Ricky Ponting thinks that there is some merit in John Buchanan’s theory of multiple captains for Kolkata Knight Riders. Buchanan had created a huge controversy a few days ago by suggesting that there would be several captains in the KKR IPL team. But later on he mellowed down his tone and said that there will be only one captain and four strategists. However, this was quick shocking for the Indian masses especially the people of West Bengal as they cannot see Sourav Ganguly sharing his captaincy with others. It received opposition from several quarters in the cricket fraternity but there were some takers too. Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakarra said that he was open to such an idea. Now the latest one to join the club is Australian captain Ricky Ponting who thinks there is some merit in Buchanan’s theory. Notably Buchanan was also the coach of the Aussie team during their World Cup win in 2007. Ponting also said that multiple captains would reduce the work load of captaincy and might help enhance the team performance. But he also said that a strategist would be more suitable because multiple captains cannot decide field placements easily.
It is also noteworthy that Ricky Ponting is a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders team but will not play IPL T20 season 2 as he has decided to spend some time with his family during the two weeks in which he is available. Let us wait and see how the multi-strategists theory works out.
Bollywood and Hollywood stars will attend the opening ceremony of the second season of IPL T20 if reports are to be believed. Hollywood actors Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman are likely to grace the opening ceremony on April 18 at Newlands alongside IPL franchise owners and Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty. Last year’s runner-up Chennai Super Kings will play the opening match against Mumbai Indians while IPL season 1 winner Rajasthan Royals will take the challenge of Bangalore Royal Challengers in the second match subsequently on the same venue.
The match tickets for the opening for the opening matches will go on sale from April 3 and it has been kept modest and in terms with the 2007 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup. The tickets will start from Rand 50 for children, Rand 100 for a grass ticket and upto Rand 200 for a seat (1 South African Rand ~ 5.5 Indian National Rupees). According to Stadium Authorities, there is major interest amongst the public for the matches and so the ticket prices have been kept affordable.
To increase the maximum occupancy of stadiums the IPL schedule has been organized in such a way that the maximum amount of matches are played in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg which are cities with the largest Indian population. Out of the 56 games to be played in IPL T20 season 2, 33 games has been staged in these three venues.
Let us wait for the next two weeks to see if the South African people likes the mix dose of cricket, Bollywood, Hollywood and cheerleaders. But going by the way the organizers are working on the event, it might become a success this year too.
Kolkata Knight Riders had been one of the most popular teams in the first edition of IPL T20. Shahrukh Khan and his aggressive publicity had helped the team in gaining a lot of popularity although the team was not too good in terms of performance. Shahrukh had gone a step further in IPL season 2 and preparations were going on for Kolkata Knight Riders for a long time. He had even organized TV shows to pick up the cheerleaders for the KKT team. But there has been an unwanted controversy for the last few days with Buchanan saying he is not sure of retaining Sourav Ganguly as the captain of the team. This has resulted in a lot of anger and anguish in the state of West Bengal which had backed KKR to the hilt during IPL season 1. And this controversy might backfire for the Kolkata Knight Riders as many supporters of the team will not support the team to that extent. Ganguly is the Prince of Kolkata and decision against him is bound to result in the lose of support for the team. However, Dada can prove everybody including John Buchanan wrong by hitting the sixes and fours and showing that he is also a very good T20 player.
Lets wait for the coming days and see if this controversy is beneficial or detrimental to the KKR team in IPL t20 cricket season 2.
What do you think? Will this controversy backfire for KKR?
Are you surprised? I was also surprised when I read the same at a thread at a cricket forum by one of the forum members. After a lot of research, the post seemed to be quite trustworthy. Atul Sharma might be the world’s fastest bowler, the next pace sensation and a very good gift for India.
Atul Sharma has been included in the Rajasthan Royals IPL squad this year as can be found in the IPL official website and he might be the biggest find of IPL season 2 and perhaps India’s biggest fast bowling find in years.
Nobody is sure but let us wait and check out if he really turns out to be sensation in the IPL. This has made me even more eager to watch this year’s IPL and hope he really matches up to the expectations.
