Rating the squads for IPL 2015

The player auctions for the eighth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded a couple of weeks ago in Bangalore. This time around, there wasn’t too much of a hype around the event owing to the ongoing World Cup. In fact, Ireland effected the first major upset of the tournament on the very same day that the auctions took place when they beat the once mighty West Indies by 4 wickets.Another reason for a lull in interest was the fact that not many teams were expected to buy too many players given that many of the teams had undergone a revamp just one season back. Overall, a total of 344 players went under the hammer, of which 67 players were acquired by various franchises for a combined total amount of Rs. 87,60,00,000.Yuvraj Singh was the star of the auction for the second year running as the Delhi Daredevils acquired his services for a whopping amount of Rs. 16 crore. In the process, his record of being the most expensive player in the IPL was bettered by a good 2 crore. Another talking point from the auction was the rejection of some of the big names like Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Alex Hales and Marlon Samuels. While the franchises gave some of the big names a miss, there was an almost crazy sort of a bidding war for certain unknown commodities such as Shreyas Iyer and KC Cariappa. While the former has played a few first-class games and has even represented the Indian U-19 team, the latter is yet to play even a single first-class game.With both of these players being very young, one can just hope that they live up to their price tag for the larger good of Indian cricket. Now that the auction has concluded, let’s take a look at each of the teams and rate them accordingly:P.S: 1) The list is in alphabetical order. 2) Every slide begins with the current squad in which the players in normal text indicate retained players while the ones in bold indicate new acquisitions.

#1 Chennai Super Kings: 9.5/10

Squad for IPL 2015: MS Dhoni, Ashish Nehra, Baba Aparajith, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Faf du Plessis, Ishwar Pandey, Matt Henry, Mithun Manhas, Mohit Sharma, Pawan Negi, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Samuel Badree, Suresh Raina, Ronit More, Michael Hussey, Rahul Sharma, Kyle Abbott, Irfan Pathan, Pratyush Singh, Ankush Bains, Eklavya Dwivedi, Andrew Tye.

Team Intro: In spite of all the off-field controversies, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are still the team to beat on the field. Though foreign players are important, it is the Indian players that make a big difference, an area where the Chennai-based franchise are way ahead of the other teams. Their squad consists of 16 Indian players, of which 8 either play for India or have at least played for India at some stage in their career. This amalgamation of quality Indian players with their overseas counterparts has yielded good results.

Strengths:

Captaincy: In MS Dhoni, the Super Kings have a very stable captain, someone who has led them from the very first season. He has vast experience and has led his team to a lot of success.

Excellent past record: Having made it to at least the last four in every IPL season, CSK are undoubtedly the most successful team in the IPL. Their never say die attitude has helped them get through the toughest of situations.

Well defined core and a balanced squad: Chennai have a few core players in their team whose roles are clearly defined and who they have managed to retain over the years. Their team is well balanced and does not have too many weak areas.

Weaknesses:

Over-reliance on Indian players: Given that quite a few members of CSK’s starting XI play for the Indian team, this is something that could work against them. Since the IPL commences just 10 days after the World Cup, these players could be fatigued and it may have a bearing on their performance.

Final Verdict

Yet again, CSK look the most balanced team in the tournament and will start as favourites.

#2 Delhi Daredevils: 7/10

Squad for IPL 2015: JP Duminy, Kedar Jadhav, Manoj Tiwary, Mohammed Shami, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Quinton De Kock, Saurabh Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Agarwal, Imran Tahir, Jayant Yadav, Angelo Mathews, Yuvraj Singh, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, Gurinder Sandhu, Shreyas Iyer, CM Gautam, Dominic Muthuswamy, Albie Morkel, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Kona Srikar Bharat, KK Jiyaz, Zaheer Khan

Team Intro: Delhi Daredevils have undergone such a major revamp in this year’s auction that not a single player from the above image will be representing the franchise this season. They’ve retained only 11 members of their 25-member squad from the previous season. Unlike teams like Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals who have a well-defined core, the Daredevils undergo massive changes almost every year.

