u/Legitimate-Onion-806

Last night, I came across a video by ATHLEAN-X where there was a clip of Sylvester Stallone saying that, due to his long-term work with weights, his joints had started causing him problems. Because of that, he now trains with resistance bands, and he says they can be just as tough as weightlifting.

I am not old as Stallone is but often times I feel my joints and muscles ache and the gym near me is relocating. I have been thinking about if I should switch to resistance bands for building muscle now.

I am lean, been weightlifting for about 2-3 years. Mid 30s. Do mostly free weights as machines in my gym don't work or the machines for the exercise I want to do is not there.

PS. I want to the see the progress if it is actually possible or not. And does training with the bands may introduce muscle imbalance?

1. Aussie players have long been stereotyped for treating IPL like a paid vacation, and over the past few seasons it has started to feel true. English players we invest in often don’t commit either. (Brooke and Ducket) They prioritize international cricket over IPL, but not equally, despite earning huge guaranteed money for just two months and getting unmatched global exposure. Players like Starc arriving halfway through the season and still likely receiving full payment only adds to that perception. Nothing against Aussies I liked Stonis when he was in DC

As arguably the weakest franchise right now, DC cannot force players to stay committed against their will. In the next auction, I would avoid going after such players altogether.

Part of the issue could be money conversion, India’s global image, or top players feeling undervalued. Better weather, cleaner environments, and better crowd experiences could also attract more commitment. Many English players do not like to play in extreme heat.

For next season, DC should focus more on uncapped or Indian players outside the current T20/ODI setup, along with younger foreign players hungry to build their name through IPL exposure, like Stubbs. Rehan could also be a good option as he is new and young in internation cricket. We must give him a go in rest of the matches along with other benched players like Shaw, Porel etc.

2. Over the past few seasons, I have noticed that once DC has one or two bad matches, the team completely loses momentum and struggles to bounce back. Whether it was the Mumbai run-out or this year’s 2-run blunder and the Ngidi injury incident against Punjab, the team mentally collapsed after those moments.

Meanwhile, teams like CSK and KKR recover quickly from setbacks. I feel either the players do not fully click as a unit, or the support staff fails to put them in the right mindset. During the Ngidi incident, Ponting immediately pulled his batters aside and made them face a few balls to mentally reset and refocus. That kind of leadership and mentality has been missing in DC for years.

3. The greatest concern is instability of coaches and management. The owners should make a deal to make coaching and management to stick longer. I would like to get KP involved, as he seems to love being in India but I doubt he would take such a stressful role when his YouTube career is already booming.

We should give captaincy who can handle it. Currently I will vouch for Stubbs. I don't think Axar wanted to do captaincy but management had no one else as Starc was missing most season, KL denied captaincy. And they though Gujarati Coach and Captain combo will work out well. I am not against Gujarati but getting Hardik is a no for me. He seems to be too flashy.

We should not let Stubbs, KL and Nissanka go anywhere. Aquib Nabi is great but has disappoined us and didn't stand up to the hype cricket experts made. We should let go of Mukesh. They both should focus on test cricket. Natarajan is good needs to be better he could be our replacement for Starc as both are left handed bowler.

DC should also focus more on scouting and developing backup options for every major player and prepare them early before gaps appear in the squad. I also feel letting go Iyer, Avesh, Nortje and Rasikh wasn't a good decision.

Edit. Forgot about Rizvi, Ashutosh and Vippy great talents we should buy them back when not retained.

Is DC as a franchise is always there as a fixer team? It may the true that DC is only there to earn profits out of matches. I could not believe when the DC womens didn't won the finals despite getting into the finals three times.

Our captain and other plays are laughing and are focused making reels than focusing on winning the championship. Every players feels like they are playing for granted. Only Stubbs and Rahul seems motivated enough for us to win the trophy and I think that is only because they have personal reasons. Rahul wants to be in Indian Team very badly. For now it seems like IPL is only way he can show that he still has the capability to get into the team. But questions will be asked on his keeping.

Stubbs wants to make his name out in the IPL and in international cricket. Having won SA20 thrice he has already proved he has got the talent that IPL needs. He now wants to prove that he is ready to become an icon of IPL like ABD. I am pretty sure next season he will be leading DC. Or maybe he might go back to a MI (if money plays...jio dhan dhana dhan). As he was scouted by MI and being a in bigger team like MI he would get more exposure and more credibility to his name.

I won't talk about Starc much. He is good, definitely, but I always feel until it is a big team like RCB, MI, CSK aussie players don't give there 100%. People always talk about them taking IPL as vacation I think that too. I personally don't like Aussie players. I would always prefer south african players over aussies.

Since the current season is almost over I cannot see how we will win to get 16 points atleast for qualification. For the next season and for mega auction I would definitely want Rahul, Stubbs, Ngidi and Kuldeep (for being a chinaman bowler). I would also wish Nissanka, Vippy, Rizvi, Ashu, Nattu and Porel in the team next year. They got good skills but they need to be better.