MUMBAI INDIANS

Three titles in the last five IPL seasons. With that rate of success, Rohit Sharma and Co. will have to ride the huge burden of expectations. 

With the core group of players remaining the same, there will be a familiarity surrounding Mumbai Indians’ game plan. 
While the batting will again depend on the start  Rohit provides at the top, there will be others like Evin Lewis, the Pandya brothers, Kieron Pollard and JP Duminy to provide thrust and stability in the middle order. 
The franchise made a smart choice by buying young Ishan Kishan of Jharkhand as their wicketkeeper-batsman, an area where they have struggled over the years. 

Lewis was West Indies’ highest run-getter in the World Cup qualifiers held recently, while Kishan has been seen consistently scoring runs in domestic cricket in the last couple of months. 

In bowling, given Jasprit Bumrah’s credentials, his four overs could determine the course of a match. But the addition of Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman and Dwayne Bravo has provided more balance to their bowling unit. It will be interesting to see how Mumbai Indians utilise the eight overs of Mustafizur and Bumrah, because both bowlers have established reputations as outstanding death overs specialists. 

But the lack of a quality spinner could put them in a spot. It will be tough to control the opposition in the middle-overs without a good spinner in hot and humid conditions. 

Coach Mahela Jayawardene  has himself admitted that the Mumbai Indians will have to start from scratch. While they have retained some of their most celebrated players, it will be quite a task to recreate the magic with a line-up that doesn’t seem to be as formidable as in the past few seasons. But then, anything is possible in T20 cricket. 

Captain: Rohit Sharma
Coach: Mahela Jayawardene
Other key men: Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah
Last year’s finish: Champions

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD

Even before the IPL has begun, Sunrisers Hyderabad were dealt a blow in the form of David Warner’s ban from the IPL after being found guilty in the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town. 

Without doubt, Warner played a phenomenal role and was inspirational in the Sunrisers’ triumphant campaign two years ago. 

But now that the left-hander won’t be available, the team would miss a destructive batsman as well as a senior pro out in the middle. 

It also means Shikhar Dhawan and newly-appointed captain Kane Williamson need to show extra responsibility at the top. 

The good thing for the Sunrisers is that Dhawan has been among runs going into this IPL, while captain Williamson seems to be getting better and better every season. 

Besides, Warner’s replacement Alex Hales too is a good, solid striker of the ball. Apart from these two, Manish Pandey and Rashid Khan are also likely to play a crucial role for the Sunrisers. 

Rashid has already made a mark for the franchise, establishing himself as one of the team’s go-to bowlers, while Pandey too should be keen to follow up with the impressive work he has been doing . In other words, being the two costliest players in the Sunrisers ranks, Pandey and Rashid will have to deliver. 

Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha is also eager enough to prove his credentials in the limited-overs format. 
Warming up well with a 20-ball unbeaten century and a quickfire fifty in club cricket, Saha has made it quite clear that he means business. 

What could benefit the Sunrisers most is the presence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who looks far more threatening after a fantastic tour of South Africa. 

Captain: Kane Williamson
Coach: Tom Moody 
Other key men: Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,  Rashid Khan
Last year’s finish: Lost in the Eliminator

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

In 2016, they were beaten in the Eliminator. The following year, they did better but lost in Qualifier II. This time around, a relatively new-look Kolkata Knight Riders will certainly be looking to do even better and go a step higher to have a shot at a third IPL title. 

Gautam Gambhir, under whose captaincy the Knight Riders won the IPL twice, in 2012 and 2014, is no longer there. Dinesh Karthik is the new captain and he will have to prove himself a worthy successor to Gambhir. Under Gambhir, the Knight Riders have been one of the most consistent sides since 2011, as it was only in 2013 and 2015 that they couldn’t make the play-offs. 

Even though Gambhir himself didn’t score in bulk on every occasion, his leadership played a key role that helped the Knight Riders to a respectable finish in the last two editions. It’s very obvious that the same would be expected of Karthik. He does have a task ahead of him, but having said that, Karthik also has at his disposal resources with which he can lead and guide the team to another successful campaign. The new captain has Robin Uthappa as his deputy. 
There’s also a spinner in the form of Kuldeep Yadav who has proved himself capable of bowling spells that can turn around matches. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla’s experience will also come in handy in tight situations. 

