Shakib Al Hasan
Mustafiz's Rajasthan vs Shakib's Kolkata: Which team has the best chance to win the IPL 2021?
The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League will begin on Friday (April 9) and the championship match of this tournament will be held on May 30 at Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium. This year's tournament will feature a total of 8 teams and will be held in six different venues. Last season, no Bangladeshi cricketer participated in the IPL, but this year's edition will feature Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. Shakib will represent Kolkata Knight Riders, while Mustafizur will play for Rajasthan Royals for the first time. Let's see which team has the best chance to win the IPL 2021?
Rajasthan vs Kolkata: Who has the upper hand in terms of team strength?
It's important to have an understanding of the squad when assessing title contenders. Let's take a look at both squads and examine their overall strength.
Batting
Rajasthan Royals
David Miller, Liam Livingstone, and Jos Butler are the three destructive overseas batsmen for Rajasthan Royals. The only two prominent Indian batsmen in Rajasthan's squad are Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal. They'll have to play with more responsibility since there aren't many alternatives in the Rajasthan squad. On the other side, Kolkata have a slight advantage in terms of batting ability.
Also read; Mustafizur gets BCB nod to play in IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders
In the batting department, Kolkata have England captain Eoin Morgan and New Zealand wicket-keeper Tim Seifert in the foreign quota. These two are very effective batsmen in limited-overs cricket. Besides, Morgan is also one of the best captains in the world right now. Among the Indians, Kolkata have well-known batsmen like Rahul Tripathi, Karan Nair, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, and veteran Dinesh Karthik. Overall, the Kolkata squad has some reliable top and middle-order batsmen.
Read How to Become a Cricketer in Bangladesh: An Overall Guideline.
Which team is stronger in batting?
Kolkata Knight Riders
Bowling
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals are considered to have the worst spin attack in this year's IPL as Mayank Markande and K. C. Cariappa are the only two young spinners for the Royals. They do, however, have a potent pace attack led by Bangladeshi left-arm medium-fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, Andrew Tye of Australia, Jofra Archer of England, and local lad Jaydev Unadkat. If Cutter Master Mustafiz gets into his rhythm in the tournament, he could be a trump card for Rajasthan. Bangladesh cricket fans are eagerly waiting to see Mustafiz's bowling prowess in the IPL.
Read Bangladesh's five most memorable overseas ODI wins
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata have formed their pace attack with the inclusion of Australia's Pat Cummins, New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson, and India's Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Considering India's spin-friendly pitches, Kolkata have included four world-class spinners. They are Sunil Narayan, Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav, and veteran Harbhajan Singh. Kolkata have arguably the best spin attack in the tournament.
Read Mashrafe Mortaza drops a bombshell over his alleged T20 retirement in 2017
Which team is stronger in bowling?
Kolkata Knight Riders
All-Rounder
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals includes England's best player Ben Stokes. This marquee all-rounder can become a nightmare to opposition teams. Rajasthan Royals have also included solid performers like Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, and Shivam Dube in the squad. Chris Morris is currently one of the best all-rounders in the T20 format. Morris is an all-rounder on par with England's Ben Stokes. Rajasthan will undoubtedly need these two players to perform consistently if they are to progress to the IPL 2021 playoffs.
Read Memorable Match Winning Knocks in Tests
Kolkata Knight Riders
In the all-rounder category, Kolkata Knight Riders have included India's Shivam Mavi, Australia's Ben Cutting, Windies Power Hitter Andre Russell, and world no.1 Shakib Al Hasan. Among them, Andre Russell was Kolkata's best player in the last three seasons. So the Knight Riders will have a lot of expectations from him. On the other hand, Shakib will try to achieve success and showcase his true potential in this year's IPL. Shakib has an amazing ability to shine when the team needs him the most. Kolkata haven't won an IPL trophy after 2014, therefore Shakib and Russell will have to take on a lot more responsibility to reclaim the title for the knight riders.
Which team is stronger in the all-rounder category?
Both teams are equally strong
Read Shakib's 34th Birthday: 34 achievements to celebrate the no.1 all-rounder
Bottom Line
In terms of team strength, the Kolkata Knight Riders are slightly ahead of the Rajasthan Royals. As a result, Shakib Al Hasan's Kolkata are one of the hot favorites to win the 14th edition of the IPL. According to statistics, teams' probabilities of reaching the IPL play-off round increase if they can retain consistency in the middle of the tournament. In that case, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals would want to finish the league stage in top form. So, by the middle of the tournament, it will be clear which team has the best chance to win the IPL 2021? However, Bangladesh cricket supporters will cheer for both teams.
Read How Can Bangladesh directly qualify for the world cup 2023?
Mustafizur gets BCB nod to play in IPL
Bangladesh’s left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman was cleared by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Mustafizur, who previously played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, will play this season for Rajasthan Royals who roped him in from the auction earlier this year for Rs 1 crore.
Also read: Shakib reaches Kolkata to play IPL
A BCB official confirmed UNB that the board has allowed Mustafizur to take part in IPL 2021. It means that the pacer will not be available for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Mustafizur is now the second Bangladeshi player after Shakib Al Hasan who has secured BCB’s permission to play IPL skipping a Test series.
