RCB vs SRH (Updated at 3.10 PM, April 12)
Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 83
Glenn Maxwell out – Moises Henriques in
(Uncapped) Manan Vohra out – Harshal Patel (1)/ Yuzvendra Chahal (2)/ Deepak Hooda (3) in
Batting captain – Moises Henriques
Bowling captain – Harshal Patel/Yuzvendra Chahal
I didn’t think I would be able to cover this match, but luckily I have found some time. While it is, by no means, detailed, you should still get a decent idea of how to proceed with things today.
RCB playing XI: Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Kedhar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, David Wiese/Adam Milne, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Sreenath Aravind
Sarfaraz Khan is likely to miss out despite an impressive debut last season, with RCB getting in the likes of Jadhav and Binny. Binny hasn't been the same force he once was for Rajasthan Royals, but his new IPL head-coach Daniel Vettori seems to rate the Karnataka all-rounder due to the supposed balance he brings to the team.
It is difficult to predict where Watson would bat. While I believe him playing as a finisher will improve the overall batting ability of the team by making sure the fantasy potential of Kohli and De Villiers remains intact, it is understandable if RCB opt to open the batting with him.
Many seem to believe that Adam Milne is an automatic shoe-in for the fourth overseas spot. But David Wiese was too good with the ball for the Bangalore-based team last season that they might just stick with him. Also, Milne hasn't done anything exceptional in his career so far to push his case.
SRH playing XI: David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, *could be anyone*, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman
With Tom Moody pretty much confirming that Warner and Dhawan are set to open and Henriques an obvious No.3 after his stellar shows in IPL 2015, I don’t think Kane Williamson will be considered for a middler order spot. Morgan, despite his poor form, should get in instead, especially in the absence of an injured Yuvraj Singh.
Mustafizur Rahman is among the world’s best limited overs specialists at the moment, and I expect him to be picked ahead of Trent Boult, whose form hasn’t been great for almost a year now and, even in general, is not a great T20 bowler in these conditions.
Uncapped pick: Hooda took the world by storm with his big-hitting skills last season, but I would wait to see how the Sunrisers use him before deciding to pull him into my team. For now, Chahal and Harshal Patel look better uncapped options.
Notable exlcusions
I would normally have picked Mustafizur, but considering the nature of the Bangalore deck, strength of the opposition and the size of the stadium, I shouldn’t be really unlucky if I get screwed up for this.
A lot of you would be surprised to see me not having a single RCB batsman in my team, but with them playing their next match only after a gap of 6 matches, I don’t think it is worth it bringing any of them into my team. Also, their ‘Fab Four’ will be up against an impressive Sunrisers bowling unit which shouldn’t let him get away easily.
If you are not prepared to run this risk, Kohli is the best of the available lot considering the form he is in; however, I will only regret not picking him if he scores a century.
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