One would also be waiting to see how the youngsters – Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Shubman Gill – perform. Among the overseas contingent, a lot will depend on how the two West Indians – Sunil Narine and Andre Russell – perform. Being the only ones to be retained, Narine and Russell do need to vindicate the faith the franchise has showed in them.

Captain: Dinesh Karthik
Coach: Jacques Kallis
Other key men: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell,  Kuldeep Yadav
Last year’s finish: Lost in Qualifier II

KINGS XI PUNJAB

Barring one appearance in the final in 2014, the Mohali-based side could never really establish themselves as an impact-making side in the IPL. 

They recruited top players, changed captains more often than others but success, somehow, eluded them every season. 
This time, the Punjab side spent well and tried to build a side which definitely look impressive, at least on paper. 

With former India captain Virender Sehwag as the mentor, Kings XI have appointed off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as the captain. They have also recruited Yuvraj Singh, who despite having left his best days behind, has the ability to make a massive impact. 

They have added another big hitter, Chris Gayle, to the squad. Like Yuvraj, Gayle too is no longer the Gayle of old, but one can’t just rule out a player of his class. 

Kings XI have some good players like KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Akshar Patel, and not to forget the seasoned campaigner Manoj Tiwary. 

As Sehwag pointed out recently, players like Rahul, Nair and Patel would be high confidence having played cricket at the highest level. 

Among the foreigners, Aaron Finch, who did a decent job for the Gujarat Lions last season, could turn out to be a good recruit. 

Focus will also be on Afghanistan youngster Mujeeb Zadran. He has already made a name for himself for being a clever spinner. 

Kings XI also have the likes of David Miller, Andrew Tye and Marcus Stoinis to boost their confidence. 

The only problem with the team is that apart from Rahul, they have only one wicketkeeper in youngster Akshdeep Nath. 
Sehwag will have to play a key role in guiding the Kings XI. His experience and Ashwin’s confidence can surely help the team aim high.
 
Captain: Ravichandran Ashwin
Director of cricket: Virender Sehwag
Other key men: Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Andrew Tye
Last year’s finish: Fifth

DELHI DAREDEVILS

Ever since the launch of IPL in 2008, the Delhi franchise’s efforts had been to establish themselves as a front-ranking side. 

They recruited the best of players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, AB de Villers, David Warner and Kevin Pietersen, but the best they have managed in all these years has been the third place. 

The last five seasons have been extremely depressing with the team failing to make the play-offs on all five occasions. 
The DareDevils, this time, have brought back Gambhir as the captain. Gambhir has been there and done that, having twice captained the Kolkata Knight Riders all the way to glory. He is also one of the top scorers of IPL and a local boy, who learned his cricket at the Kotla. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is the new coach. 

The DareDevils have some good foreigners, like New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult. Boult has been in good form. There will also be Mohammed Shami to add firepower to  their attack. If Shami can overcome the issues that has rocked his personal life, he can always be a match-winner. 

However, the DareDevils have suffered a big loss in the lead-up to the tournament as Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out with injury. The South African speedster, one of the leading bowlers in contemporary cricket, has a lower back stress reaction and will be out for up to three months.   

The Delhi franchise have also roped in a host of talented youngsters. While Rishabh Pant, who played some good knocks in the previous season, has been retained, there are other youngsters like the under-19 World Cup-winning players, Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra. Shahbaz Nadeem and Vijay Shankar are also in the squad.

