Foes turn team-mates and vice-versa as the 2011 Indian Premier League (IPL) commences here Friday with defending champions Chennai Super Kings playing host to the new-look Kolkata Knight Riders.Players from various countries, particularly those who participated in the just-concluded World Cup, find themselves lined up against their mates and spread across the 10 teams with the addition of Pune and Kochi franchises that will be competing in IPL-4 as against eight in the previous three editions.
Chennai Super Kings came off best from the January auctions as they managed to keep a majority of their players even as other teams indulged in a radical shake-up. The next six weeks will show whether the chopping and changing has had the desired impact or further weakened the teams. Knight Riders are a case in point. They completed sixth out of eight teams in 2008 and 2010, and last in 2009 edition that was moved to South Africa in view of security issues.
Consequently, their captain for three seasons, Sourav Ganguly, does not even figure in the squad in any capacity with Delhi's Gautam Gambhir, bought for a record $2.4 million, taking over the reins for 2011 seasons.The Knight Riders, in fact, chose not to retain even a single player in an attempt to totally revamp their squad in contrast to the Super Kings who while retaining four - skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel - bought back 10.
Super Kings, the most reliable IPL team having reached the final in 2008, semifinals in 2009 and winning the trophy last year, have retained the core of their squad, including the support staff. Given Dhoni's track record as captain, and the depth of talent, both in batting and bowling, besides the continuity factor, the Super Kings are favoured to retain the trophy. The Knight Riders face an mounting task on the tomorrow considering their miserable record against the Super Kings who have won four of their six previous meetings one of which in Cape Town was rained off.
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Chennai Super Kings came off best from the January auctions as they managed to keep a majority of their players even as other teams indulged in a radical shake-up. The next six weeks will show whether the chopping and changing has had the desired impact or further weakened the teams. Knight Riders are a case in point. They completed sixth out of eight teams in 2008 and 2010, and last in 2009 edition that was moved to South Africa in view of security issues.
Consequently, their captain for three seasons, Sourav Ganguly, does not even figure in the squad in any capacity with Delhi's Gautam Gambhir, bought for a record $2.4 million, taking over the reins for 2011 seasons.The Knight Riders, in fact, chose not to retain even a single player in an attempt to totally revamp their squad in contrast to the Super Kings who while retaining four - skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel - bought back 10.
Super Kings, the most reliable IPL team having reached the final in 2008, semifinals in 2009 and winning the trophy last year, have retained the core of their squad, including the support staff. Given Dhoni's track record as captain, and the depth of talent, both in batting and bowling, besides the continuity factor, the Super Kings are favoured to retain the trophy. The Knight Riders face an mounting task on the tomorrow considering their miserable record against the Super Kings who have won four of their six previous meetings one of which in Cape Town was rained off.
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