Strengths:

Presence of genuine all-rounders: The Daredevils boast of some of the best all-rounders in the business namely Yuvraj Singh, Angelo Mathews, Albie Morkel and JP Duminy.

Gary Kirsten as coach: In Gary Kirsten, Delhi have an astute cricketing mind as their coach. Having won the Cricket World Cup with India in 2011, he knows what it takes to win a big tournament.

Weaknesses:

Too many new faces: As mentioned above, 14 members of Delhi’s squad are new acquisitions. It will take time for them to gel and work as a unit.

Lack of quality spin bowling options: Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra are the only frontline spinners with international experience under their belt. Moreover, they are both leg spinners, so there is a lack of variety as well. Though Yuvraj and Duminy can bowl, they cannot be expected to come good in every game.

Final Verdict

Like every other season, Delhi have undergone a major revamp and one can just hope that this time around it will bring about a change in their fortunes.

#3 Kings XI Punjab: 9/10

Squad for IPL 2015: Axar Patel, Anureet Singh, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karanveer Singh, Manan Vora, Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, Rishi Dhawan, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Shaun Marsh, Shivam Sharma, Thisara Perera, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha, Murali Vijay, Nikhil Naik, Yogesh Golwalkar

Team Intro: In the player auctions for IPL 2015, the Kings XI Punjab bought just 3 players. This is pretty indicative of how strong their squad from 2014 is. Apart from their bowling, the finalists from the previous edition do not appear to have too many grey areas as such and they would, therefore, be pretty hopeful of repeating the stellar success they achieved in the previous season.

Strengths:

Captaincy: Geoge Bailey, the captain of Kings XI Punjab, is one of the calmest cricketers around. He barely gets flustered in a tense situation and is a reassuring presence in the dressing room, something that is needed amidst the frenzy of the IPL.

Batting: With big names like Virender Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, David Miller, Shaun Marsh, Thisara Perera, Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha in their team, Punjab have the most power packed batting lineup in the IPL.

Retention of previous year’s team: With only 3 new additions, the KXIP squad looks very similar to the one from last year. Most players know each other well, a vital element for team building.

Weaknesses:

Bowling: The Chandigarh-based franchise do not have the same quality in their bowling attack as they do in their batting. Both the spin and the pace department lack depth. While Johnson is the only experienced pacer, Axar Patel is the only experienced spinner.

Lack of all-rounders: Though the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Thisara Perera and Axar Patel are genuine all-rounders, they cannot be expected to come good with both bat and ball in every game.

Final Verdict

As mentioned above, Kings XI Punjab can go a long way this year too, but a lot will be riding on the success of their batsmen.

#4 Kolkata Knight Riders: 9/10

Squad for IPL 2015: Gautam Gambhir, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Morne Morkel, Patrick Cummins, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Ryan ten Doeschate, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Veer Pratap Singh, Yusuf Pathan, James Neesham, Brad Hogg, Aditya Garhwal, Sumit Narwal, KC Cariappa, Vaibhav Rawal, Sheldon Jackson

Team Intro: The Kolkata Knight Riders are the most improved team of the IPL. After enduring a disastrous first 3 seasons, they altered their strategy of going in for only the big names. They roped in quite a few lesser known players who could win games for the team on their day. This reduced their reliance on a certain set of players, thereby allowing them to play with a lot more freedom.

Strengths:

Captaincy: Gautam Gambhir has led the Knight Riders to two IPL titles. He is someone who leads from the front and instills a lot of belief in his players. He will also be eyeing the IPL as a perfect opportunity to make a comeback to the Indian team

Spin bowling: KKR’s spin attack is led by Sunil Narine, arguably one of the best limited-overs bowlers. The likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav and Brad Hogg further bolster their spin attack.

Stable and successful opening pair: The Uthappa-Gambhir pair was a big hit for the Knights in the previous edition of the IPL. In every game, the duo got their team off to a good start and were one of the major reasons for KKR’s title success.

