The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League is almost upon us and ahead of the tournament, teams were busy building their squads at the two-day mega auction last weekend.
Here’s how each of them performed and a look at the squads they built:
Mumbai Indians
Squad: Rohit Sharma ©, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, Murugan Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, N Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Jofra Archer, Daniel Sams, Tymal Mills, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mohd Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Aryan Juyal, Fabian Allen
Strengths: Indian talent. In Sharma, Kishan, Yadav, they have their top three sorted. In Bumrah, they have one of the best fast bowlers in the world. The additions of Ashwin and Yadav will lend some weight to their spin bowling. These will be the players, who will be crucial to their success. They could have gone for a Yuzvendra Chahal or an Avesh Khan to bolster the bowling, but that is now in the past.
Weaknesses: Lack of overseas fast bowling. A perennial strength of this franchise in the past has somehow become a weakness. In the early years, they had Shaun Pollock, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson. In the later years, there was Trent Boult, backed up by Nathan Coulter-Nile. At least for IPL 2022, the overseas fast bowling aspect to this side will be a worry with Archer, not yet fully fit. Mills has had a good few years in England, but handling the IPL pressure will be different. Sams has done well in the BBL, but can he replicate those showings in the IPL remains to be seen.
Opportunities: Two players come to mind straight away. Dewald Brevis and Tim David. One look at that squad and it becomes evident that Brevis, who was the player of the tournament at the recently-concluded U19 World Cup, will in all probability bat at 4 in this side, at least for the first year and therein lies his chance to show that he can be equally good at a level of cricket, that is one notch higher.
Many may not remember, but David has played in the IPL, featuring for RCB last year. He may not have sparkled then, but is fast emerging as a sought-after player in the global T20 circuit and with Pollard, could play a crucial role in giving the side a strong finish in the end overs.
Threats: Indian fast bowling support. Bumrah will deliver on most days, but in terms of Indian fast bowling support, who does he have: Thampi has played in the league before, but can he be consistent? Unadkat is a red-ball legend, but has failed to stand up to the large sums of money, dished out on him. They have a few others, not may have heard. Will Mumbai, at some point, be forced to play Arjun T, more than what they would like? We will know in a few months.
Chennai Super Kings
Squad: MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, K Bhagath Varma
Strengths: Experience galore. In a press conference once, Stephen Fleming emphasized the importance of experience in T20 cricket and true to his words, CSK have once again gone back to those who have been there and done that for them in the IPL. Rayudu, Uthappa, Chahar, Bravo are players, who have delivered for them before and add Dhoni and Jadeja, you are looking at a very seasoned core.
Weaknesses: Lack of Game time and leader for future. A factor that went against them in 2020 was the lack of game time for key players and with the white-ball leg in India’s domestic cricket over, you have to wonder from where players like Rayudu, Uthappa are going to get quality game time from. Jadeja has been injured and out since the New Zealand Test series and he will hope to return fit for the Sri Lanka series before the league starts. Also, if this is Dhoni’s last season for them, then who will lead this side and deliver the results with this group of players in the remaining two years?
Opportunities: A big show of faith on Shivam Dube. Out of India reckoning for a while, Dube now has a chance to show how much he has improved in the last year or so. It is expected that he will bat at 6, when he gets his chance and bowl 2–3 overs regularly. Hopefully, the time at CSK will get him back into India reckoning.
Threats: Inexperience at key slots. What if Jadeja gets injured again? They may have to look at Santner, who has barely played for the franchise and the mystery spin of Theekshana. Who partners Chahar with the new ball? Earlier, they had an Ngidi, a Hazlewood. Now, there is Tushar Deshpande, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, and maybe Chris Jordan. Could they rise up to the challenge and deliver? We will need to wait and see.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Squad: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Faf du Plessis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahamad, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Luvnith Sisodia, David Willey
Strengths: Quality fast bowling. In Siraj, Hazlewood, Beherendoff, Patel, Kaul, Milind, Willey, and Akash Deep, RCB not just have quicks who will start most games, but decent reserves for them. Matches not happening at the Chinnaswamy stadium could help them since elsewhere, at places like the Wankhede stadium, there could be bounce, which could help Hazlewood and even Beherendoff, if he gets a place in the starting XI.
