Hello and welcome to this blockbuster blog about the Indian Premier League,
which will take place this year from the 22nd of March until the 26th of May. After a couple of blogs on history, I am welcoming cricket after a long time in this website as well! In this blog I will be writing about all the 10 teams, what are the advantages, what are the flaws and much more. Also please read it till the end for a very exciting announcement I would make at the end of the blog. So stay tuned!
- Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
The reigning champions of one the best, if not the best finish to a topsy-turvy final, they would want to win this season, especially for their spearhead, Thala Dhoni at Chepauk for finally giving a fitting end to his glorious career, in front of the Chennai crowd (But still won’t rule him out next season yet…) and for making this possible, CSK have most or all areas covered from their point of view.
In the auction, the Super Kings had a Kiwi fest by buying Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra, who both are in sublime form and the middle order also is very strong with the likes of, Shivam Dube and Moeen Ali. CSK do have Ravindra Jadeja, Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner who are three quality spinners who are suited for the Chepauk track, which does allow the ball to turn well. Even Shardul Thakur, the man who tends to get a wicket with
whatever ball he bowls and gets most of his wickets in the crucial stages of the match, a fit and swinging Deepak Chahar and the death over specialist who usually begins to bowl from the 14th over till the 20th over, Matheesha Pathirana are all back and this line-up looks completely balanced from all sides and an extra motivation to win for their Thala at Chepauk would make Chennai undoubtedly the favourites to win this year. But the only drawback I reckon is that Devon Conway, who had a blast with Ruturaj and both looked completely fluent together as the opening pair but CSK have the likes of Rachin and Mitchell to replace, so it’s not a huge problem. Ajinkya Rahane’s form in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy which he ultimately won, but except for the final, his average was just about 10 with the bat
but one would say he would come back roaring like the way he did last year at the Wankhede.
Probable XI: Rachin Ravindra/Devon Conway (Second leg if available), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana
Impacts: Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman - Gujarat Titans (GT)
The Gujarat Titans had a fantastic season last year as they just fell short
due to Jadeja’s brilliance in the final. Also, they did win the IPL with ease
during their inaugural season. But now things have changed as Hardik
Pandya, their skipper was taken by MI and they have a brand new
captain, Shubman Gill, India’s extremely young talent. So this year it will
be very interesting to see how he captains the side in the massive
Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where they will play their home
games.
Still, the team looks solid as Gill and Saha should continue to open the
innings and the latter being one of the finest keepers in India. The
powerful and heavy middle-order comprises of Indian talents, Sai
Sudharshan and Vijay Shankar and also the vastly experienced
Williamson is also there. Speaking about the finishers, GT have Shahrukh
Khan (not actor), Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller and
also Rashid Khan, who are absolutely lethal in the death overs and can
power the Titans to a good total.
Now coming to the bowling, GT have a massive set-back by not having
Shami due to injury but they do have Umesh Yadav, Kartik Tyagi,
Sandeep Warrier, Spencer Johnson, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma as
their pace bowling options. But to make this up, they have 2 of the
Afghan spinners, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed and also Sai Kishore,
Jayant Yadav and Tewatia who both had an impressive domestic season.
So overall the only drawback for the Giants is the pace-bowling attack as
they will miss the services of their former captain, Hardik Pandya and
also Mohammad Shami. Other than that, the squad is very strong and they
have a good chance to make it to the playoffs.
Probable XI: Shubman Gill (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson, Sai
Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma
Impacts: Shahrukh Khan, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Kishore, Azmatullah Omarzai.
- Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
The Lucknow Super Giants have also been consist in the short stint in the
IPL so far coming to the Eliminator and losing it twice in the two seasons
they have played. But a new coach, in the form of Australia’s former
coach, Justin Langer and KL Rahul coming in, mostly not as an opener
after injury is a big news and they will be hopeful that he plays the entire
season unlike last time. Their home ground is the Ekana Cricket Stadium,
which has some of the slowest pitches in India where last year, even 120
130 were easily defendable so I would say anything above 150 is a very
good score on board.
