New Delhi: In October 2021, the Kolkata-headquartered conglomerate RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group and the British private equity firm CVC Capital Partners picked up two new Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT), at staggering valuations of Rs 7,090 crore and Rs 5,600 crore, respectively.
The valuations symbolised the astronomical growth in the brand of the world’s premier domestic T20 cricket league since its inaugural season in 2008.
The 15th edition of the IPL has expanded to 10 teams — for the first time since 2011.
On Saturday, the 74-game season is slated to begin with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a repeat of the 2021 final.
Here’s how the 10 squads line-up.
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Filling Deepak Chahar-sized hole CSK’s biggest challenge
The CSK have been at the centre of media attention due to frontline pacer Deepak Chahar’s potentially season-ending injury, and M.S. Dhoni handing over the captaincy to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
In the February auction, CSK retained and repurchased several squad members that won them the 2021 title, and will have them available throughout the tournament — except for Moeen Ali (due to visa delays).
But Chahar’s absence will likely need to be addressed by the likes of K.M. Asif, Tushar Deshpande and the overseas pacers acquired in the mega auction.
Likely XI: 1. Ruturaj Gaikwad 2. Robin Uthappa 3. Devon Conway/Moeen Ali 4. Ambati Rayudu 5. Shivam Dube 6. Ravindra Jadeja (c) 7. M.S. Dhoni (wk) 8. Maheesh Theekshana/Mitchell Santner 9. Chris Jordan 10. Adam Milne 11. K.M. Asif/Tushar Deshpande
KKR bet big on Shreyas Iyer, all-rounders
Delhi Capitals’ loss was Kolkata Knight Riders’ gain in the mega auction, as the 2021 runners-up won a hotly-contested race to buy former DC captain Shreyas Iyer for Rs 12.25 crore.
However, Iyer will have to deal with a more imbalanced squad than past seasons, packed with all-rounders but lacking in experienced local talent and reliable wicket-keepers. Premier pacer and Australia Test captain Pat Cummins is expected to miss KKR’s first few games, putting greater responsibility on Chamika Karunaratne, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi and Umesh Yadav.
Likely XI: 1. Venkatesh Iyer 2. Ajinkya Rahane 3. Shreyas Iyer (c) 4. Nitish Rana 5. Sheldon Jackson (wk) 6. Andre Russell 7. Pat Cummins/Chamika Karunaratne 8. Sunil Narine 9. Tim Southee 10. Umesh Yadav/Shivam Mavi 11. Varun Chakravarthy
Lucknow boast potent first XI but lack depth
New entrants Lucknow Super Giants splurged big at the auction, making captain K.L. Rahul the joint-highest paid IPL player. The LSG have given Rahul and head coach Andy Flower a potent, proven starting line-up featuring Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan.
However, injury to England fast bowler Mark Wood and Holder’s international commitments leave Khan as the senior leader of the team’s death bowling in the first few matches.
Likely XI: 1. K.L. Rahul (c) 2. Quinton de Kock (wk) 3. Manish Pandey 4. Deepak Hooda 5. Marcus Stoinis 6. Krunal Pandya 7. Jason Holder 8. Ravi Bishnoi 9. Dushmantha Chameera/Andrew Tye 10. Ankit Rajpoot 11. Avesh Khan
DC lack insurance policy for Nortje
The league’s expansion and the auction hit the Delhi Capitals the most, as they had to part ways with a host of experienced match winners.
To replace them, DC made waves with the purchases of proven internationals in David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Shardul Thakur. However, they took greater risks on younger players with potential, and will not have most of their strongest line-up available for their first two matches due to international duties.
Crucially, they have been unsuccessful in their attempts to sign a reliable foreign back-up to star pacer Anrich Nortje, who is recovering from a long-term hip injury.
Likely XI: 1. Prithvi Shaw 2. David Warner/Tim Seifert 3. Mitchell Marsh/Mandeep Singh 4. Rishabh Pant (c & wk) 5. Rovman Powell 6. Sarfaraz Khan/Lalit Yadav 7. Axar Patel 8. Shardul Thakur 9. Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Khaleel Ahmed 10. Mustafizur Rahman/Anrich Nortje 11. Kuldeep Yadav/Chetan Sakariya
Lower middle-order remains question mark for RCB
Under Mike Hesson’s tenure as Director of Cricket, Royal Challengers Bangalore have markedly improved with play-off finishes in the last two seasons, losing in the Eliminator.
Both seasons, however, were also marked by a repeated tinkering with the starting line-up, and an over-reliance on overseas batters or Indian bowlers putting in superlative performances.
A specialist Indian wicket-keeper and a consistent lower middle-order were RCB’s primary weaknesses. While the former has been addressed this year, the latter has not.