Weaknesses: Middle-order and late-order finishing. How, in the world, does a franchise replace AB de Villiers? Good that RCB did not bother going searching for a replacement because they may have landed in Mars and still been searching. But post Maxwell, who will most probably come in at 4, who have they got: Karthik at 5 will lend experience to the setup, but to finish matches with him, who can he rely at 6? Not many in the squad to do that.
Opportunities: RCB need Kohli to fire, but so do India. There was a time when Kohli in RCB colors gave 500+ runs and looked a world beater, in doing so. The Kohli of today, though, is showing more signs of mortality with each passing game. The start of the IPL will also be the start of a 6–7 month period where Indian and global players pick up their preparation for the T20 World Cup, later on and RCB needs Kohli to score the runs with swagger and panache, which would not just delight fans wearing red and gold, but those supporting the Men in Blue as well.
Threats: The lack of an umbrella man. RCB have a lot of players, who can score quickly, but what if they are 10 for 2, with players like Kohli and Faf back in the hut? Who is their rescuer from there? Last season, even without being said, KS Bharat did that for them at 3. It relieved Maxwell and de Villiers from a lot of pressure. Maybe its time for a Prabhudesai to step up this time.
Rajasthan Royals
Squad: Sanju Samson ©, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell
Strengths: Top-order batting. The Royals had already retained Jaiswal, Buttler, and Samson and in the auction, they added Padikkal and van der Dussen. You could have a top-order, which looks like: Jaiswal, Buttler, Padikkal, Samson. If they wish to give Buttler a breather somewhere, then Padikkal could open with Jaiswal, with Samson at 3 and van de Dussen could play at 4 for them.
Weaknesses: Lower-middle order and finisher. Post Samson at 4, the Royals could use Hetmyer at 5. But it is after him that there is a slight concern. They have purchased Nair, who could come in at 6. They have gone back to Parag, despite a poor IPL last year and will hope he comes good. They may need to use Neesham as well, when the need arises. But the lack of a reliable 6 and 7 could give them a few sleepless nights.
Opportunities: Chance for Samson and Ashwin to stay in the reckoning. Samson, in full flow, is a sight to watch with the bat. But it is his inconsistency in producing breathtaking performances regularly, which has been his drawback. However, if he can get his head sorted and have a 500+ runs IPL, then he could well put himself in contention for a second wicket-keeper spot, if the need arises. Ashwin has had a mini-revival in LOIs and a good IPL will ensure he remains in contention. He is entering the wrong side of 30s, but will take inspiration from the fact that there have been players like Imran Tahir, who have had done well late in their late 30s and extended their careers by a few years.
Threats: Getting the balance right. The Royals seem to have their top four in order, but the finding the right balance in the rest of the XI could be dicey. It does look like Hetmyer, Ashwin, Boult and Chahal will fill four slots, but how they find the remaining three players, who can prove effective will be crucial to how far they go.
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Rishabh Pant ©, Axar Patel, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Sarfaraz Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Vicky Ostwal
Strengths: Quality, explosive batting. Every franchise has good batsmen, but none can arguably boast a unit that is explosive and has a blend of Indian and overseas batsmen like the Delhi Capitals do. Their top four should on most days read as: Warner, Shaw, Marsh, and Pant. On their day, these four players can set any score or track down any score of their choice and in the middle order, they have Mandeep and Powell, who can give them the required impetus late in the innings.
Weaknesses: Lack of quality Indian bowling depth. The Capitals, in the last few years, not just had Kagis Rabada and Nortje, but had Avesh Khan, Umesh Yadav, and Ishant Sharma in their pace bowling armory and R Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Amit Mishra in their spin bowling repertoire.
For the next season, however, they don’t seem to have that much luxury. Their Indian fast bowling resources to complement Nortje and Lungi Ngidi include: Khaleel, Sakariya, Dubey, and Yadav. They have Thakur, who will most certainly play all the matches, but from the quality they had in the last few seasons, there has definitely been a fall in stocks as far as Indian bowling depth is concerned.
Opportunities: Can Kuldeep regain his mojo at the Capitals? Kuldeep Yadav has endured a torrid time in the last few years. Not only does it seem like the national team setup had lost faith in him, but even his IPL franchise-KKR- seemed to have run out of time for him. His selection at the Capitals, however, gives him a chance to revive his fortunes. In Axar, he has a chance to form a good pairing with and with a bit of inexperience around him, in the likes of Pravin Dubey and Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep does have a chance to be a key member of this franchise.
