A direct consequence of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) decision to introduce an ‘Impact Player’ starting this edition will be the dependence on all-rounders relatively going down. Impact Player works like this: Teams have to submit a list of four substitutes at the toss and one of them can be brought in any time during the game to replace a starting XI player.
Effects of 'Impact Player' Introduction
The demand for all-rounders — a batsman who can bowl or a bowler who can bat — has been a perennial one. With the introduction of an ‘Impact Player’ though, things might change. This novelty has become the upcoming auction’s most talked-about element. Mumbai Indians looking at Kieron Pollard’s replacement, Chennai Super Kings looking at Dwayne Bravo’s replacement, Lucknow Super Giants letting go of Jason Holder all remain connected to this crucial factor in some way or the other.
Speaking of Mumbai Indians and Pollard, those happen to be very big shoes to fill. Any exaggeration here, in fact, tends to shrink into an understatement when we talk about the Trinidadian’s contribution at MI ever since he came aboard. Matches won from losing positions, titles won from nowhere, moments that infused unimaginable energies into the squad and a lot more — Pollard’s presence, and now his absence, tell one of IPL’s most cherished stories. Along with Chennai Super Kings facing an equally big challenge to replace Bravo, how the franchises replace these two West Indian white-ball giants will remain among the other talking points.
The third is who is looking to buy these three cricketers – Ben Stokes, Cameron Green, and Sam Curran, at what cost and for what role. The first one is an all-rounder but also a potential captain, a resource let’s say, Sunrisers Hyderabad could be looking at right now. The second is an all-rounder in good form and probably just the kind that franchise might look at as a good overseas replacement for the recently exiting cricketers. Curran, meanwhile, could be the one raising stakes among all three given his white-ball affinities and the all-rounder tag.
What to Expect From This Auction
There are a combination of things that could make this auction interesting although the entire event may hardly last more than three to four hours after beginning at around 2.30 pm on December 23. The few overseas professionals participating in the auction want the process to wrap up early so that they can head home for Christmas. Further, this is indeed a ‘mini auction’ as BCCI has mentioned.
The word ‘mini’ however doesn’t apply to Punjab Kings at the moment. They’ll go into the auctions with enough money to buy a whole new team, but what they actually do with that kind of a spending capacity at hand is to be seen. In the mega auctions held early this year, Punjab had hedged heavy bets on young and upcoming Indian cricketers. It was a marked change from the usual trend of investing big in star cricketers including overseas professionals. Whether the team continues doing the same once again or looks at some stars to complement the young is also among this mini auction’s build-up stories.
Everything else is about ‘smart buys’. Look at the Knight Riders for instance — they no longer need to spend on a wicket-keeper and can use that money elsewhere now. A couple of other franchises are hunting only for “specialists” at the moment. The moment the event begins in Kochi, minutes into it and we’ll figure the kind of trends waiting to be set this time around. Until then, the franchises will remain locked inside their war-rooms, crunching numbers.
K Shriniwas Rao is Group Editor- Sports at Network18. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
