Did Indian Players Fail The ‘Indian’ Premier League?

Now that the IPL circus is over, we can look at which players performed (and earned their price-tags), and which didn’t.

First off, I think Uncle J Rod was correct about Rahul Dravid, ex-captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Over $1 million earned and he produced 271 runs at an average of 22.58. His silly parting shot in the final — an attempted flick off the legs, even though fine-leg was near — helped his team lose an eminently winnable match.

Second: I understand why V.V.S. Laxman was overlooked (5 matches, for 19 runs), but why didn’t anyone throw Glen McGrath a ball? Surely, at $350,000, he deserved to prove his worth?

Third: is it true that teams with South Africans and Australians did better than the Indians? And did the Indian players show their skills, or did foreign players own them?

This is a tough one, and requires a more in-depth analysis than I’m interested in doing (hint, hint, Kridaya). A cursory glance, however, isn’t promising for the Indian contingent: only 3 Indians appear in the top 10 batsmen (#4, Suresh Raina; #9 Sachin Tendulkar; #10 Rohit Sharma), while the rest are mostly South Africans and Australian (Sri Lankan T.M. Dilshan being the sole exception).

The bowling side is better: the top 10 is littered with Indians, from fast bowlers (#1 R.P. Singh, with 16 wickets) to spinners (#3 ol’ Anil Kumble; #4 Pragyan Ohja).

Any conclusions? The usual ones: Indians can’t bat in South Africa, but the Indian Twenty20 side is still the one to beat this year.

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