BENGALURU: Let us start with a trivia. Name the only team in the 12th edition of the IPL which does not have any serious contender for India’s World Cup squad. The common perception is, all teams more or less have such players in their ranks. Not Rajasthan Royals. Ajinkya Rahane has not played an ODI in the last 12 months. An impressive IPL may not fetch him a berth either, with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan ahead in the pecking order and KL Rahul being the possible back-up opener. It brings into picture the fact that the franchise lacks an Indian superstar who is a household name.
This is not the case with most other teams. If not a Dhoni, Kohli or Rohit, they have their Karthiks, Dhawans and Bhuvneshwars. Other than being match-winners, they are also the crowd-pullers. On the flip side, big names have a tendency to hog the limelight irrespective of performance. As result, younger Indian players end up spending time under their shadows. Is it a boon or a bane?
Rajasthan head coach Paddy Upton is happy not to deal with such kind of things. “It also depends on what you mean by superstars. In terms of talent and ability, we have pretty good (Indian) stars. But in terms of individuals, who behave like superstars and think that they are more important than others, it is very good that we do not have any such person, who needs special treatment and under whose shadow, young Indian players wilt. So it is a very good thing that we do not have that,” Upton told this newspaper.
The past editions of the IPL have shown the importance of the contribution of lesser known Indians. The performances of Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Manan Vohra, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni can be crucial. They are not big stars, but reputed names in domestic cricket. Also, with a minimum of seven Indians mandatory in the XI, their performance becomes crucial for a team.
“It is always important for Indians to deliver. One expects some good contributions from the four foreigners and over the course of the season, their performances generally cancel each other out. The difference comes from the Indian batsmen and bowlers. That is a key piece for any team in the competition,” added Upton, who was India’s mental conditioning coach at the 2011 Word Cup.
If Indian players click, Rajasthan should be a threat with internationals like Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer there to add firepower. Smith is using this as a launchpad to get back into the Australian side for the World Cup. Stokes will be eager to justify his top billing last season, when he made just 196 runs and took eight wickets.
“Every team that wins any tournament, it is because their match-winners step up and play better match-winning roles. We are fortunate to have Smith, Stokes, Buttler. On their day, Sanju Samson and Archer can be match-winners too,” said Upton.