Weaknesses:

Lack of specialist batsmen in the middle order: KKR’s middle order and lower middle order consists of far too many all-rounders, a move that can backfire if they are left to play too many overs

Patchy pace attack: There is no doubt about the quality of pacers Morne Morkel, Patrick Cummins, Andre Russell and Umesh Yadav. However, they are all injury prone and can be very patchy at times.

Final Verdict

The Kolkata Knight Riders look a strong side who will fight it out to defend their title.

#5 Mumbai Indians: 8.5/10

Squad for IPL 2015: Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare, Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood, Keiron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Marchant de Lange, Pawan Suyal, Shreyas Gopal, Lendl Simmons, Unmukt Chand, R Vinay Kumar, Parthiv Patel, Aaron Finch, Pragyan Ojha, Mitchell McClenaghan, Akshay Wakhare, Aiden Blizzard, Hardik Pandya, Siddhesh Lad, J Suchith, Nitish Rana, Abhimanyu Mithun

Team Intro: The Mumbai Indians are one of the most consistent teams of the IPL. After a poor first couple of seasons, they have made it to at least the last four in every season. A major reason behind this is their ability to retain core players like Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard.

Strengths:

Quality Indian players: Just like CSK, Mumbai can boast of some really quality Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, R Vinay Kumar and Parthiv Patel in their ranks.

Excellent backroom staff: With Ricky Ponting as the coach, Anil Kumble as the chief mentor and Jonty Rhodes as the fielding coach, MI have an excellent backroom staff, all of whom were excellent players during their time.

Pace attack: Mumbai have arguably the best pace attack in the IPL. Lasith Malinga, one of the best pacers in limited overs cricket, is at the helm of it. The other members are Mitchell McClenaghan, Josh Hazlewood, Marchant de Lange, Jasprit Bumrah and Corey Anderson, all of whom can bowl at a brisk pace and also swing the ball.

Weaknesses:

Shakiness in deciding stages: Mumbai have been guilty of losing their form in the dying stages of the IPL, when it matters the most. Thrice they have made it to the last four and crashed out and also lost one final.

Lack of depth in spin department: Harbhajan Singh almost single handedly mans this department. Pragyan Ojha has just been cleared of a suspect action and the other available options are not too well known.

Final Verdict

The Mumbai Indians can win the title if they can shake off their nerves in the deciding stages.

#6 Rajasthan Royals: 8.5/10

Squad for IPL 2015: Shane Watson, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ankit Nagendra Sharma, Ben Cutting, Deepak Hooda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dishant Yagnik, James Faulkner, Kane Richardson, Karun Nair, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Tewatia, Rajat Bhatia, Sanju Samson, Steven Smith, Stuart Binny, Tim Southee, Vikramjeet Malik, Chris Morris, Juan Theron, Barinder Singh Saran, Dinesh Salunkhe, Sagar Trivedi, Pardeep Sahu

Team Intro: The Rajasthan Royals are the dark horses of the IPL. Though they haven’t tasted any success after winning the first season, they always punch above their weight. Being the talent warehouse of the IPL, they have churned out some really good players like Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Ajinkya Rahane and James Faulkner over the years.

Strengths:

Well defined roles of players: Rajasthan’s biggest strength is that they do not rely on a few players and it is often a team effort that yields them success; every member of the team has a well defined role that he has to perform.

The element of surprise: The Jaipur-based franchise always spring a surprise or two. The opponents can never really know what to expect when they are playing the Royals. This keeps them honest and allows Rajasthan to dominate them.

Medium pacers: Though Rajasthan have an excellent pace attack, their medium pacers are a trump card for them. Rajat Bhatia, Stuart Binny, Abhishek Nayar and Vikramjeet Malik are all wily customers who can take pace off the bowl and dry the runs.

Weaknesses:

Captain’s lack of form: Shane Watson, the captain and a vital cog of Rajasthan’s team, has been in indifferent form of late. With both bat and ball, he has been a pale shadow of his former self.

