I have not seen too much but whatever I have seen in this IPL, these are my impressions.
8) Gautam Gambhir - Simply for not being able rally his team around and quitting. Shreyas is just a few games in and so does not figure yet.
7) Virat Kohli - For not being able to rally a fairly good team around him. That is the problem with stars - they leave everyone behind. He is a fabulous player but he cannot do everything on his own. Kaif got it right, he still needs to get this aspect right as a leader. He may or he may not, I would rather watch him play minus the burden of captaincy.
6) Rohit Sharma - Struggling to get the team going despite the firepower. No excuses for late starts.
5) Ashwin - Has a decent team and did fairly well. But though he says the right words, one feels that he exerts a lot of pressure on players through his silence and disappointment. Again, a good side that is losing its way a little.
4) Ajinkya Rahane - He seems to have got a couple of things right with his monk like reactions to the game. Jos Butler's promotion and a couple of moves are working for him and a small team is turning the heat on the big players. I like the way his marginal players are standing up - Goutham for one.
3) Dinesh Karthik - He is a changed man after that Bangladesh game. Calm and open to all possibilities. Allowing his team to perform and express themselves. They could well surprise everyone.
2) Dhoni - Sad to say, MSD comes second best to Kane simply because for the first time I see that his fringe players are not performing as well as they should. MSD is left taking more of the burden on himself which is not ideal and not the MSD way. A slight adjustment somewhere and one wants to see matchwinners of the marginal players.
1) Kane Williamson - Set back upon setback, a small team compared to the biggies and Kane still pulled the rabbit out of the hat each time. No doubt everyone in the team feels the same ownership to perform and win as Kane and that is what sets him apart from the rest.
Getting the team to perform, getting marginal players to do matchwinning stuff, pulling off close finishes in their favour..these count for me. Let's see if things change by the end of the season.
8) Gautam Gambhir - Simply for not being able rally his team around and quitting. Shreyas is just a few games in and so does not figure yet.
7) Virat Kohli - For not being able to rally a fairly good team around him. That is the problem with stars - they leave everyone behind. He is a fabulous player but he cannot do everything on his own. Kaif got it right, he still needs to get this aspect right as a leader. He may or he may not, I would rather watch him play minus the burden of captaincy.
6) Rohit Sharma - Struggling to get the team going despite the firepower. No excuses for late starts.
5) Ashwin - Has a decent team and did fairly well. But though he says the right words, one feels that he exerts a lot of pressure on players through his silence and disappointment. Again, a good side that is losing its way a little.
4) Ajinkya Rahane - He seems to have got a couple of things right with his monk like reactions to the game. Jos Butler's promotion and a couple of moves are working for him and a small team is turning the heat on the big players. I like the way his marginal players are standing up - Goutham for one.
3) Dinesh Karthik - He is a changed man after that Bangladesh game. Calm and open to all possibilities. Allowing his team to perform and express themselves. They could well surprise everyone.
2) Dhoni - Sad to say, MSD comes second best to Kane simply because for the first time I see that his fringe players are not performing as well as they should. MSD is left taking more of the burden on himself which is not ideal and not the MSD way. A slight adjustment somewhere and one wants to see matchwinners of the marginal players.
1) Kane Williamson - Set back upon setback, a small team compared to the biggies and Kane still pulled the rabbit out of the hat each time. No doubt everyone in the team feels the same ownership to perform and win as Kane and that is what sets him apart from the rest.
Getting the team to perform, getting marginal players to do matchwinning stuff, pulling off close finishes in their favour..these count for me. Let's see if things change by the end of the season.
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