IPL 2022 newsfile: Title-winning Titans get open-top bus parade

PTI report: Thousands of fans in Ahmedabad flooded the city's streets on Monday as Gujarat Titans took out a victory parade on an open-top bus to celebrate their title triumph in a memorable maiden season in the IPL.

On the same day, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel hosted the state's newly-crowned Indian Premier League champions and felicitated them.

"This title is going to be a special one because we talked about creating a legacy. The coming generations will talk about it," captain Hardik Pandya had said after the triumph. "Everyone will remember this was the team who started this journey and to win the championship first year is very special."

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has announced an INR 1.25 crore cash prize to those groundstaff and curators involved in the IPL.

Shah's announcement came via a tweet one day after Gujarat Titans won IPL 2022 in Ahmedabad. In all, there were six venues used in IPL 2022 - two in Mumbai, and one each in Navi Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

The money will be split in six parts. The four venues in Maharashtra that hosted the 70-game league stage would receive INR 25 lac each while Kolkata and Ahmedabad, the two cities to host the playoffs and final, would be allotted 12.5 lac each.

In what will be a lift for Royal Challengers Bangalore, they should have their designated death bowler Harshal Patel fit to play the playoffs, should they qualify. Harshal had bowled just one over and gone off injured in their previous game, against Gujarat Titans, on May 19. Speaking to RCB's Bold Diaires, Harshal said: "When I got that ball at short extra cover I split my webbing on my right hand and I got a couple of stitches, which should come off in three to four days. So, if we do make it to the playoffs I think I will be be ready (to play)."

Despite winning big in that game against Titans, Royal Challengers need Delhi Capitals to lose their final league fixture to Mumbai Indians to qualify for the playoffs. Capitals and Mumbai face off on May 21 at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai Indians have replaced Suryakumar Yadav, who was ruled out on May 9 due to a forearm injury, with right-arm seamer Akash Madhwal. Madhwal has played 15 T20s and represents Uttarakhand in domestic cricket.

Madhwal was originally part of the Mumbai support staff after being picked up at the pre-season camp by the five-time champions. He will now be in contention to play in Mumbai's last two fixtures that will end a forgettable season where they have won only three games in their first 12 encounters.

In 15 T20s, Madhwal has an economy of 7.55 and an average of 26.60, and made his state-team debut in 2019.

Delhi Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw has been discharged from the hospital where he was being treated for a bout of typhoid. A Capitals statement said Shaw has returned to the team hotel where he is recuperating and being monitored by the medical team.

Shaw experienced intense fever last week which likely forced Capitals' medical staff to move him out of the team hotel. He last played on May 1, against Lucknow Super Giants, and has missed three games since then. He had announced, while posting a photograph of himself in a hospital bed, on Instagram that he 'will be back soon' but Capitals' assistant coach Shane Watson had said on Thursday that the opener is unlikely to be available for the team's last two league games.

In his absence, Mandeep Singh opened along with David Warner in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, while KS Bharat opened in the last two games.

Rajasthan Royals have signed uncapped South African allrounder Corbin Bosch as a replacement for Nathan Coulter-Nile for the remainder of IPL 2022. Coulter-Nile had suffered a calf injury during the team's opening match and was subsequently ruled out of the rest of the tournament.

Bosch, 27, is a seam-bowling allrounder and bats in the lower-middle order. He was part of Royals’ contingent as a net bowler and will join the main squad at a price of Rs 20 lakh (US$ 26,000 approx.). Despite making his T20 debut in 2014, Bosch has played only 30 games in the format, scoring 151 runs at a strike rate of 120.80 and picking up 18 wickets at an economy of 8.16.

He has also played 24 first-class games and 21 List A games.

Royals are currently third on the points table with 14 points from 12 games.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have signed 21-year-old left-arm medium-pacer Sushant Mishra as a like-for-like replacement for left-arm quick Saurabh Dubey, who has been ruled out of IPL 2022 with a back injury.

Dubey, 24, plays for Vidarbha in the domestic circuit and was bought for INR 20 lakh (USD 26,000 approx.) in the mega auction recently. Mishra, who hails from Ranchi and represents Jharkhand, has also been bought for the same price.

Mishra has played four first-class matches for 13 wickets and two List A games for one wicket but is yet to make his T20 debut. Mishra was part of the Ranji Trophy preliminary quarter-final recently against Nagaland, in which Jharkhand amassed 1297 runs in the two innings combined, although Mishra bagged a pair in the match.

Fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni has joined Mumbai Indians as a support player for IPL 2022. Kulkarni was unsold in the mega-auction in February and was working with the host broadcaster as a commentator before he was called up.

