Opinion: IPL 2018 - Why Hyderabad will overshadow Dhoni's experienced side

The biggest cricket carnival, Indian Premier League has reached the last phase and we have two finalists Hyderabad and Chennai.

The cricket fraternity is waiting for the ultimate winner of the eleventh edition of IPL which will be decided after today's intriguing encounter between the two finalists at Wankhede.

According to several online surveys that are being conducted on social media, M.S Dhoni-led Chennai team has been voted as the strong favourites but they certainly don't deserve the title.

The fans survey highlighted Dhoni as the most popular player out of the top 12 players with 27.3 per cent votes followed by Virat Kohli with 22 per cent and Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson with 20.11 per cent fan votes. 

If the favourites teams are judged on the basis of favourite players than Virat Kohli-led Bangalore must win the competition because the Bangalore team had the most popular playing XI of the season, in the presence of Virat himself and South African batsman AB de Villiers.

We all know that the frenzy for MS Dhoni is massive, it doesn't matter whether he is playing for Chennai or Pune, the fan following will be same. It is an honour and MSD has earned it for himself and he truly deserves it.

On the other hand, Hyderabad received a major blow before the start of IPL in the form of David Warner's ouster from the IPL.

Australian cricketer David Warner was supposed to lead the "Orange Army" and also he was the opener. In his absence, Hyderabad's batting unit suffered a lot but still the team raised above it and emerged as one of the top contenders for the title.

After David Warner's exit, Kane Williamson got the responsibility to lead the team and he proved his mettle with stunning leadership skills and managed to reach the finals despite many adversities.

Under his guidance, many players come into view and the best example of that is Siddharth Kaul.

Kaul has taken 21 wickets so far in the tournament with 8.00 economy rate.

Although, Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have supported the team, but never felt the pressure of sole responsibility.

The bowling unit has never been dependent on experienced ones, in fact, all the bowlers, from spinners to seamers and from pacers to death over specialists, everybody has taken wickets at crucial moments.

Unlike Chennai, which is also branded as a bunch of old and experienced players, Hyderabad have given chance to young talents.

In my opinion, it is easy to play and win with experienced players but it takes actual intent to motivate young champs and give them chance to play their own game and shine brighter than stars.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)