||| IPL 2015: Discussion Thread ||| - Page 35

Originally posted by: ZanduBaaM

Yacht party, mystery women: BCCI anti-graft unit warned teams last IPL

An email sent by BCCI's Anti-Corruption Security Unit lists violations' by IPL franchises and players.

In a letter emailed to the BCCI last season, its ACSU chief Ravi Sawani listed instances where players and franchise violated operational rules and the Anti-Corruption Code.

A party hosted by Preity Zinta for KXIP on a yacht owned by individuals on the ICC's anti-corruption scanner, a woman who spent the night in the room of a CSK player, a dinner hosted for KKR by Shah Rukh Khan's friend without permission.

These are just some of the several cases of protocol violations by IPL franchises and players spotted by the BCCI's Anti-Corruption Security Unit (ACSU) last summer, barely a year after the league was rocked by the spot-fixing scandal.

In a letter emailed to the BCCI last season, its ACSU chief Ravi Sawani listed instances where players and franchise violated operational rules and the Anti-Corruption Code. The email specified that these breaches happened during the India leg of IPL 7, from April 16 to June 1 " around the time when the Supreme Court was hearing the IPL corruption case.

Consider these excerpts from the email:

On April 30, 2014, Preity Zinta hosted a party for the entire squad of KXIP, aboard a yacht anchored 2 km off the Mumbai coast. The yacht was provided gratis by its owner, reportedly friends of Zinta. No outside guests were present other than one personal lady friend of Zinta. What is a matter of concern is that the owners are being investigated by the ICC ACSU for their contacts with players and betting on cricket.

On May 8, 2014, Shah Rukh Khan's friend and business partner hosted a dinner for the entire KKR Team where other friends and relatives of the host and SRK were also present.

On April 9, 2014, Hotel J W Marriott Aerocity New Delhi, one of the sponsors of Delhi Daredevils, hosted a dinner at the hotel for the team. More than 100 outsiders were invited as guests to the dinner and they freely mingled with the players and support staff. Neither was any prior intimation of this dinner given nor did the DD management share the list of invitees with the ACU.

On May 8, 2014, a young lady who was not related to a CSK player visited his room in ITC Grand Maurya in Mumbai. She entered the room of the player at 2150 hrs and left at 0605 hrs the next day. When questioned, the player described her as a good friend.

On May 9, 2014 another young lady entered the room of another CSK player at 2210 hrs and left the next morning at 0730 hrs. When questioned, the player stated that she was a very close friend and that he was likely to marry her. Through inquiries by the ACU, it came to light that in the past the same lady has been in touch with the player Sreesanth and a few other senior players of different IPL teams. She has often been seen in the stadiums cheering for RCB and had a green accreditation card during IPL 2013.

* Two players of Hyderabad Sunrisers have been receiving a very large number of visitors in their hotel rooms irrespective of the city they are in.

* A senior foreign player of KXIP allowed his male friend to stay with him in his room and also travel with the team squad in the team bus on return from the match venue. The same person who appears to be a former player accompanied the KXIP player to the practice sessions in the team bus.

* The players' agents are now not staying in the same hotels. However, they often visit them at the hotels. Nothing has come to notice that may cause alarm in this regard.

* Whenever players reach their home cities they tend to stay overnight at their own residences. While this may not be a problem by itself it is very difficult for the ACU to monitor the activities/visitors of individual players staying in different locations.

Sawani mentions in the email that a pre-season communication reminding franchises about the ACU protocol was sent by IPL COO Sundar Raman that year. "Only blood relations or wives/ partners can stay in player's room," states one of the points of the protocol that Raman had passed on to the teams.

When contacted, a KXIP spokesperson said that the "BCCI was satisfied" with the action taken by the franchise on the incidents mentioned while a Delhi Daredevils spokesperson said they work with all agencies to ensure they follow all procedures.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR and Chennai Super Kings did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Asked about the yacht party, the KXIP spokesperson said in a statement: "The BCCI was in touch with us regarding the incidents mentioned below. We replied appropriately and the BCCI was satisfied with action taken by the franchise. This was last year's incident and the matter was closed last year itself."

A Delhi Daredevils spokesperson stated: "All franchises allow their sponsors to host meet-and-greets and other functions as per their commercial contracts. Details of these functions are shared routinely with the BCCI-IPL management through relevant channels and the same was done in relation to the query raised by you."