Threats: Reserve for Nortje. Norjte was retained over Rabada, but off late, he has shown himself to be a bit injury-prone. If fit, the Capitals would be tempted to play him and Ngidi in the same XI, but what if he injures himself again? Do they have a foreign pacer of that quality? Perhaps not. So utilizing him clinically will be crucial to the fortunes of the Capitals.
Punjab Kings
Squad: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell
Strengths: Top-order batting. In Dhawan, Mayank, Bairstow and Livingstone, the Punjab Kings have a sensational top-order. It is the sort of top-order that deserves good batting conditions to show how well they can do. If the matches are played in Maharashtra, then on the small boundaries of the Wankhede stadium or the CCI, this top four could make the opposition chase leather.
Weaknesses: Late-order finishing. Post the top four, PBKS have one of the best strikers in Indian cricket today in M Shahrukh Khan, but it is after him that there is a slight issue as to who will partner him to provide the side with the impetus at number six. They have invested in Raj Bawa, but throwing him into the cauldron of the IPL early could be dicey. Harpreet Brar impressed in that one game against RCB at Ahmedabad, but still needs to show he can deliver for this side, regularly. Perhaps Rishi Dhawan is an option too at that number.
Opportunities: Can SRK do it at the IPL level? M Shahrukh Khan was one of the best players in India’s white-ball tournaments held in late-2021. PBKS released him ahead of the mega auction, but clearly could not let him go after his white-ball exploits for Tamil Nadu. He returns to the franchise having earned a name for himself in domestic cricket, but now has a chance to stake a serious claim in India’s T20I squad with a strong showing in the IPL.
Threats: What if Rabada gets injured? When he was at Delhi Capitals, Kagiso Rabada had Nortje for company and in case he did get injured, they had Tom Curran in reserve. At PBKS, in case he did suffer an injury, they have Nathan Ellis and Benny Howell, but will they be as good as Rabada? Time will tell.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Squad: Kane Williamson, Umran Malik, Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Nicholas Pooran, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Priyam Garg, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, Shreyas Gopal, Jagadeesha Suchith, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Romario Shepherd, Sean Abbott, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Saurabh Dubey, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Strengths: The Indian set. The Sunrisers Hyderabad took their time to get off the blocks on the opening day, but once they did start to buy players, they bought a really good core of Indian players. They got back T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but also acquired Washington Sundar, Rahul Tripathi, Kartik Tyagi, Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Gopal, and J Suchith. It is a template that has worked well for them in the past, where they put their faith in the Indian players to deliver and they will hope it works out well for them now, as well.
Weaknesses: Overseas reserves. In trying to fill their squad with quality Indian names, SRH may have compensated on getting backups for their main overseas batsmen. One look at the squad and it seems almost clear that Williamson and Markram have to play all games. But in case something happens to one of them, then they may only have Glenn Phillips as a backup. Aside that, not too much.
Opportunities: Chance for Washington to get back on the T20I radar. After endured a frustrating last year and more, IPL 2022 provides off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar a chance to return to national reckoning. Sundar made a short return to the Indian side for the series against West Indies before getting injured again and a stint with SRH gives him a chance to once again get back into the national setup.
Threats: Over-dependency on overseas players. In Williamson, Markram, Pooran, and Jansen, SRH have quality overseas players. However, they must hope they don’t become over-dependent on them to go deep in the competition. Their Indian players must complement the overseas pros for the franchise to have a successful outing at this year’s IPL.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Squad: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Tim Southee, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh Yadav, Aman Khan
Strengths: the Indian contingent. In Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, and Shivam Mavi, KKR has a solid Indian core that can win matches for the regularly. Iyer was bought at the auction for 12.25 crore at the auction and the franchise expectedly appointed him captain of the side on Tuesday. In the other Iyer-Venkatesh- and Rana and Chakravarthy, he has the players to rely upon to deliver the results.
Weaknesses: Lack of quality overseas fast bowling. KKR bought back Pat Cummins at the auction, but seemed to have failed to get a reserve for him at the auction. As a result, the onus will be on the support staff to ensure he stays fit for as many matches as possible to try and get the best out of him.
