The eleventh season of the Indian Premier League is just a handful of days away. The preparations of all teams are in full swing as they aim for the coveted title.
This year’s auction was one of the biggest in the history of the league. With the majority of the players available in the auction pool, the franchises went neck-to-neck to build the strongest possible squads.
Out of 578 players, only 169 were sold. 113 of the sold players are Indians while the remaining 56 are overseas.
Jaydev Unadkat became the most expensive Indian player after being bought by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping amount of INR 11.5 crore while Ben Stokes once again became the most expensive overseas player after being bought by the same franchise for INR 12.5 crore.
All the teams are looking strong on paper which perfectly sets up the background for the upcoming season. But before they clash this season, here is a look at how all the teams fared last season:
1. Mumbai Indians:
Mumbai Indians looked almost unstoppable throughout the tournament as their juggernaut didn’t stop as they beat Rising Pune Supergiant to become the first team to lift the IPL title thrice. They finished the league stage at the top after winning 10 of the 14 games. They lost the first Qualifier against Pune but made it to the final after beating Kolkata Knight Riders.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders:
One of the powerhouses of the league since the start of this decade, the Kolkata-based outfit enjoyed another good season last year. With eight wins out of 14 games, they finished fourth after the league stage. In the Eliminator, they defeated the then defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad before going down to eventual winners Mumbai Indians in the second Qualifier.
3. Sunrisers Hyderabad:
The Sunrisers started the last season as the defending champions and went on to make it to the playoffs. They finished the league stage at the third position after winning 8 of the 12 games. Their season came to an end with a defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator.
4. Kings XI Punjab:
The Kings XI Punjab missed out on a place in the playoffs in the last game when they lost to Rising Pune Supergiant and ended the season in 5th winning 7 out of their 14 games.
5. Royal Challengers Bangalore:
After a brilliant outing in 2016 where they made it to the finals, the Royal Challengers cut a sorry figure throughout in 2017. Plagued by several injury setbacks most notably to their star duo Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, they finished the season with the wooden spoon after winning just three games.
6. Delhi Daredevils:
The Daredevils’ poor run of form in recent years continued last year too. While their batting lineup was filled with inexperienced but exciting youngsters, they boasted one of the best attacks in the tournaments comprising of Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem and Jayant Yadav.
However, inconsistency did not allow them to progress ahead of the league stage. They ended up at the 6th position again with six wins and eight losses.
7. Chennai Super Kings:
The two-time IPL champions are making a comeback to the league this season. They served a two-year suspension due to corruption charges. In 2015, they had made it to the final and will be looking to replicate the same performance in the comeback season.
8. Rajasthan Royals:
Just like the Super Kings, the Royals also missed the last two seasons due to corruption charges. With a solid team this year, they will be looking to make their comeback season memorable.