One man who will play a huge role in this version of the tournament would be Yusuf Pathan, considering his recent form.
He was the leading player in the first version of IPL, scoring 435 runs at a strike-rate of 179. The previous version was not so productive but still Yusuf was the 2nd highest scorer for his team with a strike-rate of 133.
In the last one month, the scores he has come up with include:
- Duleep Trophy final - a double-century that helped West Zone defeat South Zone - 19 fours and 10 sixes - his last first-class match after scoring 108 (off 76 balls) containing 12 fours and 5 sixes
- Vijay Hazare league match - a century of 40 balls for Baroda - 8 fours and 10 sixes
- Deodhar Trophy final - 80 off just 39 balls - 3 fours and 9 sixes
Yusuf played an effective, if minor role in the legend Sachin Tendulkar's double-century - MS Dhoni was happy that Yusuf had a quick-fire 81 run partnership with SRT - MSD knew that this knock would have taught Yusuf a lot more than what he had learnt in his cricketing career so far.
The Indian team needs Yusuf to fire - the need has become desperate now. Gone are the days when Dhoni used to blast attacks - the team needs a strong No.7 who does what MSD used to do earlier. This role should be occupied by Yusuf Pathan.
His drop earlier from the ODI squad has made him hungry and determined to score big runs. He has always enjoyed playing under the leadership of Shane Warne - one will see the big runs once again this IPL. Let us hope this happens as per my plan, so that the Indian team gets a striker for the T20 World Cup.
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