2021 Indian Premier League [Preview]
2021 Indian Premier League is all set to played in the month April and May in India. The 14th edition of the league will be played from 9th April till 30th May across six venues- Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. A total of 60 matches will be played across six venues in India.
Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Bangalore Challengers are franchises that will participate in this year’s competition. The competition will begin on 9th April when Defending champions Mumbai Indians face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the season to be played at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The major signings in this year’s IPL auction were all-rounder Chris Morris, pacer Kylie Jamieson, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, pacer Jhye Richardson and all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham.
All-rounder Chris Morris was bought for a highest ever tag price of 16.25. He was signed by Rajasthan Royals, who went on a spending spree to buy Morris. With his acquisition, Morris became the most expensive player signed in history of Indian Premier League.
All-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham was also bought by Chennai Super Kings for a whopping Rs 9.25 crore. Delhi Capitals signed England pace bowler Tom Curran for Rs.5.25 crore. Australia rookie pacer Riley Meredith also bagged a hefty price of Rs 8 crore by Kings XI Punjab during IPL auction event.
Chennai Super Kings signed England all-rounder Moeen Ali, Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara in the IPL auction held earlier this year. The three-champions have experienced players in their ranks such as Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo. Shardul Thakur has enjoyed a successful season for India national cricket team in all three formats and will be looking to continue his excellent form this season.
Tom Curran and Umesh Yadav are valuable additions to Delhi Capitals squad for the coming season. Last year finalists, Delhi Capital, will be looking to go the distance and win their maiden trophy this season.
Given his struggles with the bat and injury, David Warner will see this season as an opportunity to redeem his cricketing career. After missing the Test series against India in Australia, Warner will be determined to get back to his best with the bat for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman and batting all-rounder Kedhar Jadhav have signed for Sunrisers for the coming season.
For Kings XI Punjab, Dawid Malan, Moises Henriques, Jhye Richardson and Fabian Allen will undoubtedly bolster the batting and bowling resources for coming season. The side has not been able to do well in the past couple of season and will be looking to make an impact in this year’s competition.
Two-time IPL Champions Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Harbhajan Singh, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Cutting and Karun Nair for the upcoming edition. Pawan Negi and Sheldon Jackson are valuable additions to the squad this season. England’s Eoin Morgan will lead the side for the coming season.
Five-time Champions Mumbai Indians will have signed New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham, pacers Adam Milne and Nathan Coulter Nile for the coming season. Rohit Sharma will continue as captain of Mumbai Indians for the forthcoming edition of the league.
Rajasthan Royals has undoubtedly spent huge money in a bid to turn their fortunes around this year. Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, and Mustafizur Rahman are notable signings by Rajasthan Royals for this year’s tournament. Wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson will lead the franchise for the coming season. The franchise has suffered a setback as pacer Jofra Archer will miss this year’s competition due to shoulder injury.
For Royal Challengers Bangalore, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Daniel Christian and Kylie Jamieson are new additions to the squad. Indeed, with the plethora of exciting at their disposal, Royal Challengers will be desperate to turn their fortunes around and play to their potential in the coming season.
It will be interesting to see how things go in this year’s tournament. All eight franchises have a reasonable chance of winning the coveted prize this season. The 14th edition of Indian Premier League is certainly going to be the biggest cricketing extravaganza this year besides ICC T20 World Cup.
