Warne bemoans loss of Watson, Tanvir

Shane Warne admits his Rajasthan Royals team have suffered a big blow with the absence of Shane Watson and Sohail Tanvir, two of the stars of the underdog franchise that won the first Indian Premier League.

Australian all-rounder Watson was player of the tournament last year, while Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Tanvir claimed the purple cap for being leading wicket-taker.

Long-term

Watson, recently recovered from a long-term injury, joined the Royals for their training camp in Cape Town, but flies out with the Australian team next week for a one-day series against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Tanvir will miss the whole tournament after the IPL cancelled the contracts of Pakistan players because of political tension between India and Pakistan.

“They’re big losses,” said captain-coach Warne. “I think Shane misses the first nine games playing for Australia so he’ll be available for the last five games and hopefully the finals.

“He’s not bowling at the moment but he’s still a big loss. Tanvir was sensational last year, taking early wickets and bowling at the end.” The loss is complicated by IPL rules which restrict teams to fielding a maximum of four non-Indian players, with Warne and South African captain Graeme Smith likely to fill two of those places.

Warne said England’s Dimitri Mascarenhas and South African Twenty20 specialist Tyron Henderson could be competing to fill the Watson role, while South African Test bowler Morne Morkel and Australian Shane Harwood are competing as strike bowlers.

There are also some Indian contenders, including Kamran Khan, 18, a raw left-arm rookie from Uttar Pradesh who bowls with a slingy action at surprising pace.

“He’s a tiny little guy but he bowls 140 plus. He’s very raw but he could be a bit of a bolter,” said Warne.

Khan bowled just one over in the Royals’ losing warm-up game against the Cape Cobras in Cape Town on Saturday but surprised Cobras captain and South African international batsman Justin Ontong with a fast yorker which scattered Ontong’s stumps.

Only run

The only run he conceded was a wide and Warne reckoned he had seen enough, taking Khan out of the attack to see how other bowlers fared.

Amit Singh, 27, from Gujarat, was also impressive, taking three for 18 in four overs and frequently deceiving the local batsmen with his slower ball.

When the Royals launch their defence against Bangalore’s Royal Challengers on Saturday Warne will also be able to call on Indian Test player Munaf Patel.

In the meantime, Warne says his biggest immediate challenge is to trim the current 27-man squad to 18 players. CAPE TOWN, Wednesday, AFP