The spokesman added, "We at Delhi Daredevils have a zero tolerance policy towards any activities that are against the IPL guidelines. We try our best to ensure that all activities are conducted within the required framework. We actively work with BCCI/IPL and their agencies such as ACSU to ensure that we follow all of their procedures. Also, all franchises have an Integrity Officer in their midst, appointed by BCCI/IPL, to assist in adhering to the parameters."

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/ipl/2374968/yacht-party-mystery-women-bcci-anti-graft-unit-warned-teams-last-ipl/#sthash.vp1Amj70.dpuf

What went wrong for teams this season

BISHEN JESWANT

Rajasthan Royals - Death bowling

It was all downhill for Rajasthan Royals after five consecutive victories, equalling the best ever start by any team in the IPL. One of the primary reasons for Royals' dismal showing was their bowling during the last five overs of the innings. Their economy rate of 11.6 during those overs was the worst for any team. Each of their key bowlers - James Faulkner, Tim Southee and Shane Watson - went for more than 12 runs per over towards the end of innings. All of Royals' bowlers combined took only 22 wickets during the death overs; Dwayne Bravo has taken 21 wickets in the last five.

Delhi Daredevils - Too many cooks

Having finished bottom of the table in the 2013 and 2014 IPLs, Delhi Daredevils just avoided the embarrassment this year by finishing second from bottom. Daredevils have overhauled their squad a couple of times in the recent past but to no avail. Daredevils have used 64 players since the 2011 IPL, the most by any team. Chennai Super Kings used only 38 players in this period. During the 2015 IPL, Daredevils used 20 players, the most by any team.

Kings XI Punjab - Pointless Powerplays

Runners up in the 2014 IPL, Kings XI Punjab assured themselves of the wooden spoon a couple of games before the league stage had even ended. Poor starts were a major reason. They lost 32 wickets in the Powerplay, which was 10 more than any other team at the end of the league stage. Their batsmen averaged 19.5 in the first six overs, while every other team averaged at least 26.7. This was further reinforced by the fact that Kings XI lost three wickets for less than 50 runs in seven of their 14 matches.

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Not enough standout bowlers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler in the list of top ten wicket-takers this IPL. Also, no Sunrisers bowler took a single four-wicket haul; bowlers from every other team took at least one. Sunrisers' bowlers sent down only one maiden over during this IPL, which was the fewest for any team. Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn, Karn Sharma and Trent Boult would have been considered among Sunrisers key bowlers at the start of the season, but none of them took more than 10 wickets.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Batting unit lacked leader

Three Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen - Gautam Gambhir, Andre Russell and Yusuf Pathan - made 300-plus runs this IPL, but none of them made it to 400 runs. Six of the other seven teams (except Kings XI) had at least one batsman making 400-plus runs. As a batting unit, Knight Riders averaged 24.85, the second-lowest after Kings XI (18.33). They only posted eight 50-plus scores, also the second-fewest after Kings XI (5). Further, Knight Riders batsmen only hit 64 sixes this IPL, the fewest for any team.

Top order, bowling give RCB memorable season

Tournament overview

After three underachieving seasons, Royal Challengers Bangalore finally had reasons to be happy.

Their quick course-corrections after a few defeats revealed a team that was tactically agile. Their bowling continued to be top-notch with Mitchell Starc continuing his fantastic form and the Indian complement of Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel and S Aravind punching above its weight. There was vital all-round intervention from David Wiese as well.

The batting department, on the other hand, was largely a three-man assault system in AB de Villiers (513 runs), Chris Gayle (491) and Virat Kohli (505). While the first two were more about pounding opponents to dust, Kohli was the more composed counterpoint, fortifying one end and finishing games.

Their Indian batsmen didn't do as much consistently enough, but Daniel Vettori, the team's head coach, thought otherwise. "There's limited opportunities when those three guys step up. You can't expect the same amount of runs from the middle order," he said after the loss to Chennai Super Kings in the second Qualifier. "Mandeep (Singh) won us two games. Everytime he's asked to perform, he did. Sarfaraz (Khan) similarly. He only had two opportunities to score runs, once against Rajasthan Royals and once today (against Chennai Super Kings), and he did that."

Vettori admitted his team had "battled for balance" last year. "I was really content with the make-up of the side this year. This year we got it right and we are really happy with the improvement."

