IPL 2014: Smart signings to end teams' woes

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

A team that has never boasted quality middle order batsmen over the years since Yuvraj Singh’s departure may finally have their prayers heard in the form of the Australian batsman,George Bailey. Punjab has never been a team that had hard hitting batsman in the middle overs, and neither did they have quality finishers.

George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell – Smart buys from Kings XI Punjab

George Baileys addition along with David Miller and Glen Maxwell might turn the tables for them this year. Kings XI has never looked this solid on paper since IPL 1, but they seem to be a top contender for this years championship. Someone like Cheteshwar Pujara at one end to steady the ship in the middle overs, and an explosive batsman at the other end to add on to the total is envious.

The team management has done their homework right by going aggressively for players that were the missing pieces in the earlier editions.

Mumbai Indians (MI)

They have had trouble in finding players to open the innings in the past. One of the few teams that have tried ‘n’ number of opening combinations in the past, Mumbai Indians will have a solid opener in the form of Michael Hussey this year. His services to Chennai Super Kings in the past has been commendable and MI will be hoping to see Michael Hussey at his best this season.

The addition of Corey Anderson takes away the added dependence on Keiron Pollard’s fireworks towards the end. From the looks of it Aditya Tare and Michael Hussey might open the innings for the Mumbai Indians this season, and that’s a pair to watch out for.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

SRH had been having trouble with their batting last year, and this year might be a lot better for them with the likes of Aaron Finch and David Warner coming into the team. SRH has always been a strong bowling unit and their batsmen have faltered matches in the past that could have easily been theirs with poor performances.

With Moises Henriques and Irfan Pathan down the order their batting seems slightly better than last year. SRH has taken an effort to balance their team well by bidding well for a few good batsmen.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

KKR relied too much on spin last year and found themselves in trouble when Sunil Narine had an off day at the office. Since winning away from home is as important as their home matches, the KKR have bought quite a few quality bowlers that could end their porblems in the fast bowling department.

R Vinay Kumar, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav and Pat Cummins form a lethal pace attack that was missing from their side over the years. KKR has focussed this year on building up their pace department, and they have done it with reasonable success looking at the players they have in their kitty. This might be a turn around for the KKR’s this season.