Captain: Gautam Gambhir
Coach: Ricky Ponting
Other key men: Mohammed Shami,  Trent Boult
Last year’s finish: Sixth

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

RCB are often regarded as the perennial underachievers of IPL. Despite having a consistently good side over the years, they have only flattered to deceive, the lowest point coming last season when they finished at the bottom of the table. 
The franchise decided to balance their team roping in specialist pace and spin bowlers to bolster the attack. “It’s a very balanced side. In the 10 years that I’ve been here, I don’t think we’ve ever had such balance,” said Virat Kohli recently. 
Captain Kohli and AB de Villiers form a strong top-order. Together, they have made 2,212 runs in 53 innings, with seven century stands. While it is almost certain that Quinton de Kock will open the innings, they will have to choose between Brendon McCullum and Parthiv Patel for the second opener’s slot. Colin de Grandhomme and Corey Anderson, who replaced the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile, will complete the middle order. Moeen Ali could also come in handy. 

Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Pawan Negi form a strong spin attack to stifle any side in the middle and death overs. Besides there will be Umesh Yadav to provide the early breakthroughs. 

The franchise owners have left no stones unturned with a congregation of high-profile support staff. In addition to retaining head coach Daniel Vettori, Ashish Nehra has been appointed the bowling coach. 

The most high profile name in the support staff is Gary Kirsten , who coached India to the World Cup in 2011, as batting coach. Then there’s also Andrew McDonald (bowling talent development and analytics) and Trent Woodhill (batting talent development and fielding coach). 

“I was personally in favour of getting Gary on board,” said Kohli. 

Captain: Virat Kohli
Coach: Daniel Vettori 
Other key men: AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock, Yuzvendra Chahal
Last year’s finish: 8th

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Coming back after a two-year gap, the yellow brigade, one of the most popular outfits in the history of the IPL, will hope to make their re-entry a superhit one. 

Things would not be easy for them though. They will hope that the ghost of the two-year ban wouldn’t haunt them anymore, but even then they will have an uphill task to accomplish. 

The good thing for them though is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Many of the teams will be starting from scratch in IPL XI with new-look squads and new captains. But the Super Kings will still have the one and only Dhoni. 

Dhoni and the Super Kings are synonymous, having been together from the very first year of the IPL. 

Dhoni has been quite successful leading the Super Kings — two titles and four runners-up finishes in ten editions of the tournament. The Super Kings will bank on his expertise and charisma to regain the pride that was hurt somewhat because of the two-year ban. 

Actually, not just Dhoni, the Super Kings will also have quite a few of their old faces who easily identify with the team. Coach Stephen Fleming, batsman Suresh Raina, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo are some of them. Together, it very much looks like the old Super Kings team and we all know how efficient their teamwork has been in the past. The Super Kings’ batting would revolve around Dhoni, Raina, Faf du Plessis and possibly Shane Watson. All solid batsmen. 

The bowling front looks impressive too. Fast-bowlers like Mark Wood, Lungi Ngidi and Shardul Thakur, and spinners like Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir and of course Jadeja give Dhoni a lot of options. All-rounders Bravo and Watson will also be ready with their wealth of experience.       

Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Other key men: Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo
Last year’s finish: Did not play

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Like the Chennai Super Kings, the Rajasthan Royals too would hope to quickly banish the past and make an impact in IPL XI. 

The champions of the inaugural edition of the IPL suffered the ignominy of being banned for two years, like the Super Kings, and they wouldn’t want that to play on the minds of the players and fans when they begin their journey on Monday, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

But even before they could step onto the field, they suffered the setback of losing captain and top player Steve Smith. The Australian’s role in the infamous ball-tampering scandal saw him banned and therefore the Royals will have to redraw their strategy. The process has already begun though, with Ajinkya Rahane being appointed the new captain. 
The Royals have always been known for their fine blend of experience and youth. And that was probably the reason why they went all the way to rope in Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat.  

Working out a fine combination will also depend a lot on Shane Warne, the coach.   Rahane will also have a big role to play. The Mumbaikar’s calm approach and Warne’s aggressive style should make for an interesting concoction of ideas. 
Besides Rahane and Stokes, the Royals would also look up to Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi for run-making. The Royals’ bowling seems to be lacking in experience, but that can be made up with the talent they have. Unadkat has proven to be good bowler in the shortest format and there will also be Jofra Archer, a star in the making. Also watch out for all-rounder K. Gowtham. 

