IPL: Preview

 

We are a week away from IPL starting and all teams are set and preparing for the new season. 2 new teams have been added to the IPL and both teams have come in strong looking to make a statement at the auction table. The groups have been decided and each team know their path to the trophy. Who will be the team to lift the trophy this season.

Let's take a look at the teams 

Mumbai Indians 

The Mumbai team's strength is their core players who they retained and Kishan who they bought back. They have made some interesting buys at the auction and have gone for a few unknown players but that's the speciality of Mumbai Indians they make Stars out of these unknown players. Their first choice team looks very strong providing they stay fit but again we might see plays like Anmolpreet and Brevis could be surprise packages for them. They are a team who could see their season got the wrong way if they suffer injuries to key players. This team is led by the current all format Indian captain who is also a 6-time IPL champion(5 as MI captain and 1 with Deccan Chargers Hyderabad). 

MI best XI: R. Sharma, I Kishan, SKY, Amolpreet,N. Tilak Verma, T. David, K. Pollard,  D. Sams, J. Bumrah, M. Maarkande, T. Mills 

Defending Champions Chennai Super Kings 

This is another team that will depend on their core group of players and a few stars they picked up at the auction. They are a team if their main players get injured the question will be asked who fills the role and how do they get their team balance right. Under the captaincy of Dhoni who is one of the best at utilising his players to their best potential, this team should be fine.

CSK Best XI: R. Gaikwad, D. Conway, M. Ali, R Uthappa, A, Rayudu, R, Jadeja, MS. Dhoni, DJ Bravo, D. Chahar, A. Milne, T. Deshpande. 

Dehli Capitals 

This is a team who I would say had a good auction and should be happy with the players they got at the auction table the only problem they have is some of their International stars won't be available for the first week of IPL and they going to have to depend on their local players for a couple of games. Their bowling might be a question as it does not look as strong as previous seasons and Anrich Nortje's availability is still a doubt and he might be ruled out of the whole season. They do have some good options as back up but will they be that effective is yet to be seen. 

DC Best XI: P. Shaw, D Warner, M. Marsh, R. Pant, R. Patel, R. Powell, A. Patel, S. Thakur, K.Yadav, C. Sakariya, A. Nortje 

Kolkata Knight Riders 

This is a team that did ok at the auction table as they have a few questions in terms of the balance of their side as the wicketkeeper position is the biggest problem for them. Do they use an overseas slot to fill this position or trust a local Indian talent? The other positions they have covered but how they do this season will depend on how the players perform under their new captain in Shreyas Iyer. New captain with quite a few players who have been with KKR for a few seasons now with be interesting to see how the new leader adapts to his new environment. 

KKR Best XI: V. Iyer, A Rahane, S. Iyer, N.Rana, S. Billings, A. Russel, S. Narine, P. Cummins, S. Mavi, A. Roy, V. Chakravarthy 

 

Kings Punjab 

This is a team that did very well at the auction table and on paper have a team that can challenge for the trophy. This team does have a history to look good but then disappoints their fans with the way they play and the decisions they make. This could be the season they change all that around and put a performance that brings joy to their fans.

KP Best XI: M. Agarwal, S Dhawan, J Bairstow, L. Livingstone, S. Khan, H Brar, Odean Smith, R Dhawan, R. Chahar, K, Rabada, A. Singh 

Royal Challengers Bangalore 

This is a team that I think didn't do too well at the auction table and also their team in terms of batting is looking weak in comparison to previous seasons. Their bowling is looking strong and probably one of the strongest bowling attacks this team has had in the franchise's history.  The problem with this team is besides Faf, Kohli, Maxwell who do they back to score runs for them. They could be in a problem if these 3 falls early causes I don't see anyone reliable for now but as they say, this could be an opportunity for Anuj Rawat, Lomror and even Denesh Kartik to step up and prove this team is much stronger than it looks.

RCB Best XI : Faf, A. Rawat . V. Kohli, G. Maxwell, D. Karthik, M. Lomror, S. Ahmed, W. Hasaranga, H. Patel, M.Siraj, J. Hazlewood

Rajasthan Royals 

This is another team that did very well at the auction table and have put together a very strong team on paper. They are going to be a team that will challenge for the trophy as they have some explosive players who can win games single-handedly. They might not have the batting depth that other teams have as their tail could start at 8 looking at their best options. This team could avoid any problems as long as their players are performing. 

RR Best XI: J Buttler, Y Jaiswal, D, Paddikal, S. Samson, Van Der Dussen, R Parag, J Neeshsm, R. Ashwin, Y. Chahal, T. Boult, P. Krishna

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

This is a team that I'm not sure what happened to them during the auction but they are one of the weakest teams this season will not be surprised if they are one of the 1st teams to be eliminated from the race for playoff spots. The main reason this team looks very weak is they have a very inexperienced mix of players the only experienced players they have is Williamson, Markram and Bhuvi. This team will be an Interesting side as they could spring up a surprise if they get their combinations right and back their players to perform the roles given to them.

SRH Best XI: A. Sharma, P. Garg. K Williamson, R. Tripathi, A. Markram, N. Pooran, A. Samad,W. Sundar, M. Jansen, B. Kumar, U Malik

Lucknow Super Giants 

This is a team that did really well in the Auction and have put together a team that on paper looks like the front runner to win this season's IPL. One big question is can their captain actually utilise his players to their best potential or fail like he did at his previous franchise. KL Rahul who is also the Indian vice-captain has his best chance to prove that he is a potential leader who can take over from Rohit Sharma and also fill in for him when needed as Rohit's deputy. 

LSG Best XI: KL Rahul, Q de Kock, M. Pandey, M. Stonis, D. Hooda, K. Pandya, J. Holder, K, Gowtham, A. Khan, A. Rajpoot, D. Chameera

Gujarat Titans 

This is a team that have some potential match-winners but a lot of questions about how they will get their combinations right and the biggest question is their captain is fit to bowl cause this could help balance the team and also solve their selection problems leaving them with the decision of whether to go with an international wicketkeeper or Indian Keeper. 

GT Best XI: S. Gill, M. Wade, W. Saha, G. Singh, D. Miller, H. Pandya, R. Tewatia, R. Khan, J. Yadav, M. Shami, L. Ferguson

I am excited for this season of IPL and it has an element of being Unpredictable but my top 4 teams are LSG, RCB, RR and MI.

This is my thoughts and what I think is each team's strongest XI is. Do share your thoughts in the comment section. 

Writer : Ebrahim Yusuf Omar