In what is considered one of the most followed cricket leagues in the Global level. The Indian Premier League attracts a fan base from all over the World. The league does its best to maintain the level of intensity throughout and credits to the franchises who have put in all the efforts too. Over the past 12 years, Since IPL made its debut the franchises have been doing their best to put forward the best teams and the auctions play a very important role in setting it up.
With the competition becoming tougher and more players giving their all, the league has been only getting better season wise. With the IPL just around the corner, Cricwizz takes a look at the teams, Squads and where they stand.
1) Sunrisers Hyderabad- 10/10
One of the strongest teams on the sheets. Sunrisers have been quietly stamping their authority in the league. The team has the biggest names of the cricketing world and have made it to the finals two times in the last four years. The team is also very well balanced. Considering batting- they have the best foreign player at the top of the order and when it comes to bowling, they have Rashid Khan- the bowler with best economy rate in IPL and the two times purple cap winner Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Apart from the big names, the team also has two international captains in the form of David Warner and Kane WIlliamson which could provide a lot of experience to the teams especially in the crucial stages of the game.
Squad: David Warner (C) , Jonny Bairstow, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Manish Pandey, Sandeep Sharma, Billy Stanlake, Basil Thampi, Khaleel Ahmed, Wriddhiman Saha, Fabian Allen, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Nadeem
2) Royal Challengers Bangalore - 8/10
In the papers RCB will look 10/10 with the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. But that has not been the story for the Bangalore club. It still remains a mystery as to how the club has not been able to bag the trophy in the last 12 years with such a star studded team. Surely this time around Virat Kohli and Co. will be looking to rewrite history.
The franchise has now made the line-up even stronger with the addition of Australian Captain Aaron Finch to open the innings. The team also holds the additional advantage of having three International captains on their side in the form of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Aaron Finch. Can the International experience of these players make RCB get over the line this time?
Squad: Virat Kohli (C) , Aaron Finch, AB de Villers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, Dale Steyn, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Kane Richardson, Shivam Dube, Parthiv Patel, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi
3) Mumbai Indians- 9/10
The most Successful team in the IPL does not need any introduction nor any explanation on why they are given a 9 rating. The team is vastly experienced and has a very well balanced team who have been loyal members of the line-up. The franchise has not made any drastic changes to their line-up and that could be a reason for their consistency in the league.
The four time title winners clearly showed their intent to continue their campaign in 2020 with the already existing team which won the title in 2019. The only top purchase for the club was Nathan Coulter-Nile.The addition of the Australian Pacer has now made the bowling attack of MI even more stronger with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga. Can Rohit and Co. clinch the fifth title for the franchise?
Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Quinton De Kock, Chris Lynn, Krunal Pandya, Lasith Malinga, Aditya Tare, Dhawal Kulkarni, Anmolpreet Singh, Ishan Kishan, Jayant Yadav, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan Coulter-Nile
4) Kolkata Knight Riders - 8/10
Kolkata Knight Riders is the third most successful team in the IPL with two titles to their name. The team does show-off some of the raw talent in the cricketing world but more than the big names it has been the fearless approach of the club that has bought them all the success.
KKR indeed had a very busy IPL auctions, where they purchased 9 new players and made the most expensive but of a foreign player ever in the IPL history in form of Pat Cummins for a whopping 15.5 crs. Will the long search for the right pacer for the club stop with Pat Cummins? The team also roped in English Skipper Eoin Morgan and aggressive opener Tom Banton.
The team is well seen on the papers but the captaincy of Dinesh Karthik were questioned at times in the last season. It is no doubt that he is vastly experienced and if he clicks along with the team it would not be a surprise to see KKR get over the line.
Squad: Dinesh Karthik (C), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lockie Ferguson, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Siddhesh Lad, Tom Banton, Rinku Singh
5) Kings Xl Punjab- 8/10
The franchise did not have a great time in the last season, where they finished sixth. The franchise though is one of the few clubs which are always ready to experiment with the players. Though K.L. Rahul is relatively new to captaincy, the lad has got really matured over time as he is one of most reliable batsman in the Indian line-up. It is no doubt he could push his limits this season.
KXlP too had a very busy time at the IPL auctions where they roped in nine new players with the top buy being of Australian hard-hitter Glenn Maxwell and West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell. With the likes of Chris Gayle, K.L Rahul and Glenn Maxwell the team is the one strongest powerhouses in the league and would be great to see if all them break free to win their maiden IPL title.
Squad: K.L Rahul (C), Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Shami, Chris Gayle, Nicolas Pooran, Hardus Viljoen, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Maynak Agarwal, Sheldon Cottrell, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Karun Nair, Deepak Hooda
6) Rajasthan Royals- 9/10
Imagine England and Australian playing as one team. Would be a dream team right? Well, Rajasthan Royals are somewhat close to that. The franchise has made sure they have the best players from both Australia and England. The team with the likes of Steven Smith, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer look like the team to beat in the league.
The franchise was the busiest in the auctions as they went with the plans of making a lot of changes to the team. They made eleven purchases at the auctions with the top buys being Robin Uthappa and Jaydev Udadkat. The team looks well balanced in the sheets but the only set back would be the absence of the key players due to the Australian tour of England clashing with the schedule of IPL. The players are expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the tournament. Can RR hold the other teams till then ? Or will it be too late as the players arrive?
Squad: Steven Smith(C), Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Butler, Jaydev Unadkat, Shreyas Gopal, Oshane Thomas, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Robin Uthappa, Varun Aaron, Sanju Samson, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Riyan Parag
7) Delhi Capitals- 8/10
The only team that has never made it to the finals of the IPL, Delhi Capitals would consider them really unfortunate. The franchise though have made a lot of efforts in getting the strings together but not been able to get over line. The franchise is to be led by Shreyas Iyer who did do a job by helping the team finish 3rd in the table last season.
The franchise has a number of star studded youngsters in the team but the lack of experience could be the only issue they could be facing. The team always had a very good bowling unit and this time around they used the auctions to strengthen their batting by roping in West Indies batting sensation Shimron Hetmyer and Australian hard-hitter Marcus Stonis. The team does look capable of making it to their first finals. Though, Can they overcome the lack of experience?
Squad: Shreyas Iyer(C), Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Marcus Stonis, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Roy, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Keemo Paul, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Mohit Sharma
8) Chennai Super Kings- 10/10
The saying that IPL is where the 7 teams play against each other to play CSK in the finals is turning to be reality one should say. The franchise under the captaincy of former Indian captain MS Dhoni has made it to the finals of IPL on seven occasions- which is the highest for any team to play the league.
The franchise did not have much work in the auctions as they already have a well established team with the likes of MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina and Shane Watson. The team is vastly experienced so as the players are. It would be no surprise to see the franchise get over the line this time around especially with all eyes on MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina who recently announced their International retirement.
Squad: MS Dhoni(C), Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Josh Hazelwood, Sam Curran, Sahrdul Takur, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Kedar jadav, Murali Vijay
Cover Credits: IPLT20