Mumbai, who are the five-time IPL champions, have had a forgettable season thus far, losing all eight of their games – the most by a team in the tournament.

Kulkarni, who has been part of Mumbai for five seasons before, has also represented Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Lions. He played a solitary match for Mumbai in IPL 2021, against Chennai Super Kings. Kulkarni, who has played 92 matches in the IPL, and with the league stage of the tournament being played across four venues in Maharashtra – two of them in Mumbai, Kulkarni’s experience of playing for Mumbai in the domestic circuit would be put to use.

Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul and retained allrounder Marcus Stoinis have been pulled up for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during their game against Royal Challengers Bangalore that ended in defeat.

According to an IPL release, both players committed Level 1 offences and admitted to them. Rahul was fined 20% of his match fee while Stoinis was reprimanded.

Patrick Farhart, the Delhi Capitals physio, has tested positive for Covid-19 - it’s the first positive case in any of the team bubbles to be reported since the start of the competition, on March 26. No further cases have been reported from the Capitals set-up, and an IPL media statement said that Farhart “is being closely monitored by the DC Medical Team at the moment”.

Kolkata Knight Riders quick Rasikh Salam has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL 2022 season after picking up a lower-back injury. Salam, who played two games - returning none for 18 in three overs against Mumbai Indians and none for 10 in one over against Delhi Capitals - has been replaced by Delhi quick Harshit Rana, for his base price of INR 20 lakh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have roped in Rajat Patidar as replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia for the remainder of IPL 2022.

"He [Patidar] reached last night and will complete the mandatory quarantine protocol before joining the IPL team bubble," a Royal Challengers statement said. "Sisodia will continue to stay in the RCB bubble as an intern and will be assisted with his recovery and rehab followed by a structured return to the sports program."

Patidar, who represents Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket was part of the Royal Challengers set-up last year after being picked up at his base price of INR 20 lakh in the auction. He played in four matches, where he scored 71 runs at an average of 17.75 and a strike rate of 114.52. His most telling contribution was a 22-ball 31 against Delhi Capitals.

He has an impressive T20 record to his name. In 31 matches, he has scored 861 runs at a strike rate of 138.64 and an average of 30.75, which includes seven half-centuries. He was Madhya Pradesh’s second-highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020, where he amassed 221 runs in five innings.

Sisodia, who was not part of Royal Challengers' playing XI for either of the first two matches, was picked up at his base price of Rs 20 lakh at the latest auction.

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli feels he would be "very emotional" thinking about AB de Villiers if the franchise win the IPL for the first time. The South African legend, who joined RCB in 2011, had a successful stint with the team for 11 seasons. He quit all forms of cricket in November last year.

In a video posted by RCB, Kohli opened up about sharing "so many moments" with de Villiers. "The other day, it got me thinking, if we manage to win the title in the coming seasons, I would be very emotional thinking about him first," Kohli said. "Rather than what I would experience after such hard work of so many years, I would actually think of him.

"It would still mean a lot to him even if he is watching the game from home. He is a special human being as he has touched everyone, and we all can vouch for that."

Kohli, who stepped down as RCB captain after last season, also recalled the moment de Villiers informed him about leaving the franchise.

"It's very strange I mean, I clearly remember when he decided to finally call it a day. He sent me a voice note, we were coming back from Dubai after the World Cup. I got a voice note from AB de Villiers while we were driving back home.

"I kind of had the impression and was guessing it in the last IPL. Our rooms were next to each other, and we would walk the same way and disperse, every time we walked to our room and he would see me outside, he would be like 'I want to see you for coffee, one of these days'.

"I kept getting nervous and was like 'I am not sitting with you because I think there is something coming' to which he always said 'No man there is nothing, I just want to have a chat with you, it's been a while and he never speaks like that because we interact all the time.

"So, I knew something is brewing up. It is a very strange feeling I got very emotional. The voice note was very emotional as well for me when he said, 'Look I don't have it in me anymore.' I have shared so many moments with him, highs and lows, everything we have been through he was right next to me."

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will be without Moeen Ali for the IPL 2022 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 after a delay in procuring his visa to travel to India, but he is expected to be available for the side's second game.

In the absence of Moeen for Saturday's opener, Super Kings are likely to hand an IPL debut to New Zealand batter Devon Conway and have him combine with Robin Uthappa and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the top order.

Upon arrival in India, Moeen will have to undergo the mandatory three-day quarantine to enter the IPL bio-secure environment, and could be available for Super Kings' second match, against Lucknow Super Giants on March 31 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

The upcoming IPL is set to welcome back crowds up to 25% stadium capacity, the governing council announced on Wednesday. Fans haven’t been part of the previous two editions, due to the pandemic.

