Indian Premier League (IPL) has almost garnered the attention every single individual in the cricket crazy nation in the past ten years. The eleventh edition marks a special milestone in the history of the league and is back to entertain the audience over this summer.
The return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals into the mix meant that the league would be with their principle eight cities as on its inauguration.
Here we provide you everything you need to know about your team in this season’s IPL.
Chennai Super Kings
Arguably the most popular team in the league, Chennai Super Kings are back. They will play under MS Dhoni once again and are once again packed with experienced campaigners.
The major positive for the franchise is that they have a team with plenty of experience in the cash-rich league. The players also know what it takes to deliver the title. The owners had also made sure that they got the core group together once again.
The likes of MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis and Murali Vijay have all returned to Chennai. But they also have their fair share of weaknesses.
Lack of talented young players and too many old horses could be an issue for CSK this year. The inexperience in their pace bowling department might be yet another factor to worry. Dwayne Bravo had not played plenty of games in the past 12 months, while young Shardul Thakur impressed with India, it remains to be seen if he can deliver in crunch moments. Lungi Ngidi or Mark Wood could be the third option who are still making their inroads in the international circuit.
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils are the only team in IPL history that has not reached the final of the tournament in the past decade. But that does not take out the level of excitement in their camp this season.
One of the key factors that could enable DD to reach their potential is Gautam Gambhir. The veteran cricketer is back to his hometown and is keen to drive his team to the title. If we look at their history, they did their best when they had a good captain in their ranks. The amount of raw and potential talent Delhi team has in their ranks is unparallel to other teams in the league.
However, their major drawback also comes with their youngsters. We had witnessed the same last season when the young budding cricketers could not handle the pressure moments which ultimately cost them at the end.
Kings XI Punjab
If you are a fan of Kings XI Punjab, you have plenty to cheer about this season. Virender Sehwag & Co. had worked hard to assemble a very good side for this season’s competition.
The franchise managed to summon a very strong Indian core which contains the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh. They also have the likes of Aaron Finch, Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, David Miller and Marcos Stoinis to choose from.
But the only negative is they do not have a proper Indian quick bowler, who could back Andrew Tye. Although, they have Barinder Sran and Mohit Sharma; it remains their major problem going ahead into the season.
Kolkata Knight Riders
One of the heavyweights in the competition, Kolkata Knight Riders had already won two IPL titles and are keen to repeat the success this season.
But the injury to Mitchell Starc on the eve of IPL is like a body-blow to the team. The franchise had missed out on the very logic that they built their empire around a core Indian group.
Although they have the likes of Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, and Kuldeep Yadav, the rest looks quite less hopeful. However, the positives for the team is the acquisitions of Shubman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who might be the future stars in the tournament.
The lack of depth in their pace bowling department meant they would need to choose two from Nagarkoti, Vinay Kumar and Mitchell Johnson to partner with Andre Russell.
Mumbai Indians
The record three-time champions of Indian Premier League has once again assembled a strong group on the back of retaining Indian trio Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
One of the major positive factors for the side going into the tournament is the number of power hitters they possess in their batting lineup. Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma along with all-rounders Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard make a mammoth batting lineup.
They are also well stacked up in the bowling department with bowlers like Mustafizur Rahman, Pats Cummins, Mitchell McClenaghan as pacers.
However, it is the spin department which could be a worry for Mumbai, as they only have Krunal as an experienced campaigner. They might even need to depend on young Rahul Chahar for this season.
Rajasthan Royals
The inaugural champions of Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals are always known to be the dark horses in the league and have often surprised their opponents with their trump cards.
The owners this time, went little unorthodox as they went for big stars and rolled out big contracts for them. However, the loss of Steve Smith would mean they a vital cog in their side.
The lack of depth in the squad looks to be a problem for the side. While they have experienced campaigners on the side, many youngsters are completely unknown to fans. But that is how Rajasthan Royals operate, isn’t it?
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The most qualified team to not win an Indian Premier League are Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have had some class batsmen over the years but somehow could not break the jinx.
The men from the south are often the best batting side in the league. The likes of AB de Villiers, along with skipper Virat Kohli, meant there was hardly any season where Royal Challengers were not scoring runs.
The addition of Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock sets up very well in the batting. The duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar will keep the spin department in good stead. The pace bowling department looks to be the only blip in their squad.
They have an experienced campaigners in Umesh Yadav alongside English pacer Chris Woakes. But Mohammad Siraj’s level of performances might ultimately be the positive or negative for the side this year.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad are one of the most underrated teams in IPL since their inception under the able eyes of Tom Moody, VVS Laxman, and Muttiah Muralidharan.
They were the champions of 2016 edition and were almost present in playoffs, every season they played in. However, the loss of David Warner post the sandpaper gate is a massive blow for Sunrisers going into the new season.
But despite that, the squad is pretty much stacked up in all positions and are undoubtedly the most talented bunch in the league.
The team had assembled a strong Indian core with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneswar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Wriddiman Saha and Deepak Hooda.
But their pace department could be a little problem, as they don’t have a world-class foreign pacer except for Chris Jordan. Despite that, they are looking incredibly well-balanced side this season.