Likely XI: 1. Faf du Plessis (c) 2. Anuj Rawat 3. Virat Kohli 4. Glenn Maxwell 5. Mahipal Lomror 6. Dinesh Karthik (wk) 7. Wanindu Hasaranga 8. Shahbaz Ahmed 9. Harshal Patel 10. Josh Hazlewood 11. Mohammad Siraj
Mumbai go all in on Ishan Kishan and Singapore star
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians were a disappointment for much of last season, and have responded by largely dispensing with the squad that had won them the 2019 and 2020 titles.
At Rs 15.25 crore, a significant chunk of Mumbai’s auction budget was used to bring back Ishan Kishan to partner captain Rohit Sharma at the top of the order.
But Mumbai set its sights on the future by spending Rs 8.25 crore on aggressive Singapore batter Tim David, who has lit up T20 leagues around the world, and Rs 8 crore on pacer Jofra Archer, who will only play from 2023 onwards.
Likely XI: 1. Rohit Sharma (c) 2. Ishan Kishan (wk) 3. Suryakumar Yadav 4. Tilak Varma 5. Tim David 6. Kieron Pollard 7. Sanjay Yadav 8. Daniel Sams 9. Jaydev Unadkat/Murugan Ashwin 10. Riley Meredith/Tymal Mills 11. Jasprit Bumrah
Punjab on course for long-overdue playoff push
The Punjab Kings have often been a subject of criticism due to their auction strategies, or lack thereof, with former IPL auctioneer Richard Madley mocking them at length in a conversation with former Punjab captain R. Ashwin last month.
But this year, the owners and head coach Anil Kumble appear to have made amends by giving new captain Mayank Agarwal a worthy replacement for K.L. Rahul, a varied pace attack and numerous versatile all-rounders to call upon.
Likely XI: 1. Mayank Agarwal (c) 2. Shikhar Dhawan 3. Jonny Bairstow (wk) 4. Liam Livingstone 5. Shahrukh Khan 6. Raj Bawa/Rishi Dhawan 7. Odean Smith 8. Harpreet Brar/Sandeep Sharma 9. Rahul Chahar 10. Kagiso Rabada 11. Arshdeep Singh
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Poor batting options could offset Gujarat’s destructive bowling
The new, CVC-owned Gujarat Titans garnered significant praise for signing Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill and local boy Hardik Pandya as the core trio. But this didn’t translate into a successful auction strategy as head coach Ashish Nehra and co. made several questionable decisions.
Although GT assembled a destructive bowling attack to accompany Rashid, they also spent Rs 9 crore on inconsistent all-rounder Rahul Tewatia and left little room for specialist batters. Their season thus hinges on the likes of Gill, Pandya and Rashid performing in almost every game.
Likely XI: 1. Shubman Gill 2. Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Matthew Wade 3. Wriddhiman Saha (wk) 4. Vijay Shankar 5. David Miller 6. Hardik Pandya 7. Rahul Tewatia 8. Rashid Khan 9. Lockie Ferguson 10. Mohammad Shami 11. Varun Aaron/Pradeep Sangwan
SRH bank on overseas middle order, Indian bowlers
Sunrisers Hyderabad had built a reputation as regular title challengers from 2016 to 2020, but slumped to a last-placed finish in 2021 and fell out with senior players David Warner and Rashid Khan.
SRH have now provided captain Kane Williamson with a squad lacking in big names compared to previous years. Instead, they prioritised bargain buys, featuring an overseas-dominated middle order and an all-Indian specialist bowling attack.
Likely XI: 1. Abhishek Sharma 2. Rahul Tripathi 3. Kane Williamson (c) 4. Aiden Markram/Glenn Phillips 5. Nicholas Pooran (wk) 6. Abdul Samad 7. Marco Jansen/Romario Shepherd 8. Washington Sundar 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10. T. Natarajan 11. Umran Malik/Kartik Tyagi
RR have IPL’s strongest spin duo but could struggle at death
Aside from Punjab, the one team that looks the most improved from past seasons is the Rajasthan Royals, which last qualified for the playoffs in 2018. They have now built their deepest squad since their return from a two-year ban.
Under Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, the historically top-heavy RR have significantly upgraded their spin attack by acquiring R. Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal at cut-prices. Although they acquired one of the world’s best opening pacers in Trent Boult, their long struggle with death bowling looks set to continue. India’s new limited-overs bowling sensation Prasidh Krishna might have to step up in most games.
Likely XI: 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal 2. Jos Buttler 3. Devdutt Paddikal 4. Sanju Samson (c & wk) 5. Shimron Hetmyer 6. Riyan Parag 7. James Neesham/Nathan Coulter-Nile 8. R. Ashwin 9. Prasidh Krishna 10. Trent Boult 11. Yuzvendra Chahal
(Edited by Amit Upadhyaya)
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