So the openers should be Devdutt Padikkal either accompanied by Kyle
Mayers or Quinton De Kock. The middle-order will comprise of captain
KL Rahul, the impressive Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni and Krunal
Pandya, who just keep ticking those singles of doubles, which is very
important at the Ekana. The finishers comprise of a power-packed
combination with the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis and Ashton
Turner and David Willey who all can deposit bad balls into the stands and
provide valuable runs as well. Coming to the bowling, the West Indian
prodigy, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis,
Mohsin Khan, Naveen ul Haq and David Willey comprise a strong pace
attack and also comprise of world-class spinners in the form of Ravi
Bishnoi, Amit Mishra, Krishnappa Gowtham.
So overall the team combination is very good but the only disadvantage I
would say is their homeground itself. If the bowling goes wrong on a bad
day and the opposition manages to hit about 170-180, it will be very
difficult as the middle-order, especially Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni
are generally not power-hitters and tend to throw their wicket away. Other
than that they are a very solid team and in my opinion should comfortably
go to the playoffs, for which making Ekana a fortress is very important.
Probable XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Deepak
Hooda, KL Rahul (c/wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis,
Shamar Joseph, Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra
Impacts: Yash Thakur, Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krishnappa
Gowtham, David Willey - Mumbai Indians (MI)
After their triumph in 2020, MI had very bad seasons in 2021 and 2022
but with a depleted squad last time, they managed to come as far as the
second Qualifier before losing to the Titans. But with a new captain, in the
form of Hardik Pandya and a well-improved team, they would want to go
the distance this time. Their home ground is at the Wankhede, which is
quite similar to Chinnaswamy but the dimensions are just a little bigger.
So the defend a target, a team at least needs to hit about 210-220.
Speaking about their team, their former captain, Rohit Sharma and Ishan
Kishan should open the innings like last year. The middle order consists of
Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Nehal Wadhera and
Hardik Pandya make MI very stable in their batting and the finish by Tim
David and Mohammad Nabi. Now to their bowlers, they do have Boom
Boom-Bumrah, the impressive Gerald Coetzee, Hardik Pandya, Arjun
Tendulkar, Akash Madhwal, Nuwan Thushara which comprise of a superb
pace attack, much improved than last year. The vastly experienced Piyush
Chawla, one of the Afghan spinners, Mohammad Nabi, Kumar Katikeya
and Shreyas Gopal make an impressive spin-attack so even MI have all
areas covered.
The disadvantage will be the availability of Suryakumar Yadav, who is
not available for their first game and is yet to get clearance from the NCA,
who played a super-important role and entertained the fans with the fancy
and eye-catching shots. Other than this, the Wankhede is not an easy
stadium to bowl as 200 is a par-score here. So the bowlers are crucial this
time for MI to finally turn the tide and win their 6th title.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Tilak
Verma, Nehal Wadhera/Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David,
Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Akash Madhwal, Jasprit Bumrah
Impacts: Piyush Chawla, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Arjun
Tendulkar, Romario Shepheard - Rajasthan Royals (RR)
For the past three years, including this one, RR have the strongest team on
paper and they are a completely balanced squad. Last year I was surprised
that they were unable to qualify to the playoffs with such a time and they
would look to turn things around this year to get their 2nd IPL title, the first
coming way back in 2008. Their home ground is Jaipur, which I am
completely not sure about the pitch, but last year 190 in one pitch looked
easily above-par while in another pitch, about 220 was easily chased by
the Sunrisers. But this is nothing to worry for the Royals as they have a
star-studded team, in my view the second strongest team after CSK.
The openers are the man who is playing like Kohli in 2016-2017, Yashasvi
Jaiswal and Jos Buttler and rip through the bowling in the powerplay. The
star-studded middle order comprises of Sanju Samson, Shubman Dubey
Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel and Rovman Powell, as even
the last three are superb finishers as well and can power the Royals to a
big total. Now coming to the bowling, the pace is world-class, comprising
of Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Avesh
Khan and if all thought this was enough, Ravichandran Ashwin, the cricket
brain and Chahal, the smart-brain are the best spinners in the India and one
of the best in the world also are with the Royals.
So overall I would say there is almost no disadvantage with the squad but
RR need to convert this squad into something big, which is first coming to
the playoffs and the title and are clear favourites to be in the top-2 in my
opinion.
Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c/wk),
Shubham Dubey, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel,
Ravichandran Ashwin, Nandre Burger, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Impacts: Kuldeep Sen, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Rovman Powell,
Tom Kohler-Cadmore - Royal Challengers Bengaluru(RCB)
With a WPL win for the franchise, a new logo, a new name changing the
“Bangalore” to Bengaluru, and also a jersey with red and blue, with these
changes, RCB would look to change their fortunes as well and get inspired
by the Women’s team to lift their first ever IPL trophy. Their homeground
is at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is a playground for the batting side
and the average score would be around 200-220, similar to the Wankhede.
On paper, RCB have the strongest batting line-up among all the teams with
Virat Kohli coming in after not playing the England series due to personal
reasons and Faf du Plessis, make a blockbuster opening combination. The
middle order comprises of Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Mahipal
Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudesai, Glenn Maxwell and also
quality finishers in the form of Manoj Bhandage and Dinesh Karthik.
Coming to the bowlers, Mohammad Siraj, sizzling hot Alzarri Joseph and
Lockie Ferguson, Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak Reece Topley, Yash
Dayal and Tom Curran as their pacers. Will Jacks, Mayank Dagar,
Himanshu Sharma, Karn Sharma, are the spinners available.
But the massive disadvantage is the bowling, which has been a problem
for RCB at the Chinnaswamy for 17 years and still this year the bowling
looks depleted in a ground where batters hit the bowlers all around the
park. They do have quick pacers in the form of Joseph and Ferguson but
with the pace they bowl, with the same pace the bowl will disappear in the
stands. So the playoff chances for RCB look depleted but with the support
they have, they can come into the top-4.
Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar,
Glenn Maxwell, Suyash Prabhudesai, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Reece
Topley/Alzarri Joseph/Lockie Ferguson*, Mayank Dagar, Karn Sharma
Mohammad Siraj
(In Chinnaswamy I would go with Reece Topley as he tends to swing the ball
well but in away games, I would go with Alzarri Joseph or Ferguson. Also
if RCB feel to strengthen their batting, they can go with Will Jacks, and go
with an extra Indian pacer, say Akash Deep)
Impacts: Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Will Jacks, Akash Deep,
Vijaykumar Vyshak - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
After the 2021 season, where they entered the playoffs, the Knight Riders
have had very disappointing seasons for 3 years with only a few
individuals rising and playing some good knocks. They would want to turn
the tide as they bring Gautam Gambhir as a mentor and with Shreyas Iyer
back, they would want to enter the playoffs atleast this year. Their
homeground is at the Eden Gardens, where the capacity is huge but the
ground dimensions are short and I would say 200+ would be a confident
score to defend for the team batting first.
Speaking about the team, I feel Venkatesh Iyer and the explosive Gurbaz
or Salt should open the innings for KKR and the middle-order comprises
of quality batters in the form of Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana and Shreyas
Iyer and KKR do have Rinku Singh, Rutherford and Andre Russell,who
are brilliant finishers. The most expensive buy in the auction, Mitchell
Starc, Harshit Rana, Chetan Sakariya, Dushmantha Chameera, Vaibhav
Arora and Andre Russell make one of the best pace-attacks among all the
teams this season and to follow this up, KKR have superb spinners in the
form of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Suyash Sharma, Mujeeb Ur
Rahman and Anukul Roy. So unlike last time KKR are a much improved
and balanced team and can make it to the playoffs if they keep their
composure throughout the group stages.
The only concern I have seen in KKR over the years is that even with a
good squad, they were lacking to put up a complete team performance,
which they would love to improve this season.
Probable XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Philip Salt, Nitish
Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Mitchell
Starc, Mujeev Ur Rahman, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana.
Impacts: Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Dushmantha
Chameera, Srikar Bharat - Punjab Kings (PBKS)
After coming to the finals in 2014, PBKS have had a decade full of very
bad performances and would look to turn the tide in this year’s IPL. Their
homeground is at Mullanpur this time, not in Mohali, which is a brand
new ground and I have no idea about the wicket over there, so will the
players, so they need a team where both batting and bowling is equally
balanced, in order to provide a strong show this season as a team.
I feel Prabhsimran should open with captain Shikhar, who can provide a
powerful start, followed by Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Rilee
Rossouw, Sikandar Raza, Jonny Bairstow, who comprise of a powerful
middle order. Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma can
provide the perfect finish to the batting. Coming to the bowlers, the pace
attack looks superb, with the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep, Nathan
Ellis, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Rishi Dhawan, Harshal Patel and
Vidhwanth Kaverappa. They also have talented spinners in the form of
Rahul Chahar, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Brar and Livingstone.
Overall the team looks good but a slight disadvantage again is about
adapting to the conditions in Mullanpur, where as I said, nobody knows
how the pitch is going to behave and if they quickly adapt to it, then PBKS
are strong contenders in the playoff race.
Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Singh
Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam
Curran/Chris Woakes, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada,
Arshdeep Singh
Impacts: Rahul Chahar, Rishi Dhawan Rilee Rossouw, Vidhwanth
Kaverappa, Atharva Taide, - Delhi Capitals (DC)
The Delhi Capitals are one of the 3 teams to never win a title and had a
disastrous season last time as a late finish to the season avoided a wooden
spoon finish for them. But with Rishabh Pant back, like KKR, PBKS, they
would also want a change of fortunes in this year’s IPL. Their home
ground is at Visakhapatnam for maybe the first half of the tournament this
time, because the Delhi was used in the final leg of the WPL, which
recently concluded. Typically the pitch is a little fat and there are no
demons out there, and for a start I would say 170-190 is a good score
batting first.
So speaking about their combinations, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw
should open the batting, followed by a good middle-order, which
comprises of Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs, Shai Hope and
Ricky Bhui. And for the finish DC have Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav.
Coming to the bowling, the pace bowling looks lethal with Anrich Nortje,
Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Mitchell Marsh and Jhye
Richardson there in the team. Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Axar Patel,
Lalit Yadav make a good combination of spinners for DC. But still it is not
the most balanced team I would say as first Pant is returning after a long
time and the management would be worrying for Pant not to get any
injuries and there is a lot of pressure on the young man, who is also the
captain, not sure whether he will keep or not, but most likely he will keep.
But they should keep the belief they can win and somehow come into the
playoffs.
Probable XI: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Tristan Stubbs,
Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep
Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar
Impacts: Khaleel Ahmed, Praveen Dubey, Shai Hope, Ricky Bhui, Yash
Dhull - Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Similar to teams like PBKS and KKR, even the Sunrisers had a very bad
run in the IPL since 2020, especially ones in 2021 and 2023, where
they ended up being last. But they went big in the auction as they
picked up the big guns with the likes of Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga,
and the most important, being Pat Cummins, for 20.5 crores and also
making him the captain, replacing Aiden Markram. Their homeground is
at the Raji Gandhi International Stadium, a typical Indian T20 ground
where the batters go big, an average first innings score being about 160
So it will be a blast of a game when they play here and also for the
fans.
Speaking about their team, Travis Head should open with Mayank
Agarwal. Coming to the middle-order, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram,
Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klassen, who is considered the best player in the
world to play spin bowling, Abhishek Sharma and the finish by Glenn
Phillips, Marco Jansen, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad and Hasaranga
make them a power-packed team. The pace bowling attack comprises of
Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Natarajan, Umran Malik, Umran
Malik, Unadkat, Nitish Reddy, Marco Jansen and Marco Jansen, which is
a very dangerous attack followed by Hasaranga, Shahbaz, Abhishek
Sharma, Sundar and Mayank Markande is a very talented spin-bowling
attack as well.
This time SRH have everything covered and the squad is perfect even for
home conditions. But the only issue I feel is in the selection process, that
they did pick many foreign players who are superb but only four play in
the 11, so there will be a selection gamble and if they are ready to deal
with this, I would say there would be no challenge for the Orange Army to
storm into the playoffs this time with the team they have.
Probable XI: Travis Head, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden
Markram, Heinrich Klassen (wk), Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar,
Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran
Malik
Impacts: T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Shahbaz Ahmad, Marco Jansen,
Nitish Kumar Reddy.
So hope you all enjoyed this long, in-depth preview of this year’s IPL.
And about the announcement I had mentioned in the beginning, it is that I
would writing a blog on every match of this year’s IPL. But
please excuse me if I am not able to write the review even after a day of
the match as I am travelling and also am going to Class XI. But by the end
of the final, I will have covered all 74 games before putting a compilation
of all the games. Even a WPL Review blog will come right after this, so
stay tuned!
Lively and interesting.. keep going!
Interesting write up
Really insightful. Keep up the great work!”