Also read: Six cities to host games as IPL returns to India
The pacer got inducted into IPL back in 2016 when he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad. Riding on his tremendous bowling efforts, the Sunrisers won the title that year, and Mustafizur got the award of the emerging player of the season.
However, he was comparatively lean in the field when he played for the Mumbai Indians.
Shakib reaches Kolkata to play IPL
Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan reached Kolkata to play the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The T20 cricket league is slated to start on April 9 with the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Also read: Honoured to meet PM Modi: Shakib
Shakib left for Kolkata on early Saturday and will represent Kolkata Knight Riders in this season of the IPL.
Kolkata will start their campaign with the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 11.
Shakib had previously won two titles for Kolkata and also played for Sunrisers Hyderabad for two seasons.
Overall, the all-rounder played 63 games in the IPL and scored 746 runs and claimed 59 wickets. He has always been one of the best all-rounders of this T20 league.
Also read: Shakib's 34th Birthday: 34 achievements to celebrate the no.1 all-rounder
The all-rounder missed the last season of the IPL as he was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for two years, with one year suspended, due to failing to report corrupt approaches made to him.
He, however, made a comeback to competitive cricket with the Bangabandhu T20 League last year but failed to impress.
He also made a comeback to international cricket with the West Indies series earlier this year but skipped the New Zealand tour to stay with his wife – who gave birth to their third child this month.
Also read: Shakib Al Hasan: What lies ahead after a dispute with BCB?
Shakib will also not be a part of Bangladesh's Sri Lanka tour for a two-match Test series as he is set to participate in this year's IPL. Both the Sri Lanka series and IPL are scheduled to take place at the same time.
The all-rounder sparked controversy after choosing not to play Tests in Sri Lanka. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has granted a 48-day leave to him so that he can play the whole season of this year's IPL.
Honoured to meet PM Modi: Shakib
Bangladesh star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has said that he feels honoured to have met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Along with Bangladesh’s former captain and current lawmaker Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Bangladesh women team captain Salma Khatun, women team’s allrounder Jahanar Alam, Shakib met Modi on Friday.
“I’m really honoured to meet Prime Minister Modi. I think his visit will be fruitful for both countries,” Shakib told the media after meeting the Indian Prime Minister.
Also read: Shakib Al Hasan: What lies ahead after a dispute with BCB?
Modi is in Bangladesh on a two-day visit to join twin celebrations of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“[The] leadership he has shown for India is tremendous. I hope he'll continue to help grow India in future and our relation with India will get better day by day,” Shakib said.
Shakib was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for one year due to failing to report corrupt approaches made to him to the authorities. He made a comeback to competitive cricket with the Bangabandhu T20 League last year.
Also read: Shakib Al Hasan becomes Daraz’s campaign ambassador
He also made a comeback to international cricket with the West Indies series earlier this year.
However, he skipped the New Zealand tour to stay with his wife who gave birth to their third child. Shakib will also miss Bangladesh’s Sri Lanka tour for a two-match Test series as he is set to participate in this year’s IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Both the Sri Lanka series and IPL are scheduled to take place around the same time.
Shakib's 34th Birthday: 34 achievements to celebrate the no.1 all-rounder
Bangladesh's greatest player ever Shakib Al Hasan turned 34 on Wednesday. He was born on March 24, 1987, in the Magura district. Shakib got admitted to Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan after completing his secondary school certificate as he was proficient in cricket since boyhood. He made his debut in the National League for the Khulna Division Cricket Team at the age of only 17. Shakib Al Hasan made his international debut against Zimbabwe in 2006 after representing the Bangladesh Under-19 team. Then the rest is history! In this article, we will look at 34 achievements to celebrate the number-1 all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's birthday.
Shakib Al Hasan's some notable achievements
01) Shakib Al Hasan’s international stats
In international cricket, Shakib Al Hasan scored 11,933 runs and took 568 wickets for Bangladesh.
02) 600 runs at a world cup tournament
Shakib is the first all-rounder in World Cup history to score over 600 runs in a single tournament. He set this unique record in the 2019 World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar, Matthew Hayden, Rohit Sharma, and David Warner have also scored more than 600 runs in a single World Cup.
03) 600 runs and 10 wickets at a world cup tournament
Shakib has the honor of being the first cricketer to score over 600 runs and take over 10 wickets in a single World Cup tournament. He set this record in the 2019 World Cup. He scored 606 runs and took 11 wickets in 8 innings.
04) 1000 runs and 30 wickets in the world cup
Shakib Al Hasan is the first and only cricketer to score 1,000 runs and take 30 wickets in the World Cup's history.
05) First Bangladeshi to score 1,000 world cup runs
Shakib Al Hasan became the first Bangladeshi to score 1000 runs in the World Cup tournament by taking part in a total of four World Cups from 2007 to 2019.
Shakib returns home from USA tonight
After an interview that literally rocked the cricketing fraternity of the country, Bangladesh all rounder Shakib Al Hasan is set to get back home from the USA tonight (Bangladesh Time), an official at Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed UNB.
If Shakib wants to play Tests, BCB may revoke NOC to play IPL: Akram Khan
Former Bangladesh captain Akram Khan, currently chairman of the cricket operation committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, has said BCB will reconsider its decision to allow star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Shakib blessed with a baby boy
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and his wife Ummey Ahmed Shishir have been blessed with a baby boy -- their third child, confirmed a source close to the cricketer's family.