Michael Clarke’s aversion to T20s in general, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in particular, is not a secret. For the Australia captain, the five-day format has always scored over the shortest version of the game.
His stance has been a refreshing exception as ‘cashing’ in on your skills is the order of the day for most of the contemporary cricketers. Such has been his resolve that four seasons of the cash-rich tournament have failed to lure him and thus he is yet to play in the IPL.
But for those who miss the stylish player during the IPL days, there’s some good news. According to Sourav Ganguly, who is also the captain-cum-mentor of the Sahara Pune Warriors, the IPL franchise is “on the verge” of signing the Australian for the fifth edition of the T20 league.
Speaking at a promotional, the former India captain said: “We’re on the verge of signing (Michael) Clarke… However, he will be available from May.”
However, there’s a bump in Clarke’s way to the IPL and the “May” bit may dampen the mood.
Australia’s upcoming series in the West Indies begins on Friday with the first ODI and is scheduled to end on April 27 — the last day of the final Test. Clarke, if he comes, would need at least a couple days more to reach India.
After April 29, the Pune Warriors will have a total of seven matches (two each against the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, and one each against the Deccan Chargers, the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore) left in the group league stage.
The crucial question then is would Clarke decide to take the plunge for that many matches? Or would he prefer rest before Australia’s prestigious five-match ODI series in England, which begins on June 29?
Clarke retired from T20 Internationals in January last year and hence the fact that the World T20 is scheduled to be held in September this year, should not affect his decision, unless he decides to have a rethink.
But if he joins the Pune Warriors’ ranks, Clarke would certainly be a value-addition as the franchise has failed to enhance their squad at the auctions last month due to their off-field problems.
Sourav spoke more about his IPL team as he said: “Graeme (Smith) and myself are likely to open... I feel that if our batsmen click, we do have a great chance of making it big this time. The only worrying factor would be Yuvraj’s absence. We all know he’s a special talent.”
Clarke’s possible inclusion may actually serve to make up for that void.
On a different note, Sourav said that he believes India should play more freely in the ongoing Asia Cup. “I think India will be under less pressure given their win over Sri Lanka. Hopefully, they’ll beat Bangladesh as well and therefore, they can approach the Pakistan game with a positive frame of mind,” he said.
News source by:- http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete