OH! YES! ABHI!

The 16th of April will witness the start of yet another PEPSI Indian Premier League, the second time it starts outside the subcontinent. Over the next 47 days get used to the already famous count-down to the match, the OH YES ABHI!, the wapway.in music played by the DJ, the crowd's loud eruption after that and last but not the least the MENTAL TORTURE of EXTRAAA INNINGS T20 (applicable to those who watch it)!!! But ultimately it is the quality of cricket played that should and hopefully will decide the success of this year's edition. 

For the first 15 days, the UAE will play host to this cash-rich tournament, before the action shifts back HOME. This is the first time that both Tendulkar an Rahul sit out and take up key behind-the-scene roles for shaping the prospects of their respective teams. Also this is the first time where the 'original' eight teams are in fray after 2010. 

Talking about cricket, once again CSK looks a well-settled line-up with the regulars minus Vijay and Badrinath. The owners were harsh on Badrinath on which experts and true CSK fans would agree, Badrinath being their crisis-man almost everytime. Otherwise buying Mccullum, Smith & retaining du Plesis (Right To Match) are spot on. The only two areas where CSK would be concerned are finding the right combination (which every team needs to do) and lack of a genuine fast bowler. Hilfenhaus may have the swing but the fast bowling cordon will be targetted by the opponent batsmen.Spin is CSK's bowling stronghold. Ashwin & Jadeja need no introduction and Badree can be used as a third spinner while Raina can turn his arm over for a couple of overs.

Likewise RR retained their 5 best players who can be match-winners on their days- Watson(c), Rahane, Sanju, Binny and Faulkener. Notable buy-backs include Hodge, Cooper and Tambe who had the run of his life last time. The addition of Steve Smith, Thisara Perera, Timothy Southee and Dhawal Kulkarni adds value to an already strong team. Unmukt Chand, an underperformer when it comes to IPL, Deepak Hooda and Ankush Bains will represent the youth brigade. This team is well balanced in all departments and will do so well to punch above it's weight.

DD looks a fresh side with Guru Gary in the mix of things. Pietersen was brought back along with Shahbaz Nadeem and few others. DD will also bank on the 'return' of Ross Taylor, Dinesh Karthik and Manoj Tiwary to add fireworks to their batting line-up. Duminy, de Kock, Vijay are good buys too. James Neesham, Laxmi Ratan Shukla are quality all-rounders who can lend balance to a strong batting card. The bowling attack will be led by Shami and Parnell.The real worry for the Daredevils is in the spin department where Nadeem is the only known face. Considering the venues for the matches, this is a serious problem and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

The Royal Challengers from Bangalore represent which is possibly the most explosive batting line-up among st all teams. 'Gaylestorm' can blow away any team while the ever consistent Virat and de Villiers are literally run machines scoring runs at will. The addition of the under fire Yuvraj who is a match-winner and also a clean striker of the ball will boost their chances if he can do what he is capable of. Their bowling boasts of world-class bowlers like 'Spin Wizard' Muralitharan, Rampaul, Starc and the all-rounder Albie Morkel. This is also a very good team, but they choke towards the fag end of the tournament and are under pressure to win the title at least once. Will Vettori's coaching skills help them win the title this year??? We'll see.

SRH  will look to continue it's impressive run from the previous year, with Dhawan, Sangakkara and Sammy being retained. The presence of Warner, Finch, Henriques and 'Steyngun' brings firebrand to their game. Bhuvneshwar, Ishant, Irfan will be looked upon to knock about the timber. Karn sharma being bought back adds solidity to the bowling department. SRH will have to battle the loss of Sanga (on national duty), Perera (released).

KKR would look for a turn around in fortunes after a disastrous campaign saw them finish only above DD & PWI. Gambhir and Narine were retained while Kallis was bought back. They have banked on the foreign brand of cricket to bail them out.Chris Lynn, Pat Cummins, Morne Morkel, Shakib-al-Hasan, ten Doeschate, Andre Russell must prove a point. India is well represented by Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Bisla, Chawla, Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav. It is high time Yusuf started making valuable contributions. This team very well balanced. Action speaks louder than words. Golden opportunity for KKR to prove it.

Then of course the team that impressed me with it's purchases in the auction - KXIP. Retaining only Vohra and 'Killer Miller', KXIP joined DD for a fresh team that would change it's fortunes. All buys are notable - from Bailey to Sehwag to Johnson to Perera to the'Big Show' Maxwell none is a bad buy. Marsh was bought back while the ever dependable Pujara and wicket-keeper Saha complete a formidable batting line-up. If the domestic players click then we are in for a treat this time. DON'T BE SURPRISED IF THEY LIFT THE TITLE.

Finally, the team that represents the financial capital of India - MI. Considered by many as the next consistent team after the Super Kings, MI is the only team to have a positive head-to-head record against CSK. Like RR & CSK, MI too have retained the full quota of five, buying back Ojha using the RTM. Mumbai has the right blend of experience and youth. Hussey, Harbhajan, Zaheer and 'Slinga Malinga' will play pivotal roles while Rayudu, Tare, Bumrah will hugely benefit from the presence of the experienced campaigners. Rohit, who lead them to championship last time, continues as the skipper. Pollard & Corey Anderson will need to play bigger roles as all-rounders. Two points to be noted are:

1. Though MI talks about buying Mike Hussey, CSK used him when he was at his peak. MI will require his services post-retirement. It remains to be seen if they have got it right.

2. MI are on the back of huge losses in the auction. Smith, Johnson, Maxwell, DK are impact players and releasing all the four of them simultaneously may backfire.

This team will be under huge pressure to atleast reach the playoffs letalone defend their title.

Few would back this team to triumph again.

It's nice to see Young Indians donning the skipper's hat. Apart from Dhoni, who is a regular, Viart(RCB), Rohit(MI), Shikhar(SRH), Gambhir(KKR) have done well and will look forward to continue their decent shows. Rohit and Gambhir have led their respective sides to glory. The captaincy has jumped from the experienced Indians to foreigners back to Indians only this time driven by fresh blood.

Finally, looking at the off-field part of the IPL, it's good to see Gavaskar at the helm of action. Last year's IPL saw important people like Micheal Holding (who has never believed in T20s)  coming live on AIR and the NBA commissioner who visited Mumbai heaping praises on Tendulkar and Ponting as the Micheal Jordan and Kobe Bryant of cricket, something that has never happened before. Suddenly out of nowhere three players let down an entire nation, broke the image of the IPL and broke a billion hearts. They may not play cricket again, but the scars left by them will not fade away easily.