High Point

Royal Challengers' 71-run victory against Royals in the Eliminator was a tour de force of everything that had carried them up to that point. One of the Big Three - de Villiers - stepped up with the bat; Mandeep provided a support-act that outshone de Villiers' effort; and some purposeful fielding and bowling: save for Wiese, none of the bowlers went for more than 5.5 runs an over. More importantly, the performance revealed a willingness to embrace the pressure of the big stage.

Low Point

They would be grateful that their lowest point came at the start of the tournament. After winning their opening game, against Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers lost three games on the trot. This period coincided with injuries to Starc and Adam Milne and the constant shuffling of players to fill up the fourth foreign player's slot. Milne was eventually replaced by Aravind, who turned out to be an excellent value addition.

Top of the class

It would only be fair to say that Starc was the catalysing force behind Royal Challengers' turnaround. He carried his form from the World Cup to pick up 20 wickets at an average of 14.55 with an economy rate of 6.76 runs an over. His was an intimidating presence both at the start and end of an innings.

Under-par performer

With 141 runs from 11 innings at an average of 12.81, Dinesh Karthik was barely the middle-order marshall that Royal Challengers would have wanted when they picked him up for Rs 10.5 crore at the auction. The team resisted the temptation to replace him with another wicketkeeper, Manvinder Bisla, and hoped for that one telling contribution which never came. But Vettori called him "amazing from a wicket-keeping perspective and a leadership perspective".

Tip for 2016

If there would be one criticism of Royal Challengers, it would be their tendency to not go all the way after faltering at crucial junctures. The dropped catches against Super Kings in the second Qualifier potentially dashed their chances of making the final. Also, if the uncapped Indian batsmen could shoulder greater load, it would make them a more rounded unit should the likes of de Villiers, Kohli and Gayle have a bad run.

Skillful CSK wobble at the final hurdle

Tournament overview

MS Dhoni said at the presentation ceremony after the final that Chennai Super Kings "never reached 100% efficiency." That was pretty much the story of their tournament. They haven't quite exuded the menace they used to in the past, and even looked vulnerable on many occasions. That they still topped the table in the league stage and made it to the final tells you how good they are at winning games when not completely on top of things.

Their third defeat in IPL finals since 2011, though, has shown how much other teams have caught up with them. Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, with two titles each, are now level with Super Kings.

Their most vaunted strengths - consistency of selection and a reliance on familiar methods - have lost some sheen. Super Kings might have often been rewarded by their continued investment in a few players, but there is a hint of intransigence to their strategy.

It mightn't be a bad idea to look at a more optimal use of their squad players. They used only 14 players in the tournament - not a bad thing in itself - but the likes of Irfan Pathan, acquired at Rs 1.5 crore, and Rahul Sharma didn't get a game even when someone like Ravindra Jadeja was struggling.

Their batsmen, except Brendon McCullum, underachieved throughout the tournament. This was best indicated by Suresh Raina's failure to pass 400 runs for the first time in eight seasons. On the brighter side, the performances of players such as Ashish Nehra and Pawan Negi - on opposite ends of the age spectrum - and Dwayne Bravo, who finished with the most wickets in the tournament, must have been heartening.

High Point

It came in the early part of the competition, when they won six of their seven games. They demonstrated great range in their victories during this phase. While most of their wins were by comfortable margins, they held their nerve at the clutch to close out tight games against Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Low Point

Defeat in the final wouldn't have rankled them as much as the way they lost it. Everything that could go wrong did. After making a not-so-sound call at the toss, Super Kings conceded 202, easily 20 more than they would have wanted to. To make matters worse, they ambled during the Powerplay, helping Mumbai put the contest to bed inside the first 10 overs.

Top of the class

Brendon McCullum's contribution went beyond being the leading run-getter for Super Kings. Hescored 436 runs in 14 games with two fifties and a hundred, but perhaps more valuable was the daring he displayed at the top that covered up for some sluggish batting from his team-mates.

His acrobatics set the tone for an already competent fielding unit as well. So McCullum's absence in the climactic phases, as Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming conceded, was a body blow. And it showed with fumbles and dropped catches becoming a more regular occurrence.

Under-par performer

Ravindra Jadeja hasn't quite been the same cricketer after his shoulder injury. After modest returns in the World Cup, there was no redemption for him in the IPL. Even as he produced the odd good performance with the ball, he couldn't do justice to the finisher's role. It was only after Negi's arrival, and his strong hitting towards the end, that Jadeja the batsman could relax. Despite his obvious talent, Super Kings could have considered benching him at some point in favour of either Pathan or Rahul Sharma.

