IPL 2020: Strengths and weaknesses of each franchise

The Indian Premier League is closing in and the IPL team owners and team management have already performed the prerequisites, which is the signing of new players. In the tense environment of IPL auction, franchises often find it difficult to get the players they targeted in the horse race.

Coming to the IPL 2020 auctions held in Kolkata last month, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Sunrisers Hyderabad looked already settled with only a thing or two to refine. Delhi Capitals was one of the most active teams along with Royal Challengers Bangalore with most of their overseas slots open. Having the deepest pockets, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders had an impression of being the franchises with most control as they made significant purchases.

Here are the strengths and weaknesses of all the 8 IPL teams ahead of the 2020 edition.

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#1 Chennai Super Kings

Strength: Chennai Super Kings were mostly settled even before the auctions began. They already have a quality batting lineup which has turned out well for them in the past. Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, skipper MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, and Murali Vijay make a strong batting group together with decent overseas as well as Indian options. Having experienced Indian batters in ample quantity is one of their major strengths going into the tournament.

Another fact that makes their case stronger is an abundance of quality spinners. They have a luxury of right-arm, left-arm finger spinners, and leg-spinners to choose from spread across both the Indian and overseas categories. Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Piyush Chawla, and Karn Sharma make a long list of bowlers that can utilize the Chepauk track to the fullest.

In addition to that, the 3-time champions have Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner and Sam Curran as all-rounders to give depth in both the aspects of the game.

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Weakness: Fast bowling is where CSK lacks depth, an aspect which can cost them games when they travel away. Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ngidi are the only options that can consistently lead them throughout the tournament, both with the new ball and at the death. The other options like Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, and Josh Hazlewood might not be the perfect choices while their go-to bowler over the years, Dwayne Bravo, has lost his sharpness in recent times.

#2 Delhi Capitals

Can DC convert their strong squad into the championship?

Strength: The Delhi-based franchise has managed to put up a strong squad for the forthcoming edition of IPL. Their batting looks strong with the presence of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Alex Carey and Jason Roy as they have plenty of quality backup options.

The pace department consists of plenty of overseas options in Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Chris Woakes, Ishant Sharma, and Mohit Sharma.

Weakness: With Ishant Sharma's lack of skills at the death, Delhi Capitals overly rely on overseas seamers to bowl the pressure overs and that might hurt them in the time to come. With only 4 slots available for foreign players, at least two of them have to be taken by the seamers. Remaining slots might get filled by Hetmyer and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis to give them the balance, which makes it difficult for them to pick the talented Sandeep Lamichhane regularly.

Lack of a quality Indian all-rounder and a fast bowler who can bowl crucial overs might sting the balance of their team.

#3 Kings XI Punjab

KXIP has put up an ominous batting lineup for IPL 2020

Strength: The biggest strength for Kings XI Punjab is its power-packed batting lineup. Skipper KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, and Sarfaraz Khan give them plenty of Indian and overseas options to play with.

On top of that, they have managed to get hold of all-round options that increase their batting depth and at the same time, can come-in to bowl a few overs. Maxwell, James Neesham, K. Gowtham, and Deepak Hooda make it to their all-rounders' list.

Weakness: What KXIP lacks is the class of spin-bowlers in their squad. They have Krishnappa Gowtham, Jagdeesha Suchith, Murugan Ashwin, and rookie Ravi Bishnoi to play with while playing foreign player Mujeeb Ur Rahman consistently might be difficult for them.

In addition to that, they only have Mohammed Shami as a bankable Indian seam-bowler and they might have to rely on Chris Jordan and Sheldon Cottrell to perform the job for them.

#4 Kolkata Knight Riders

DK is set to lead KKR for the third season

Strength: Kolkata Knight Riders have plenty of overseas options in every category, which is batting, bowling, and all-rounder. While Englishmen Tom Banton and Eoin Morgan reinforce their batting, historic signing Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, and Harry Gurney add to their fast-bowling arsenal. The all-rounders Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Chris Green give them plenty of options to play with.

The KKR middle-order looks solid after their past struggles with the addition of English skipper to the mix.

Their spin department is solid as well with the pair of Narine and Kuldeep in the lineup, and Chris Green as a backup.

