IPL 2019: 3 weakest batting line-ups on paper

Batting is the most important element of any squad in the IPL. One cannot hope to win T20 matches by putting inadequate runs on the board. Although it is said that no team can survive without a strong bowling attack, at the end of the day it is the runs that count and the team who scores more of them ends up being victorious.

In the era of flat pitches, big bats and smaller boundaries, the batsmen have all the tools at their disposal to score big runs. Hence, it is imperative for them to make the best use of the conditions and give bowlers a huge total to bowl at.

In the IPL 2019 Auction, some teams were passive when batsmen were up for grabs and did not bid for them thinking they got enough batting in their tank. However, it was too late when they realized the others have built much stronger batting arsenal and their own is looking brittle. As a result, these teams are over-reliant on a couple of batsmen which is clearly not a good sign.

In this article, we will take a look at the three batting line-ups that appear to be the weakest on the paper.

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#3 Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals

The Rajasthan Royals' batting line-up in the IPL 2019 is a mixed bag. While there are some superstar batsmen like Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Ben Stokes, there is plenty of inexperience in there as well.

The biggest problem the RR will be facing is that their big names viz. Steve Smith, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes will be departing halfway through the tournament as the World Cup is around the corner and also because England is playing a series against Pakistan just before that. When they leave, Rajasthan will be exposed to the inexperience of domestic players.

In such circumstances, it is very imperative for both Rahane and Samson to make a contribution every game to make sure that RR stays in the hunt for the playoffs.

Batting options: Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Prashant Chopra, Stuart Binny, Manan Vohra, Shubham Ranjane, Liam Livingstone, Ashton Turner, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shreyas Gopal

#2 Kings XI Punjab

Despite all the big strikers in their ranks, the Kings XI Punjab batting line-up looks uncharacteristically fragile. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul are known to be devastating batsmen on their day but if they do not get going, there is no one in the middle order who can rescue the side after a top-order collapse.

Karun Nair, David Miller, and Mayank Agarwal are the glue in this team which holds together the top and the lower order but without contribution from KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, the KXIP lack the firepower to post totals of 200+.

Also, the KXIP do not have a lot of experienced backup options in case any of their main batters show indifferent form. The KXIP batting crumbled a few times towards the business end of the tournament last season and same could be the case this time around.

Batting options: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, David Miller, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Moises Henriques, Prabhsimran Singh, Andrew Tye, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardus Viljoen, Arshdeep Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Harpreet Brar.

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#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Can you imagine a batting line-up containing Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers being called the weakest in the tournament? Well, believe it or not, but this Royal Challengers Bangalore batting does not look threatening at all despite having cricket's two biggest superstars in their armory.

One huge weakness the RCB have is there is not a single experienced batsman barring Virat Kohli. They committed a blunder by letting go Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra from last season. Parthiv Patel usually provides good starts but is known to get out in the twenties and thirties. Except him, the only other capped Indian batsman is Gurkeerat Singh Mann.

The rest including Shimron Hetmyer, Heinrich Klassen, Akshdeep Nath and the like have not spent years in the IPL and lack the experience required to seize the crucial moments in the nail-biting encounters. It is fair to say that RCB is going to have a very hard time when both Kohli and de Villiers get out cheaply.

Batting options: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Shimron Hetmyer, Heinrich Klassen, Akshdeep Nath, Moeen Ali, Devdutt Paddikal, Himmat Singh, Colin de Grandhomme, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dubey, Nathan Coulter-Nile.