Tip for 2016

They might need to reassess the make-up of their squad. Michael Hussey might dig deep to conjure a gem every once in a while, but, at this point, it appears beyond him to deliver consistently as a player. More than anything, Super Kings need to be a lot more flexible on the tactical front.

MI thrill with typical bouncebackability

Tournament overview

During the first timeout of the Chennai Super Kings innings in the IPL final, Ricky Ponting led the entire support staff onto the field. Shane Bond, Robin Singh and Jonty Rhodes were in tow with the Mumbai Indians head coach as they strode purposefully onto the field. Only to pat the backs and joke around with Rohit Sharma and his men for they were doing nothing wrong.

This philosophy to bond together, keep a light head, have good game sense and adapt when necessary has been the hallmark of Mumbai's success this season. Both Ponting and Rohit deserve credit for creating an atmosphere where every player buys into the winning mentality and plays hard to come out on top at all cost.

Mumbai, we could say, have patented bounceabackability. They lost their first four matches, and with only only one win in six had to win each of their last eight matches to make the play-offs.

Jokes about their coaching staff being a stronger outfit only became louder In the first half of the tournament. But as Kieron Pollard pointed out franchise sport is a maze: it takes time to find the right way out.

For Ponting, the challenge was understanding his soldiers and finding the right way to communicate his message. Luckily, he already had his captain's trust and respect: Rohit has acknowledged Ponting's inputs, as consultant, in Mumbai winning the Champions League Twenty20 in 2013.

And at the outset of the 2015 triumph, Ponting had made it clear that he wanted to run the team. Although he did not mind the presence of former Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble as mentors, he did not want any interference. Ponting's intention was not to confuse the players with too many voices.

In the second half of the tournament, at every training huddle, players were told treat each match as a final. That resonated with Mumbai. Lasith Malinga found his pace and his yorkers. Pollard found a bigger role than just being a murderous finisher and also helped guide the young and raw Hardik Pandya. Harbhajan Singh found his flight and drift. He helped inexperienced left-arm spinner J Suchith beat his own nerves and opposition batsmen.

Emotionally lost at the beginning, Rohit found his voice to bolster his men. He was seen as a dejected figure, sitting away from the team at times. On Sunday though, as Vinay Kumar ran in to bowl the last ball of the IPL, Rohit started his own victory run. Leaping up ecstatically and pumping his fists in glory.

High Point

"Every time you go into the game and come out of it, you've got to think how you can improve at least by 10%." Rohit Sharma said that after Mumbai stomped on David Warner's Sunrisers Hyderabad with a nine-wicket victory with six overs to spare. It was the final league match of the tournament and the stakes could not have been higher: if Mumbai had lost they "would go home", as Rohit described it. Instead the secured the second spot on the table with attacking bowling followed by a 106-run opening stand between Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel that sealed the result.

Low Point

Four defeats on the trot in the first four matches.

Top of the class

If it had been mentioned that Lendl Simmons would end up as Mumbai's best batsman at the start of the tournament, you would roll your eyes. More than the runs, he kept a cool head and helped raise a platform at the top of the order consistently. His alliance with Parthiv Patel yielded 619 runs, the second-most by any pair in this IPL. Simmons' match-winning half-century in the final was his sixth 50-plus score in the season, the most by a Mumbai batsman across all IPLs.

The way Simmons constructed his innings showed he wanted to be a catalyst. Simmons' natural game is to be an aggressor, but this season he showed a calmness especially in the first six overs. His strike-rate in the Powerplay was 120.33, rising to 132.50 in the next nine overs and thereafter it soared to to 155.5.

Under-par performer

R Vinay Kumar is not just a workhorse. He has a smart grasp of conditions and a good knowledge of the batsman's weak points. Those skills have helped his domestic side Karnataka complete the treble (winning Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy and Vijay Hazare) for the last two years. Vinay brought his domestic form into the IPL last year when Kolkata Knight Riders won the tournament. But this season Vinay has been ineffective: he managed just seven wickets, the fewest for any bowler who has bowled at least 40 overs this IPL. His average of 52.57 is the second-worst in this bracket.

Tip for 2016

As amazing as the adrenaline-pumping, mad rush was in the back nine games, Mumbai will do better to establish a winning trend on the front nine going forward.