IPL, a stage where angry young man image of players come out to fore

Come IPL and the angry young man image of the players come out to fore more than often. Instances of Gautam Gambhir losing his cool and Munaf Patel’s repeated outbursts on the field are not unknown. Even the usually calm and composed characters like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are far more animated than they have ever been in their international careers.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, if the IPL were to hand out awards for the most aggressive and angry players, Gautam Gambhir and Munaf Patel would perhaps win it hands down. While the victorious Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper has gone about his business with a permanent scowl, the Mumbai India pacer has looked ready to pick up arguments with fellow players or umpires at the first opportunity.

Interestingly, Gambhir isn't bothered with his 'angry young man' image. “I don't intend to be aggressive but if that's what it takes for me to win matches, I will be aggressive. We go out there not just to compete but win matches,” he declares.

Meanwhile Harsha Bhogle in his column in The Times Of India writes that, in a wonderful illustration of how sport can surprise the mightiest, Team Chennai, with match winners scattered everywhere like pieces of onion on a good uthappam, find themselves with their backs nudging the wall.

“It wasn’t meant to be so but Chennai have been uncertain, feeling their way around like a sluggish boxer might, frequently dropping their guard to let a left hook sting. But such is the reputation they have built for themselves, and it is a reputation fashioned after the style of their captain, that nobody is willing to believe that they might miss the cut. That perception will be challenged when they take on the newly resurgent Team Rajasthan in Jaipur. As midnight strikes, we will know if they have left it till too late,” writes Harsha, adding that meanwhile Rajasthan owe their good run to the two Australians Shane Watson and Shaun Tait.

“It was clear all along that they needed to stay alive till Shane Watson arrived and not only is he powering their innings with the bat, he is bowling at the death which was the biggest problem for the Royals. With him at number 3, they can use Brad Hodge or Owais Shah better and slot Ashok Menaria in between. And by sacrificing a bit of pace for consistency, Shaun Tait is giving them the edge they lacked,” writes Harsha in TOI.

According to a report in The DNA, Sachin Tendulkar is likely to make an appearance in filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Ferrari Ki Sawaari. Buzz is that the maestro has agreed to do a cameo, the shooting for which will start after the IPL.

Meanwhile Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc has been sent home from Britain after just three days because of a foul-up with his visa. The 22-year-old left Australia last Friday to play for Yorkshire but incomplete documentation meant he was told to fly home on Tuesday.