IPL 2020 in UAE and the first-leg of the 2021 season in India was entirely held behind closed doors. The UAE authorities opened up stadiums partially for the second-leg of the previous season in September-October.

With the tournament set to return to India and be played at four venues across two cities - Mumbai and Pune - the BCCI have capped the crowds at 25% capacity.

Crowds have been a returning feature at venues across India lately. The recently-concluded India-Sri Lanka Test in Bengaluru saw the venue opened up to 100% capacity, while the Mohali Test also saw crowds up to 50% capacity after they initially announced the staging of the Test under closed doors.

Outgoing Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has heaped praise on his successor, Faf du Plessis, saying his leadership qualities were among the reasons why the franchise went after him at the IPL auction.

Kohli, who captained Royal Challengers between 2013 and 2021, said on a video tweeted by the franchise: "Getting Faf at the auctions for us, the plan was very clear. We need a leader in the change room who commands a lot of respect. Commands not demands, because he has been there done that.

"He's a Test captain, that profile comes with a lot of accolades already and we are excited for him to lead RCB. He will do a tremendous job.

"We get along really well with him, all of us myself Maxi (Glenn Maxwell), Dinesh Karthik and I think all the guys will enjoy this tournament."

Lasith Malinga, the IPL’s highest wicket-taker, is an all-time MVP, having been part of four title-winning Mumbai Indians sides over the years. Even during his playing days, he used to invariably play the role of a mentor to the team’s young bowling group. Now, he has been officially roped in as a bowling coach by Rajasthan Royals, where he will reunite with former Sri Lanka team-mate and captain Kumar Sangakkara, Royals' director of cricket.

“It was actually last year that Kumar (Sangakkara) asked me if I was interested,” Malinga told the Royals media. “But with Covid and all the bubble restrictions, I didn’t want to stay away from my family. But this year, having also worked with the Sri Lankan team, I felt I could use my experience and give back to the game that I love, by working with this group of players.”

Royals have fine overseas pacers in Nathan Coulter-Nile and Trent Boult, both of whom have been part of the Mumbai Indians with Malinga. They also have India seamers Prasidh Krishna and Navdeep Saini to complement the overseas pacers. Malinga was excited at the prospect of working with a “fantastic pace attack”.

“You’ve got experienced overseas players like Boult and Coulter-Nile, with whom I’ve worked before,” Malinga said. “Then we’ve got genuine Indian fast bowlers in Prasidh and Saini, who have proven themselves at the highest level, and some new faces in Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen and Kuldip Yadav. In T20 cricket, I think little margins really matter, and I’m here to guide them to deliver their best in all situations.”

Malinga underlined the most important traits for fast bowlers in T20 cricket. “I think most of the times teams focus on analysing the opposition and looking at their weaknesses,” he said. “But in my experience, I think what works best is when you work on your strengths and bowl according to them. In T20, you only have to bowl 24 balls, which works in our favour but it’s also important to trust your instincts as to which variations can work in which situations.”

“On the field, you only have a right-hander and a left-hander to prepare against, so when a bowler trains, it’s important to just train according to that – to think there are just two batters – it doesn’t matter what the name of the batsman is.”

Sanju Samson's star is well and truly on the rise.

With India looking to revamp their T20 game, a player that has always been on the fringes is now front and centre. Samson came into the IPL with Rohit Sharma's stamp of approval, now, a week away from the start of the new season, he's got R Ashwin gushing too.

“I think Sanju has got an amazing attitude and a good head on his shoulders. He’s always open for discussion, open to opinions around the game, so that’s a great quality to have. I do believe Sanju has got the vantage point as a wicketkeeper to judge the game with all the angles, the pitch and how things are going to work. He also has age on his side, and will definitely get better. I hope he has one blockbuster of a year.”

Ashwin, who had a gut feel that he would be playing for the Royals this year as soon as he saw them raise the paddle for him at the auction, is eager to get started.

“I feel contribution to a team is far beyond than just contributing on the ground. I’ve always been a person who enjoys talking about cricket and have been very open in terms of having a discussion with anyone around the sport. With my experience and communication skills, I’ll try to have discussions with anyone who wants to have a discussion and help to the best of my ability, hopefully making a difference to the squad from within.”

Karun Nair, who has been left in the wilderness a little bit, is eager to make his second coming. Despite scoring a Test-match triple-century in 2016, the 30-year old has slipped out of India reckoning, and even at IPL level he's not really seen as a gun player.

