The Mumbai Indians have more “stars” than the Lions have names. In their run up to the CLT20 the Lions beat more fancied teams. And they did it again, today.
Being a team on the field isn’t a switch you can turn off and off. IPL franchisees neither have the opportunity nor the attitude to build a team. Its all about a quick buck, Valuations and Brand Ops.
Last year the IPL teams did not make a big impression in the CLT20. This edition hasn’t started out well, atleast for MI.
The impact of a team falling apart could be seen once the spot fixing controversy hit the tube. They almost begged to be routed after the test series and England took the chance with both hands.
In today’s game, the on field performance of Slinga Malinga (a personal fav of mine) and a couple of other ‘star’ imports were not giving their 100%. Those runs conceded made the difference.
The smart IPL franchisees who begin to invest in building teams will survive rather than buy the in-form players and hope to top the charts.