one format where question marks remain is T20.
In the period between the 2012 and 2016 Twenty20 World Cups, Kohli was arguably the best batsman in the format. But T20 cricket back then wasn’t what it is now, and there is a legitimate complaint that Kohli’s T20 game hasn’t evolved with the times. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB's) sustained run as the IPL’s meme team hasn’t helped Kohli’s legacy - they are one of only three teams from the original eight to have not won the title even once. And it’s been particularly painful to see RCB stumble so often, since they have come close several times.
As a player, Tendulkar never got to be a part of a victorious IPL team - he missed the first final that the Mumbai Indians won, and retired before their subsequent title wins. It would be bittersweet for Kohli’s IPL career to go the same way. RCB’s fans will hope for a different script. And so will India fans - a great IPL could set up Kohli perfectly for a strong run during the ODI World Cup later this year.
Long ago, much before Bazball became cricket's latest buzzword, Brendon McCullum used to provide blistering starts and breathtaking feats in the outfield for Chennai Super Kings. Knowledgeable Chennai fans may even claim that Bazball as a concept was born in the CSK dugout, where McCullum enjoyed his best T20 years, before becoming the all-bashing captain of New Zealand, and eventually, the game-changing Test coach of England.
Life comes a full circle then at CSK, as McCullum’s Bazballing partner-in-crime, England’s Test captain Ben Stokes finds his way inevitably to the team in yellow. Stokes is the quintessential CSK pick - to begin with, he’s in the twilight of his career. He’s called time on his ODI career, and has blown hot and cold in T20s, and over the years, has been a disappointment at the IPL. With an Ashes campaign looming, news is that Stokes’ bowling may not even be available to CSK this year. All of these are signs that point to a resurgence and a reinvention under Dhoni and Stephen Fleming. CSK have bet massively on Stokes, and - while they may not admit it yet - he could eventually take over the top job from Dhoni. Can he inspire CSK to bounce back from their tepid 2022 season?
This might seem a stretch and a half as things are now, but indulge the idea for a moment: Can Jaydev Unadkat open the bowling for India in the ODI World Cup this year?
After a forgettable Test debut in 2010, Unadkat has suddenly re-emerged on the Indian selectors’ radar in recent times. People who follow little outside the IPL may wonder why - for Unadkat has been consistently disappointing in the IPL. The disappointment is only partly because of his middling performances (his slow offcutters hold little surprise in the death overs) and is largely down to his auction earnings that have always been spectacular. It’s not hard to see why: Indian left-arm pace bowlers are a rare breed, and Unadkat is the most experienced one of his kind out there.
His IPL troubles notwithstanding, Unadkat has been brilliant in domestic cricket. And the India selectors rewarded that consistency with a call-up to the Indian team. He played a massive role in India’s Test win in Bangladesh recently, and was in the squad that played Australia. Left-arm pace is surely going to play a role in the World Cup, and a strong season with the Lucknow Super Giants could earn Unadkat a look-in.
It’s unclear when and how K.L. Rahul became Indian cricket’s foremost memelord.
It all started at the IPL, specifically during his years leading the underperforming Punjab Kings franchise. In his defence, Punjab has been a punishment posting for several stars - Yuvraj Singh, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, R. Ashwin, and now Shikhar Dhawan, who have all tried their hand leading that side out of the morass, and failed. On the personal front, Rahul’s years at Punjab were not a complete washout. He helped himself to the Orange Cap, and plenty of big - if not always urgent - runs. The reputation of a ‘selfish’ batter is something Rahul earned at Punjab, and his “strike-rates are over-rated” comment did not help his cause much.
Rahul has moved on from Punjab, and now leads a more dynamic unit at Lucknow Super Giants, but the reputation has followed him into international cricket. His tendency to score heavily against weaker sides, or in inconsequential games, while failing in more important encounters has not helped his cause.
At this point, it’s tough to imagine Rahul shaking off the meme-lord tag. But there is precedence - for many years, Ravindra Jadeja was a punchline, before he smashed perceptions on the back of a series of stellar efforts. IPL 2023 could similarly be the making of Rahul. And as with everything else this year, all roads lead to the ODI World Cup, where Rahul is tipped to keep wickets for India and bat in the middle order. He desperately needs a big IPL, and is capable of producing it too. The question is - will he be able to score his runs fast enough. And more importantly - can he do it without leaving his foot in the mouth?
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