“In my opinion, the reason behind that is that I've never been the kind of a main player in a team in T20 cricket," the Rajasthan Royals batter said on Monday. "If you see, whenever I score runs, there's someone else who scores better in the same match (laughs). But I’m not really bothered about that at all - all I care about and why I play matches is to help the team win.

“On a more serious note, why people don't see me as a T20 specialist is because I've been asked to play different kind of roles over the years, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I’m hoping to have a great season with the Royals and just focus on whatever I’m told to do.”

Ricky Ponting, the Delhi Capitals coach, is a man on a mission. "I'm gonna have breakfast, lunch and dinner and coffee with all the younger guys that I don't know to get to know them as quickly as I can."

The team has assembled in Mumbai for the start of IPL 2022. They've cleared quarantine and have begun to start training as well for their first match of the season, on March 27 against Mumbai Indians. And as much time as Ponting will spend on team combinations and tactics, he's also keeping an eye on squad morale.

"When you do that, I think as a coach or even as a senior player, when you show that, I guess, love towards the younger guys, you know that they're going to give it back. So that's what I'll be endeavouring to do over the next few days."

Ponting is also hopeful that a squad captained by Rishabh Pant and featuring players like David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Mitchell Marsh, Kuldeep Yadav and Mustafizur Rahman will be enough to succeed in the IPL not just this year but in years to come.

"The mega-auction, the way it is, it's really hard to plan for just the first season. You've got to sort of look a bit further ahead and I think that's what we've done really well. We've got a really good squad for this year but in a couple of years time, with some of the young guys we've got, I think we can develop and nurture and bring those guys on and have a really powerful squad in a year or two years time."

Life inside bio-bubbles can be hard. So the owners have Mumbai Indians have done their bit to make sure the players want for nothing, setting up the MI Arena at Jio World Garden, a place for the team including all its coaching staff and family members can either chill or play or train.

After Gujarat Titans revealed their inaugural jersey at the Narendra Modi Stadium, their captain Hardik Pandya spoke to IPLT20.com. Here are some snippets:

What kind of captain will Hardik be?
"I'm a work in progress right now, but I'll be always available for the players, no matter what time of day. Second, I want to give my players freedom and security, and allow them to express themselves. I will be one of those who may not be there with them on their good days but I will be there to back them and make sure they are in the right frame of mind on days where they need it the most."

How have the Titans stacked up?
"We have tremendous new talent - no one is a new kid around here. Everyone has experience. We are not here to prove anyone anything. We are here to play good cricket in a good environment - where they can flourish in this environment. People might say we lack in some places, but that's the case for every team."

What to expect from a just-recovered Hardik in the IPL?
"I'm looking forward I've been away from the sport for quite a long time. For me, it's quite exciting that the 3.5 months of hard work behind closed doors which I've put in, I will finally get to see where finally I am. Result can go your way sometimes, it does not - it does not matter. What I have learnt is that hard work doesn't guarantee you success, but right processes will eventually get you success. For me, I am happy that processes are right, and I've been honest, and in the end honesty wins."

Interestingly, Hardik's first game as captain will be against his India team-mate and close friend KL Rahul, who will captain the other new team Lucknow Super Giants. Rahul, in fact, will be having the company of Hardik's brother Krunal Pandya in the Super Giants set up.

Shimron Hetmyer was one of many players that sparked a bidding war at the IPL auction in February. In the end, the hard-hitting West Indies batter went to Rajasthan Royals for INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.1 million approx).

A left-hander with nearly every shot in the book, Hetmyer has the game to bat anywhere in the line-up. That flexibility is why he ended up going for so much money. And although some players in the past have struggled to live up to such amped-up expectations, the 25-year-old from Guyana is confident he can deal with it.

“There’s no pressure of the price tag on me," Hetmyer said in a Royals press release on Saturday. "It’s a challenge to help the Royals when I’m out there. The price tag does not really matter to me, it’s the runs I score that help contribute to the team’s cause that matter."

Since making his IPL debut in 2019, Hetmyer has scored 517 runs from 31 matches at a strike-rate of 151.16.

“I’m ready for any role the team needs me to perform," he said. "It’s imperative to do well as a player in the squad. And at my end, as I’ve always believed, is to just give myself that chance to be out there and the performance will come, no matter what the situation of the game is.”

Julian Wood, the power-hitting specialist, has joined Punjab Kings as their batting consultant for IPL 2022. For Wood, the former Hampshire batter, it will be his first assignment with an IPL team.

Previously, he has been involved with various franchises in the BBL, the CPL and other T20 tournaments around the world apart from working along with England and Australia’s national teams.

At the recent auction, Kings prioritised signing power-hitters like Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith. Wood’s inclusion seems to be part of the same strategy.