Lack of depth in spin department: A lot will depend on Pravin Tambe, the only experienced spinner in the Rajasthan camp. An injury to him would mean that youngsters like Rahul Tewatia and Ankit Sharma will have to handle the spin department.

Overall Verdict

Rajasthan Royals have a pretty good side and can go a long way in the tournament, but they will need to fire as a unit for that to happen.

#7 Royal Challengers Bangalore- 9/10

Squad for IPL 2015: Virat Kohli, AB de Villers, Chris Gayle, Mitchell Starc, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Rilee Rossouw, Vijay Zol, Yogesh Takawale, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Ashok Dinda, Sandeep Warrier, Manvinder Bisla, Iqbal Abdullah, Dinesh Karthik, Subramaniam Badrinath, Darren Sammy, Sean Abbott, Adam Milne, David Wiese, Jalaj Saxena, Sarfaraz Naushad Khan, Shishir Bhavane

Team Intro: ‘Underachievers’ - This word is enough to introduce the Royal Challengers Bangalore. In spite of having the best players as part of their setup, they haven’t scaled the heights that were expected of them. Other than two appearances in the finals and one in the semis, they have largely disappointed their fans.

Strengths:

Captaincy: Virat Kohli, the vice-captain of India’s limited-overs teams and one of the best batsmen in the world, leads Bangalore in the IPL. He is a very hungry player who is always looking to improve his game and is someone who leads from the front.

Batting: In terms of batting firepower, RCB can easily give Punjab a run for their money. Their batting lineup consists of some excellent batsmen like Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Dinesh Karthik, Rilee Rossouw and Darren Sammy.

Home crowd: RCB are probably the only team in the IPL that can consider this as a strength as they have the most vociferous crowds backing them at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. It is one of the reasons why the ground is considered a fortress.

Weaknesses:

Bowling: It has always been and continues to be a weak area for RCB. While Mitchell Starc will have a lot to do in the pace department, Yuzvendra Chahal will have to do a majority of the work in the spin department as the bowling lacks depth.

Chokers: RCB can be called the chokers of the IPL as they have this strange habit of goofing things up in crucial games.

Final Verdict

Bangalore can win the title this time, but for that, their bowlers need to bowl out of their skins.

#8 Sunrisers Hyderabad: 9.5/10

Squad for IPL 2015: Shikhar Dhawan, Ashish Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chama Milind, Dale Steyn, David Warner, Ishant Sharma, Karn Sharma, KL Rahul, Moises Henriques, Naman Ojha, Parvez Rasool, Ricky Bhui, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson, Ravi Bopara, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Praveen Kumar, Trent Boult, Hanuma Vihari, Prasanth Padmanabhan, Siddarth Kaul

Team Intro: After putting in an impressive performance in their first season in 2013, the Sunrisers Hyderabad were way below par in 2014. However, this time around, they seem to be determined to prove a point as they had a very good day at the auctions. They were one of the busiest teams as they roped in 10 players. Moreover, they were very smart in terms of their buys as they bought some quality players like Kevin Pietersen, Kane Williamson, Eoin Morgan and Hanuma Vihari for relatively smaller amounts.

Strengths:

Options aplenty: This is a big plus for the Sunrisers as they have almost two to three contenders vying for almost every position in the team, something that can create healthy competition. Moreover, most of their players are flexible and can be accommodated at any position as per the needs of the team.

All-rounders: Hyderabad have some genuine all-rounders like Moises Henriques, Ravi Bopara, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Karn Sharma who can be relied upon to come good with both bat and ball.

Swing bowlers: The Sunrisers possess the best swing bowling attack in the IPL by a fair distance. Dale Steyn, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Trent Boult, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Moises Henriques can all swing the ball a fair bit and trouble the batsmen.

Weaknesses:

Spin bowling: Like most IPL teams, there is no depth in this department. A lot depends on Karn Sharma as the other options are very inexperienced.

Overall Verdict

Given the strength and the depth of their squad, the Sunrisers look like genuine title contenders.