IPL Jaipur (Rajasthan) Royal team

A city well-known for its Castles and Palaces is now here to compete with a Team in the first phase of IPL. The team hasn’t signed many players but boasts of some of the best in the Business. The team will be lead by the Legendary Leg Spinner Shane Warne. What better than he’ll also be the Coach of this team. A dual role? Lets see whats going to happen. But still the team’s Icon Player is the talented Mohammed Kaif.

The team was brought by Emerging Media group for USD 67 million. The team was criticised for not having spent very less during the first round of bidding. Lets see how the team lines up.


Greame Smith - He is one of the best Batsmen in the current era. He has played some good innings which tells a lot about him as a player and also as a leader. He has inspired South Africa to some huge victories, specially the World Record Chase against Australia. He is a very good opening batsman and a good fielder. His Off-Spinners can be exploited too. He was brought for USD 475,000 by the Jaipur team.


Yusuf Pathan - He is an unknown quantity in International arena. He made his debut in the T20 World Cup Finals against Pakistan. He’s a renowned Big-Hitter in the Domestic circuit and can be very handy with his offies. He was brought by the Jaipur team for USD 475,000.


Shane Warne - The name itself brings jitters in the batsmens’ stomach. He is, without doubt, the best leg spinner that the game has seen. He has proved himself on all the grounds that he has played on. He is a very good leader and has loads of experience which can prove quite handy. He is also pretty good with the bat and is also expected to coach his IPL team. Nice Ploy I would say. He was brought by Jaipur team for USD 450,000.


Munaf Patel - He has never been a constant number in the Indian ranks. He is good with the ball but is poor on the field and with the bat. That is his major drawback. But he can sometimes win matches single handedly with the ball. He is inconsistent and that can be a cause of concern. He was brought by Jaipur team for USD 275,000.


Younis Khan - He is one of the most agile batsman I’ve seen. He can shift gears as and when he requires and can play some long innings too. He is a good finisher and also very good in manufacturing shot. He is very good player of reverse-sweep. He too has lots of experience and that can help the cause. He was brought by Jaipur team for USD 225,000.


Justin Langer - He is one of the best Test Batsmen that the game has come across. He is very consistent and again has loads of experience. He has played lots of T20 for his state team. He can be devastating at the top and provides that comfort for the middle order. He was brought by Jaipur team for USD 200,000.


Kamran Akmal - He is the Pakistani Wicket-Keeper. His skills as a Keeper has always been a point for argument and I’m surprised that this team doesn’t have a back up. He is very good with the bat and is quite capable of playing the big shots. Once he gets going, its difficult to stop him. But the question is “Will he?”. He was brought by the Jaipur team for USD 150,000.


Mohammed Kaif - He has been named as the Icon for his team. He was a good Batsman and a prolific fielder for India. But he was dropped due to his poor show with the bat. He can strike form easily and when he does that, he’s dangerous. He has the knack of pacing his innings beautifully. He is being paid USD 675,000 by the Jaipur team.

The team lacks something but is full of experience. The Bowling looks very week and will remain a major worry. They should have gone in for more Bowlers and also a back up for Kamran Akmal as well. I’m totally unhappy with the way the team has shaped up. The total value of the team stands at USD 69,925,000.

Two cities that I thought deserve IPL teams and didn't get are Ahmedabad and Kanpur. The latter is one of the five "traditional centers" and has been hosting test cricket for almost 60 years now. UP has also been doing well in the Ranji and has quite a few people in the Indian squad - the catchment would've been so much better. The only problem with the Green Park is that there are no floodlights. One hopes that they are installed in due course and this city is allotted an IPL team.

The catchment areas for each team were announced recently. And it turns out that three out of four teams in the Jaipur catchment area are from Gujarat! So what prevented Emerging Media to bid for Ahmedabad then? The Motera is floodlit, and more importantly two of the four semifinalists in this year's Ranji were from Gujarat, thus providing a real catchment (though one other state has been tagged on to each winning ground as catchment area, it isn't too natural. Dhoni will never feel at "home" in Kolkata.). Also, from my perception, Ahmedabad has a much better cricket "culture" compared to Jaipur.

It would've been more understandable if the group that owns Jaipur had some kind of a connection with Rajasthan. However, there doesn't seem to be any - the group is almsot wholly foreign - which makes matters of their choice even more perplexing. Were they put off by Ahmedabad because both Ambani brothers were bidding there? In any case, since the highest 8 bidders got teams (removing duplicate ownership), it is clear that what Emerging Media paid for Jaipur was more than what ADAG offered for Ahmedabad. Why didn't they have enough sense to bid for Ahmedabad also?

All in all it seems to be a decision that completely misses out of the situation on the ground. I'm sure Emerging media would've been advised by some bankers/consultants who have absolutely no clue about the cricket situation in India, who would've used factors such as population, proximity to Delhi, etc. to pick Jaipur as the better winner. As mentioned earlier, I'm sure that one game where Jaipur got record revenues (due to good revenue management practices) would've also helped.

Two points before I close. Firstl, does anyone have data regarding the failed bids for the IPL teams? What Anilbhai etc. bid? If anyone does, please share it with me.

Second, the players' auction is scheduled for Feb 20. Players have been split into classes (fast bowlers, spin bowlers, keepers, etc.) and their names will be drawn in random order, and the bidders should bid for the guy whose name just got picked. Wonder if it's the most efficient process.