Captain: Ajinkya Rahane
Mentor: Shane Warne
Other key men: Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer
Last year’s finish: Did not play

RECORD BOOK

FINAL RESULTS 

2008 — RR bt CSK by 3 wkts (Mumbai)|
2009 — Deccan Chargers bt RCB by 6 runs (Johannesburg)|
2010 — CSK bt MI by 22 runs (Mumbai)|
2011 — CSK bt RCB by 58 runs (Chennai)|
2012 — KKR bt CSK by 5 wkts (Chennai)|
2013 — MI bt CSK by 23 runs (Calcutta)|
2014 — KKR bt KXIP by 3 wkts (Bangalore)|
2015 — MI bt CSK by 41 runs (Calcutta)|
2016 — Sunrisers bt RCB by 8 runs (Bangalore)|
2017 — MI bt Rising Pune by 1 run (Hyderabad)

HIGHEST TOTALS

263/5 — RCB, vs Pune Warriors (Bangalore, April 23, 2013)|
248/3 — RCB, vs Gujarat Lions (Bangalore, May 14, 2016)|
246/5 — CSK, vs RR (Chennai, April 3, 2010)

LOWEST TOTALS

49 — RCB, vs KKR (Calcutta, April 23, 2017)|
58 — RR, vs RCB (Cape Town, April 18, 2009)|
66 — DD, vs MI (New Delhi, May 6, 2017)

Total centuries: 47

HIGHEST SCORES

175 n.o. — Chris Gayle (RCB) vs Pune Warriors (Bangalore, April 23, 2013)|
158 n.o. — Brendon McCullum (KKR) vs RCB (Bangalore, April 18, 2008)|
133 n.o. — AB de Villiers (RCB) vs MI (Mumbai, May 10, 2015)

MOST 100S

5 — Chris Gayle (RCB)|
4 — Virat Kohli (RCB)|
3 — David Warner (DD- 2, SRH-1)|
3 — AB de Villiers (DD-1, RCB - 2)

FASTEST 100S

30 balls — Chris Gayle (175n.o.), RCB vs PWI (Bangalore, April 23, 2013)|
37 balls — Yusuf Pathan (100), RR vs MI (Mumbai, March 13, 2010)|
38 balls — David Miller (101n.o.), KXIP vs RCB (Mohali, May 6, 2013)

FASTEST 50S

15 balls — Yusuf Pathan (72), KKR vs SRH (Calcutta, May 24, 2014)|
15 balls — Sunil Narine (54), KKR vs RCB (Bangalore, May 7, 2017)|
16 balls — Suresh Raina (87), CSK vs KXIP (Mumbai, May 30, 2014)

LEADING SCORERS

4540 — Suresh Raina (Avg. 34.14)|
4418 — Virat Kohli (Avg. 37.44)|
4207 — Rohit Sharma (Avg. 32.61)

BEST BOWLING

4-0-14-6 — Sohail Tanvir (RR, vs CSK, Jaipur May 4, 2008)|
4-0-19-6 — Adam Zampa (RPS, vs SRH, Visakhapatnam May 10, 2016)

LEADING WICKET-TAKERS

154 — Lasith Malinga (SR 16.6)|
134 — Amit Mishra (SR 19.6)|
127 — Harbhajan Singh (SR 22.9)

Total hat-tricks: 17 
Amit Mishra has done it on three occasions and Yuvraj Singh twice)

BEST BY A ’KEEPER

5 dismissals (all caught) — Kumar Sangakkara (DC, vs RCB, Hyderabad April 14, 2011)Leading ’keepers |
106 (80/26) — D. Karthik |
102 (72/30) — MS Dhoni|
90 (58/32) — Robin Uthappa

MOST CATCHES (FIELDER)

86 — Suresh Raina (161 matches)|
72 — AB de Villiers (129 matches)|
71 — Rohit Sharma (159 matches)Most appearances|
161 matches — Suresh Raina (CSK/GL)|
159 matches — Rohit Sharma (DC/MI)|
159 matches — MS Dhoni (CSK/RPS) 

 

Text: Jaydeep Basu, Indranil Majumdar, Sudipto Gupta &  Sayak Banerjee