As the landmark tenth season of the cash-rich Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament is set to begin today, we list out certain important factors and aspects to look forward to in each IPL team
Virat Kohli, Steven Smith, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Glenn Maxwell, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, David Warner
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Royal Challengers Bangalore
Till the likes of Kohli and de Villiers come back, the onus of providing perfect "cricketainment" will lie with Chris Gayle. If Gayle just stands and delivers, RCB will again have a feast. There will be curiosity regarding what T20 specialist Tymal Mills — bought for R12 crore — will bring to the table and how stand-in captain Shane Watson uses him.
Rising Pune Supergiant
In the absence of star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, all eyes will be on England all-rounder Ben Stokes who was bought for R14.5 crore. MS Dhoni will also have a point to prove with his blade, which will be a fitting reply for being stripped off captaincy. Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis both got injured last time but would like to make amends in this edition.
Mumbai Indians
For Mumbai Indians, skipper Rohit Sharma’s form at the top will be important not only for his franchise but also for the Indian team that will defend the Champions Trophy in the United Kingdom. Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler’s big hits, Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga’s pace and Harbhajan Singh’s guile also makes them the team that they are.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders will depend a lot on skipper Gautam Gambhir, Surya Kumar Yadav, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey. A barely consistent Yusuf Pathan would also look to make his presence felt. Andre Russell’s absence will be felt but Chris Woakes and Trent Boult are expected to be used a lot on seamer-friendly tracks till Umesh Yadav is back.
Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab would miss Murali Vijay but Glenn Maxwell, after a few indifferent knocks last season, may just tee off well. Manan Vohra, Marcus Stoinis and the ever-dependable Wriddhiman Saha will form the core of their batting under Virender Sehwag’s mentorship. Watch out for rookie Thangarasu Natarajan who will be itching to bowl his cutters too.
Gujarat Lions
For Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina, this season will be a make or break one after being dropped from the one-day squad and central contracts. Their star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been advised rest by BCCI. Another all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is also injured and Lions will have to play a couple of matches without the services of Jadeja and Bravo.
Delhi Daredevils
DD seems to be the weakest team in the fray. Quinton de Kock’s absence is going to hurt them. Inconsistency of Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer is a cause of concern. They would bank on their speedsters Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada. On a slow Kotla track, Amit Mishra could prove to be the trump card.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
For the defending champs Sunrisers Hyderabad the core remains the same with David Warner at the helm. Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda and Shikhar Dhawan are capable of changing the course of the match. A fully fit Nehra and Mustafizur Rahaman can prove to be any batsman’s nightmare. They also have a long list of domestic players waiting to fire.
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