Steve Smith has been in tremendous form
© BCCI
The words 'class' and 'form' are overused in cricket but for Steven Smith, they are a perfect fit -- he's a class act in stupendous form.
Tuesday night, his unbeaten 53-ball 79 against Mumbai Indians was a treat for cricket fans round the world. He's not only struck a rich vein of form, his scoring spree has established him as one of the most fearsome batsmen in world cricket. After amassing 600-plus runs in the Test series against India, Smith went on to help Australia clinch the ICC World Cup for the fifth time and now, he continues his unbelievable form in the Indian Premier League wearing the Rajasthan blues.
On current form, Smith is surely better than Virat Kohli and Hashim Amla -- perhaps even a notch higher above AB de Villiers. (Steve Smith is Never Tired of Batting )
Now, go back to the last few lines again and count the number of times the word 'form' has been repeated.
Cricket is filled with cliches and the most used one has to be - 'form is temporary, class is permanent'. (Boult Ahead of Steyn at This Moment: David Warner )
The eighth edition of the IPL has taken that age-old adage and made a mockery out of it.
The IPL is a trend-setter and it has changed the face of world cricket since its inception. The purists may not agree and snigger at it but over the last few years, the IPL has stamped its authority on world cricket, broken various myths and has gone on to establish new ones.
This season, it has a new mission statement - 'Class is cliche, form is king.'
The 'form is temporary, class is permanent' mantra stressed on the fact that a sportsman shouldn't only be judged on their recent performances, their past achievement s and reputations also matter. It professed the theory of having faith in talent and emphasized on the point that a good player doesn't change into a bad one all of a sudden.
Every sport and every team in the world follows the principle. Hence, there's always a longer rope waiting for a talented sportsman.
This IPL, that belief has been shown the door. The IPL teams this season have more trust in current form - if you're in the zone, you're in; else wear your substitute bib and put your feet up in the dug-out.
Shane Watson hasn't featured for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2015
© BCCI
Steven Smith is the biggest example of this new philosophy.
The Aussie can't stop scoring. Smith can't stop winning. Smith can't do anything wrong.
Over the last six months, whatever Smith has touched has turned to gold. He's been in imperious form and with every passing day, his purple patch just gets darker.
Awkward, unattractive but gutsy and immensely effective - Smith's technique is odd, his stroke-play unorthodox but he does his job for the side, almost every time, in every format.
He doesn't just score runs, he scores them big when it matters the most.
So much so, he has even blocked Shane Watson's place in Rajasthan Royals first eleven. Watson, the designated skipper of the Royals, has been recuperating from an injury and is yet to feature in this edition of the IPL.
However, when he does recover, do the Royals have a place for him, that too as a captain?
On current form, Smith is the best choice!
Mind you, Watson himself is a class all-rounder and reinvented himself in the recently concluded World Cup but right now, his performances don't match up to the aura of Smith or the efficiency of James Faulkner. Even the new recruit, Chris Morris, has been more than a useful addition.
Dale Steyn has been on the sidelines during this IPL
© AFP
Another world class cricketer who is facing the 'form' issue is Dale Steyn. Arguably, he is the best fast bowler in the world, but the recent performances suggest otherwise.
He's had an ordinary World Cup and after getting clobbered by New Zealand in the semis, the word is -- Steyn struggles to bowl in the death overs.
The signs were always there. Even in the previous editions in the IPL, his fellow country-man AB de Villiers have taken him apart on multiple occasions. It was always showcased as exceptions but his recent struggles suggest that there might be a weakness.
Sunrisers Hyderabad aren't taking chances with an out-of-form Steyn because they have found an able replacement in Trent Boult. The left-armer from New Zealand -- playing his first season in IPL -- emerged as a pace powerhouse in the past year and a half and this World Cup, saw him mature into one of the best in the world. He swings the new ball, makes it go both ways and has the ability to find the block hole consistently in the end overs.
Hence, on current form, Boult is more dangerous than Steyn.
Not only these two, a host of world class players have fallen out of favour because of their lack of recent performances - Eoin Morgan is warming the benches for the Sunrisers, Ross Taylor and Brad Hodge didn't find themselves on the shopping list of any team while Michael Hussey, is now just a backup plan for the Chennai Super Kings.
The IPL has changed the game of cricket. It has tweaked the format, fiddled with the rules and has ridiculed cricket's every tradition.
This season, an old cricketing adage might just have fallen victim to it!
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