Like past 18 seasons, the Indian Premier League (IPL) makes its annual pilgrimage today with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. There are some really hot topics going around, heading into the brand new season. And these questions will for sure have their answers at the end of the season. Let’s take a look at some of these.
Will MS Dhoni finally call it quits?
Frankly, his situation has become embarrassing. For the past several seasons, he has been past his prime, especially as a batter, but he keeps showing up season after season amid much criticism. One doesn’t know if it’s his decision or CSK’s. If he is stubborn or it’s CSK? If you are a rational Dhoni fan, you may not want him to continue. After all, he has been a great servant of Indian cricket and need not embarrass himself or his fans in this manner.
Prithvi Shaw ‘ka magic chalega kya?’
There is no doubt that Shaw has been the most gifted Indian batsman in recent years. When he is on song, he looks terrific. It’s such a shame he has not been able to establish himself at the international level. However, there are susurrations that this IPL season might prove to be the coming of his age, the season of his making. Shaw, who once drew comparisons with the great Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, is with Delhi Capitals, and if he really does justice to his talent, the franchise can hope to win its first trophy ever.
300-score to be breached for sure?
For the last couple of seasons this debate has been ongoing. That an IPL team is going to score 300. In 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad provided the blueprint on how one can get there which is just smash the ball right from the get-go and that’s what Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma did. They didn’t exactly get there, but they got quite close a few times. England learnt that blueprint very well and a few months ago became the first Test nation to score 300 runs in T20Is, against South Africa in September last year.
At that time, in 2024, it was only SRH batting that way, but now almost all franchises have taken that course. Don’t be surprised if it finally happens this year. Of the top six biggest team scores in the IPL, SRH feature five times, with 287/3 against RCB in 2024 being right at the top.
Sanju Samson to end MS Dhoni and Ruturaj Gaikwad?
It just takes hours for one’s fortune to change. Samson was all over the place in the lead-up to India’s T20 World Cup game against the West Indies. His inclusion in the side for the match was a forced one, necessitated by Abhishek Sharma’s lack of runs and Rinku Singh not doing enough lower down the order. He scored 97* in that match and followed it with identical scores of 89 in the semifinal and the final.
Now that he is at CSK for the first time, it can lead to a lot of things. That, finally, MS Dhoni might be asked to call it quits. Ruturaj may not be in the captaincy role either for long, especially if the team does badly. Samson comes in with serious IPL captaincy experience, and CSK need not look further than him if such a need arises.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and the Los Angeles Olympics
In 2028, cricket returns to the Olympics after 128 years. Rohit Sharma has kept mum on his chances of playing but let’s admit it, given a chance, no player would say no to the Olympics. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, has expressed his desire to be part of the event, but how serious he was, nobody knows. Both players retired from T20Is in 2024 after India won the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies. Their coming out of retirement to play in the Olympics is while far-fetched at the moment, who knows an extraordinary season can fuel the discussion and their desire.
Anyway, both players are playing at least till the 2027 ODI World Cup. Kohli, with 8 fifties, had a great season with the bat in 2025 and played a big role in RCB winning the trophy for the first time. Rohit had a decent season with four fifties as Mumbai Indians reached the play-offs. Make no mistake, there is life in the old dogs yet, and the spotlight will be on them all through the season.
