IPL 2019: Ranking the 8 IPL teams based on average age of players

IPL 2019 auction is done and the franchises have surprised many in their picks. One thing that was evident in the auctions was that young upcoming talent was given importance over experience in the auctions even after Chennai won the previous season with a set of older players.

A few experienced players like Lasith Malinga, Yuvraj Singh did find homes but many others like Manoj Tiwary, Angelo Mathews, Dale Steyn etc. did not find any takers. Young cricketers like Prabhsimran Singh and Prayas Ray Berman surprised many when they went for huge bucks but is a good indicator for Indian cricket as the younger generation will get motivated to perform well.

Let us see what is the average age of the players in each of the 8 IPL teams and which IPL 2019 franchise has the youngest squad.

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# 8 Chennai Super Kings

Average Age of Players– 29.68 years

Imran Tahir is the oldest player in the CSK camp.

There is no surprise here. Chennai Super Kings is known as the Dad's Army in IPL with most of the players in their 30s. The average age of all the players comes to 29.68 which is very much higher compared to the other teams.

Even in IPL 2019, Chennai retained most of their old players from 2018 season who had in fact gotten older by another year. It was a clear indication that Chennai was not planning to change their strategies that were successful in the last season.

The oldest player in the squad is Imran Tahir who is 39 years old and the youngest player is the new recruit from the IPL 2019 auctions, Ruturaj Gaikwad who is 21 years old.

With players with more than enough experience in the world cricket, Chennai Super Kings will be looking forward to defending their title.

#7 Sunrisers Hyderabad

Average Age of Players– 27.43 years

Yusuf Pathan is the oldest player in SRH camp.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has the second oldest team in the IPL 2019 in terms of average age. While the team boasts of a host of younger players like Abhishek Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, and Rashid Khan, the team have many experienced players in the form of Yusuf Pathan, Mohammed Nabi, Wridhiman Saha, and David Warner. There seems to be a good mix of experience and youth in the team.

The oldest player in the squad is Yusuf Pathan who is 36 years old and the youngest player is the new recruit from the IPL 2019 trading window, Abhishek Sharma who is only 18 years old.

Sunrisers Hyderabad can be seen as a team that prefers a bit of experience over youth considering the average age of the players. They have had considerable success with Tom Moody at the helm and will look to get the IPL 2019 trophy back to the Hyderabad soil.

#6 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Average Age of Players –26.58 years

Virat Kohli has ensured that RCB has a good mix of youth with experience in IPL 2019.

RCB has favored the young upcoming talent more in the IPL 2019 auctions and has brought a number of youngsters to the squad bringing down the average age of the team. It is to be noted that they have bought the youngest player in the IPL 2019 season in the form of the 16-year-old Prayas Ray Barman.

Among the other youngsters in the team includes Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmeyer, Himmat Singh and Washington Sundar among the many. The oldest player in the team is incidentally one of the most valuable players in the IPL– AB de Villiers.

Bangalore would be looking at the IPL 2019 season as the season where their title drought could end having invested in youth over experience in the 2019 auctions. Bangalore for once will feel that they might have got a pretty solid lineup this season and with Gary Kirsten at the helm, Bangalore can be expected to make other teams sweat.

#5 Mumbai Indians

Average Age of Players– 26.4 years

Rohit Sharma has made sure that Mumbai Indians have a well-balanced group of players in all the age groups.

With an average age of 26.4, the Mumbai Indians are almost in the middle with the appropriate mix of experience and youth. While their average age increased manifold when they bought Yuvraj Singh and Lasith Malinga in the IPL 2019 auctions, it took a dive when 17-year-old pace bowler from Kashmir, Rasikh Dar was welcomed into the side.

Rasikh Dar is the youngest player in the squad while 37-year-old Yuvraj Singh is the oldest player.

Mumbai Indians will be looking forward to repeating their alternate year IPL title victory saga in 2019 after having won the titles in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Mumbai can be surely be conferred the tag of being one of the teams with the right mix of youth and experience to take the team a long way forward in the IPL 2019.

#4 Kolkata Knight Riders

Average Age of Players– 26.33 years

Dinesh Karthik is the captain and the most experienced player in the KKR camp.

Kolkata Knight Riders team of IPL 2019 has an average age of 26.33 and is slightly lower than Mumbai Indians. KKR is the other side apart from Mumbai Indians that have the right mix of experience and youth in the side.

The oldest player in the squad is the captain of the side Dinesh Karthik himself who is 34 years old and the youngest player is the young Indian pace gun Kamlesh Nagerkoti who is 18 years old.

Apart from Karthik, the team also can rely on the experience of players like Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine while the exuberance of the young former India U-19 players like Shubman gill and Shivam Mavi is a bonus.

With Jacques Kallis as the head coach, KKR will look to continue their 2018 journey in the IPL 2019 and ensure that they don’t stammer at the last line.

#3 Rajasthan Royals

Average Age of Players– 25.72 years

Captain Ajinkya Rahane with the young gun Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals have a history of favoring the young upcoming players and making them big stars in the IPL and it is no surprise that among the top 3 teams that favor young players over experienced players, Rajasthan finds a place. They have an average age of 25.72 in the IPL 2019 season and will be looking forward to using that youth energy to get past other teams in the tournament.

The oldest player in the squad is the former Indian all-rounder Stuart Binny who is 34 years old and the youngest player is the young Riyan Parag, who was bought in the IPL 2019 Auctions, who is 17 years old.

The driving force of the Rajasthan Royals side is the England duo Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes along with the returning Australian Steve Smith and the captain Ajinkya Rahane. Along with these experienced campaigners, the youngsters like Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Oshane Thomas will have a great role to play for Royals to lift the trophy for the second time since the inaugural IPL.

#2 Kings XI Punjab

Average Age of Players– 25.69 years

Chris Gayle might be at the fag end of his IPL career in 2019.

Kings XI Punjab has had a major revamp to their side from the last season retaining the core but very fewer players. The team has undergone a change in their coaching staff also with the Mike Hesson taking charge from Brad Hodge. In the IPL 2019 auctions, Punjab preferred to buy young players releasing experienced campaigners.

The oldest player in the squad is the flamboyant West Indian Chris Gayle who is 39 years old and the youngest player is Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the mystery spinner from Afghanistan, who is 17 years old.

Punjab management will be hoping that their tryst to prefer younger players like Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar, Nicholas Pooran etc. in the auction will pay off in the IPL 2019 season. Being a team that is yet to win the IPL title, Kings XI management will be desperate to bring the title trophy to the Punjab soil.

#1 Delhi Capitals

Average Age of Players– 25.62 years

Prithvi Shaw is one of the youngest players among many in the Delhi Capitals squad.

Delhi Capitals has the youngest team in the IPL 2019 season with an average age of 25.62. Delhi is another team apart from Rajasthan that has preferred to have young players take the team forward.

Incidentally, captain of the Delhi Capitals side, Shreyas Iyer, was one of the youngest captains in the IPL. But it doesn’t mean they are short of experience; Shikhar Dhawan, Colin Ingram and Chris Morris are experienced campaigners who will play a major role heralding this young Delhi Side.

The oldest player in the squad is the experienced Indian spinner Amit Mishra who is 36 years old and the youngest player is Sandeep Lamichhane, the mystery spinner from Nepal, who is only 18 years old.

With the youngest Squad in the IPL 2019 season including the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Sherfane Rutherford, and Keemo Paul, Delhi Capitals will definitely want to make the 2019 IPL season big.

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