Opportunities: Can Iyer stake a claim for future India captaincy? After being released by Delhi Capitals, the common consensus among many was that wherever Iyer went next, he would captain that franchise. KKR went after him at the auction and broke the bank for him. The IPL provides Iyer a platform to lead KKR and take them deep in the competition. He endured a successful time with the Capitals when he was in-charge and will hope another successful run with KKR catapults him to India captaincy in future.
Threats: The Andre Russell-problem. Russell, who was one of the four retained players by the franchise ahead of the auction, will again be key to their success. But what if he does not give them 14 games? Who do KKR have as a backup? Sadly, not a lot of quality. You may be forced to think that Tim Southee would be made to look like a replacement for Russell, but that will take a lot of effort to convince the watching public.
Lucknow Super Giants
Squad: KL Rahul ©, Ravi Bishnoi, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Jason Holder, Manish Pandey, Quinton de Kock, Krunal Pandya, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Ankit Singh Rajpoot, Krishnappa Gowtham, Dushmanta Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Evin Lewis, Mayank Yadav
Strengths: A balance to kill for. The Super Giants are one of the two new franchises in the IPL, but if one takes a look at the purchases they made at the auction, you would be forgiven to believe that they have been in the business for years running. The squad is such that even before the first ball is bowled, they could have their first XI ready: Rahul, de Kock, Pandey, Hooda, Stoinis, Holder, Pandya, Bishnoi, Avesh, Wood, Rajpoot. Few teams can say with as much certainty as the Super Giants can about having such a clear starting XI.
Weaknesses: Indian middle-order options. While the Super Giants performed supremely well at the auction, the one loophole that may crept in could be in the Indian middle-order options. They purchased Vohra at the auction, who may have well to adapt and play at 5 or 6 if the need arises. Otherwise, the Super Giants may have to use Lewis at the top and have Rahul come in at number 5, like he does for India in ODIs.
Opportunities: KL Rahul’s chance to step up. These are interesting times in Indian cricket and one man, who is beginning to be spoken of more and more as far as leadership is concerned is Rahul. At the Punjab Kings, his captaincy can be termed ‘patchy’ at best, but his captaincy will be central to how far the Super Giants go in the tournament. In Gautam Gambhir, he does have an ally from whom he can learn and improve, but for the Super Giants and Indian cricket’s sake, it is imperative that he evolves into a solid leader by the end of the IPL.
Threats: The first-season syndrome. When new teams have come into the IPL having built good squads in the past, the expectations from them have been high. But not always have the expectations converted into consistency in performance. Rising Pune Supergiant were saved from ending with the wooden spoon by a miraculous finish from Dhoni at Vizag in 2016. Both the Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala endured difficult runs.
Only the Gujarat Lions had a fine first year where they made it to the playoffs. So while LSG have built a superb squad, they must get over the jitters early and stake a claim for the title with the other contenders.
Gujarat Titans
Squad: Hardik Pandya ©, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Jason Roy, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudarshan.
Strengths: The Indian group. The second new team in this year’s IPL, the Titans have built a squad with a good group of Indian players in them. Gill, Pandya, Shami, Shankar, Tewatia, and Saha could form their Indian core. Around them they could play Roy, Rashid , Lockie , Joseph, and Drakes.
Weaknesses: Overseas fast bowling. The Titans purchased Ferguson at the auction, who could run through the best teams at his best but if injured can spend long spells on the sidelines. They went and got Joseph as the second overseas fast bowler and also got Drakes at the auction. But barring these three, the cupboard seems empty.
Opportunities: Acid test for Pandya. Pandya is no longer a Mumbai Indian, but his stint with the Titans could go a long way in determining his future in the Indian cricket team. Appointed captain even before a ball has been bowled, it will be Pandya’s bowling that will be under greater spotlight than his batting and the number of overs he bowls in the IPL could well decide his future in India’s T20I XI.
Threats: Lack of reserve for Shami. The Indian fast bowling hopes at the Titans will revolve around Shami. But who does the franchise have as cover for him? Aaron is an option, but barring him you are looking at players like Sangwan and Nalkhande. So like KKR have to with Cummins, it will be imperative that the Titans preserve Shami right through the season.