Weakness: There is a dearth of quality Indian fast bowlers and overdependence on overseas players might make their options rigid, with Russell, Narine, Morgan, and Cummins expected to feature regularly in the XI.

In addition to that, they lack experienced Indian batsmen with only skipper Dinesh Karthik as a reliable option as Shubman Gill is still a rookie and Nitish Rana has been highly consistent.

#5 Mumbai Indians

MI will look to defend their title

Strength: The batting mix composing of Rohit Sharma, Chris Lynn, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Saurabh Tiwary makes the Mumbai Indians batting lineup very solid with plenty of opening and middle-order options play with. They have abundance in the all-rounders' department with Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, and Sherfane Rutherford as alternatives.

Apart from that, the fast-bowling department was already stable with Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, and the addition of Trent Boult and Nathan Coulter-Nile has provided the depth. Having a strong Indian core is what makes the MI squad secure and dangerous.

Weakness: Mumbai Indians seemed to have an excess of seam-bowling options that their spin-bowling looks bleak. Rahul Chahar is the lone option that conveys the impression of a wicket-taker while Krunal Pandya and Jayant Yadav are more likely to play the role of supporting bowlers. Though Wankhede assists the seamers, away games can hurt the 4-time champs having a shortage of spinners.

#6 Rajasthan Royals

Steve Smith returns to RR as their captain

Strength: Rajasthan Royals have strengthened their core with the addition of Indian players like Robin Uthappa and a couple of good trades in Mayank Markande and Ankit Rajpoot. The retained options include Sanju Samson, Shreyas Gopal, Manan Vohra, and the re-signing of Jaydev Unadkat has lightened their pockets.

When it comes to overseas groups, RR has one of the strongest ones with each of them being a match-winner in one way or the other. Players like Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, and Jofra Archer can not only win matches but tournaments if they have a good season.

Weakness: Rajasthan Royals depends on their foreign players in every aspect of the game, be it batting, bowling, or all-rounder options. This is the reason why game-changers like David Miller and Andrew Tye might find themselves on the sidelines for the entire season. Though they make up a decent playing XI, they lack established Indian players on the bench who can take control of the game in case of injury.

Furthermore, they don't have versatility in their spin department, with most of them being wrist spinners.

#7 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Can RCB turn their fortunes in 2020?

Strength: RCB has always managed to put a solid batting lineup with skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers forming the core. To support them, they have Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Aaron Finch, and Gurkeerat Singh. The Bengaluru-based franchise also have a decent backup wicket-keeper in Josh Phillipe.

To provide the balance to the team, they have Moeen Ali, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, and the recently signed Chris Morris who can tonk the ball hard and bowl significant overs for them. Kane Richardson and Dale Steyn will provide decent support to their first choice death bowler Morris. The spin bowling looks impressive too with a mix of finger-spinners and leg spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Weakness: RCB lacks Indian bowling options who can bowl at the death. Umesh Yadav mostly gets bowled out early and Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini have both been quite expensive in the past. For all these reasons, they will bank upon their foreign alternatives to step up.

Moreover, they lack a decent Indian wicket-keeper as Parthiv Patel gives the feeling of only a powerplay batter and finds it difficult to carry on after the first 6 overs. The backup in Josh Phillipe is an overseas uncapped player who has no experience of playing in Indian conditions.

#8 Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH looks solid at the top of the order

Strength: The former IPL champions have one of the most devastating opening pairs with a reputation of destroying the bowling lineups in international cricket. Their middle-order is supported by skipper Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar and youngsters like Virat Singh and Priyam Garg.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has an exciting set of Indian bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, and Khaleel Ahmed. The Afghanistan duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi makes their spin-attack more than decent.

Weakness: SRH's overseas slots looked occupied already with obvious choices in Jonny Bairstow, David Warner, skipper Kane Williamson, and leggie Rashid Khan. These names make them reluctant to make any changes except for an injury which might hurt them as the tournament progresses. It has made it difficult for them to slot in Australian quick Billy Stanlake even when the Indian bunch performs ordinarily.

Furthermore, they lack a quality Indian spin option to partner Rashid Khan with Shahbaz Nadeem as the best they can come up with.