IPL 2009 - Part 2

Even as I wrote part 1, the IPL was in danger of getting suspended this year. Now that the Home minister and the IPL chairman and commissioner have assured us that the "opium of the masses" (as someone wrote on their blog. Sincere apologies to the original author, can't recollect the source), will go on, albeit with some nips & tucks to the original schedule.
So, let us get back to where we left off and analyze the prospects of the other teams. I did write last time that my money would firmly be on Delhi Daredevils to win the second edition. Apparently, I realise that I may have spoken in haste. Though, I still continue to believe that they are the front-runners, the picture might not be all that rosy.
For starters, they have too many foriegn players and they can fit in only 4. Such a pity! If they opt to play both 'Pigeon' & Dan, they would have to juggle AB, Collingwood, Warner, Dilshan and Maharoof and be left with some batting spots to be filled by local players like Mithun Manhas & Manoj Tewary, both of whom haven't set the stage afire yet. The other teams would look to get Sehwag and Gambhir early and put some pressure on the middle-order. Last year Shikar Dhawan played the rescue act in such situations, this year DD will miss him and unless they find someone who could play that role they would be in some trouble.
Lets look at Mumbai Indians next. MI made some smart moves this season. They got Zaheer for Uthappa, and brought in Shikhar Dhawan to shore up the batting. They let go of Nehra in the bargain. They have that extra edge in bowling now, which was weakened by the withdrawal of Pollock, through Zaheer & Mills, adding to their bowling machinery led by their last year's find Dhaval Kulkarni. The return of Harbhajan should be a big boost provided he manages to stay out of trouble or injuries. The consistency in batting that they lacked so much last year would be made up by Dhawan's presence and the acquisition of JP Duminy, the smartest move of them all.
Jayasuriya blossomed as the event progressed last year, and if Tendulkar comes good too in this edition and manages to last the entire edition, then MI supporters are in for a gala time. Bravo's presence lends depth. Rahane, Abhishek Nayar & Saurabh Tiwary form the support cast.
Strength: Large presence of good Indian talent
Weakness: Lower middle-order, unpredictability of a few key players

We'll look at the remaining teams in the next post.