TheSportsCampus

One of the two new infants of IPL Season 4, Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s birth had many complications - right from its frenzied backer Shashi Tharoor to the convoluted ownership tangle - exacerbated by the public glare post Lalit Modi's ouster. As all of Kochi watched with bated breath and fingers crossed, finally all fell into place and the Indi Commandos were born. Yes, you heard it, before its official name ceremony, the Kochi IPL franchise were named Commandos with flirtations with Kochi Bruisers as well. Sanity prevailed, and the fans voted for a name change and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala were finally christened so.

But all off field matters aside, Kochi have a team which looks good on paper and they wouldn’t be any pushovers for the ‘seniors’ of the IPL. Under the captaincy of a good student of the game, Mahela Jayawardene, Kochi would be looking forward to some exciting times while bringing their own flavour to the league.

Having to start from scratch; Kochi's behind the scenes team bid aggressively, chasing some superstar buys. Their southern counterparts and champions of the previous season Chennai lost out on legendary offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan on the back of a Rs. 5 crore bid.

Batting:

On the back of a brilliant World Cup final hundred, Mahela Jayawardene showed his class and authenticity of stroke making. Having been at the Northern side of the divide (Kings XI Punjab) for the past three seasons, where he was a prolific scorer, the captain will look to start his new innings carrying on from that final a week back.

With Brendon McCullum and Parthiv Patel both in the squad, chances are the young Indian left-hander would get the opportunity to keep wickets while the Kiwi gets the privilege of opening the batting. Brad Hodge and VVS Laxman (doubling up as a batting coach) bring experience and calmness to the middle order. Ask South Australian Redbacks and one would get the drift of Michael Klinger’s abilities. Owais Shah’s lusty leg side hitting had been the feature of previous seasons and expect the same from him. Rookie Tanmay Shrivastava would be the youngster to lookout for.

What Kochi lack in batting quality they try to make up through a large bunch of talented allrounders. India's Ravindra Jadeja is are certain to make the squad due to the four foreigners rule, while young Steve Smith is a strong option to have in the squad in the lower middle order. The IPL will also be introduced to 26-year old Stephen O'Keefe for the first time, and with a first class batting average in the high 40s and a bowling average under 24 as a left-arm spinner, he is a real steal at $20,000. Hopefully he'll get a chance to showcase his prowess in this star studded line-up.

Bowling:

RP Singh and Vinay Kumar will be Kochi's frontline pacemen. With the national team bowling a bit short on many occasions during the World Cup, and the need for a suitable back up to Zaheer Khan high on the wish list, an added incentive for Singh and Kumar would be to get back in contention via a good IPL. The local lad Shanthakumaran Sreesanth would definitely bring his fiery attitude and eccentricity but Kochi would be expecting his bowling to do the talking. Ramesh Powar would definitely be the frontline spinner after Muralitharan’s injury in the World Cup might see him absent for the initial stages of the competition. Ravindra Jadeja will be another man looking to break back in to the Indian set-up and will be desperate to impress with the ball in particular.

In Steve O’Keefe, Steven Smith and Thisara Perrara, Kochi have some wicket-taking allrounders, and they are a tad spoilt for choice as a result.

Squad:

Batsmen: Owais Shah, VVS Laxman, Brad Hodge, Michael Klinger, Tanmay Srivastava, Deepak Chougule, Kedar Jadhav, Mahela Jayawardene(C),Gnaneswara Rao

Wicket Keepers: Parthiv Patel, Sushant Marathe, Brendon McCullum, Chandan Madan

All Rounders: John Hastings, Steven Smith, Stephen O'Keefe, Thisara Perera, Ravindra Jadeja, Raiphi Vincent Gomez, Balachandra Akhil, Yashpal Singh, P. Prasanth

Bowlers: Muttiah Muralitharan, RP Singh, Vinay Kumar, Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar

Support Staff: Coach: Geoff Lawson, Assistant Coach: Sanjay Bangar, Batting Coach: VVS Laxman, Physical Trainer: Greg Hanson

Likely Playing XI: Mahela Jayawardene Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge, VVS Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Vinay Kumar, Ramesh Powar, Steven Smith / M Muralitharan, RP Singh, S Sreesanth

Players to watch:

Ravindra Jadeja: He didn’t play the last edition, getting into trouble with the owners in order to get a better contract. He fetched a great bid in the auction and should prove to be a good pick. His major worry would be the lack of cricket at the highest level in the recent past. But it is assured that his talent will come as a great service to Kochi and he himself would be determined to make a strong comeback to the big stage.

Mahela Jayawardene: The most expensive foreign player in this auction and had to be after his revolutionary effort at the top of the order for Kings XI last season. His most remarkable performance was the century against the Knightriders at the Eden Gardens when his team was chasing a huge total. The Kochi owners would be hoping for a similar effort from the veteran, and his leadership will be crucial to the side.

Schedule:

The Kochi crowd will see their time in action for the first time on 9^th April when they host Royal Challengers Bangalore. It will be an interesting clash with RCB being a youthful side this time around though led by an experienced campaigner in person of Daniel Vettori. They travel to Mumbai to face their next two opponents - Pune Warriors and Mumbai Indians. They might have a chance against the Warriors but the Mumbai Indians would definitely give them a tough time. Then they play Chennai Super Kings at home and play the Knightriders at Eden Gardens two days later. A three day rest will be followed by a game against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. They would have liked to get few wins under their belt by this stage to get into the scheme of things.

With 8 games to go, they play two games at home next against the Deccan Chargers and the Delhi Daredevils, and will see these at vital to climbing up the points table. Having faced the Daredevils at home they travel to Delhi to play them in the away fixture. A second match against the Knightriders at home makes up for another explosive clash. The Royal Challengers will be the third side they play twice, this time playing them at Bangalore. Their second home venue, Indore, will host their next two games against Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. These two games might turn out to be the most crucial for Kochi having reached the business end of the tournament. Their last game will be against the Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk in Chennai.

The Tuskers will play 5 of their 7 home games at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Kochi and the 2 other games will be held at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Their home stadium in Kochi is one of the largest in the country having a capacity of around 60,000. IPL will come to the two venues for the first time and the people from Kerala would have a great chance to enjoy the high spirited action. Kochi have been under scrutiny since the franchise came into being and the controversies will only end with some great performances on the field.

Home Fixtures at Kochi:
09 April v/s Royal Challengers Bangalore, 8pm
18 April v/s Chennai Super Kings, 8pm
27 April v/sDeccan Chargers, 8pm
30 April v/s Delhi Daredevils, 4pm
05 May v/s Kolkata Knight Riders, 4pm

At Indore:
13 May v/s Kings XI Punjab, 8pm
15 May v/s Rajasthan Royals, 8pm

Away Fixtures:
13 April v/s Pune Warriors, 8pm
15 April v/s Mumbai Indians, 8pm
20 April v/s Kolkata Knight Riders, 8pm
24 April v/s Rajasthan Royals, 8pm
02 May v/s Delhi Daredevils, 8pm
08 May v/s Royal Challengers Bangalore, 4pm
18 May v/s Chennai Super Kings, 8pm