IPL2024: Preview - A gripping season awaits in election year

 

The countdown for IPL2024 has began and we are a few days away from the start . The 1st match will be played on 22 March between CSK and RCB at Chennai to start off the 2024 season. This being the election year only a part of the IPL schedule is announced and the rest will be released  after the general election dates are announced . The team lists and the short previews of each team is as under 

 

Chennai Super Kings

With MS Dhoni most likely to play his last IPL, the CSK team as usual looks a formidable squad  with some strong overseas replenishments in Kiwi world cup 2023  heroes Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell.  They have also roped in Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh who will be very handy on sluggish pitches of  Chennai . The core of the team remains the same . With Devon Conway injured and likely to miss this season , Rachin Ravindra can nicely fit in as the opening partner of Ruturaj Gaikwad.  The other overseas may oscillate between Moeen Ali, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchel Santner , Pathirana, Mustafizur & Theekshana , the bowling composition depending on the pitches . They have a decent Indian pace group in the fit again Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Chaudhary, Simarjit Singh , Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur . Hence lots of options for all conditions & again a top contender for the title 

CSK squad : MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Chowdhary, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly

Gujarat Titans

The loss of Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians after a controversial trade and also the injury to bowling spearhead Mohammed Shami may leave a dent in the Titans team composition but they still have a very good squad with lots of bowling and batting options . They have roped in talented Afghan all rounder Omerzai . Kane Williamson who was injured in the first game last year is back fully fit and in good form to bloster the batting and support a young captain in Shubman Gill . GT have good left arm pace options in Josh Little and Aussie fast bowler Spencer Johnson  who can be their x factor with his sheer pace . Gill , Sudharsan,  Williamson, Miller , Rashid Khan and the fast bowlers needs to fire consistently for last year's finalists & 2022 Champions to have an impact in 2024 . 

GT Squad  : David Miller, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Robin Minz, 

Kolkata Knight Riders

With former KKR captain Gautam Gambhir back as a mentor and Shreyas Iyer back as captain and main batter , and with some good and interesting recruits KKR looks a formidable unit . The latest addition of Phil Salt to replace non available Jason Roy will be a blessing in disguise as Salt is a more accomplished T20 batter than Roy and is currently in sumptuous form . Rinku Singh who was a star last season will be the man to watch specially after sone good performances for India after his debut.  KKR have also recruited Sharfane Rutherford who will be a strong backup in case Russell breaks down . Most interesting recruit has been Mitchel Starc (at a record 24 crs base price) . Starc has chosen to return in IPL after a decade and it remains to be seen how he shapes up and lives upto the price tag  . KKR has the best spin stocks in Narine, Suyash, Varun , Mujeeb and others and knowing Gambhir , Eden Gardens might see slower pitches this season.  Shreyas Iyer, Salt , Rinku Singh  , Nitish Rana,  Russell , Narine, Varun and Starc 's performances will shape KKR's future in this season . Title hopes ? If the team gels well with key players performing , KKR can go all the way . 

 

KKR squad : Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Suyash Sharma, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain, Dushmantha Chameera (replacement for Gus Atkinson), Phil Salt (replacement for Jason Roy)

 

 

Lucknow Super Giants

With Rahul fit again LSG looks a great time with very good bench strength . The batting looks formidable with Rahul, DeKock , Pooran , Mayers and Stoinis which shows great fire power with Devdutt Paddikal added to the stocks . David Willey is a great addition to the bowling and West Indies new find Shamar Joseph who have replaced injured Wood will be watched with interest . Players like Rahul , DeKock , Pooran , Stoinis , Bishnoi needs to fire for LSG to pose a challenge . Title hopes ? Has the team to go all the way but a lot will depend on how Rahul leads the team . 

LSG squad : KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Mark Wood (withdrawn, replaced by Shamar Joseph), Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, David Willey, Arshad Khan

 

Mumbai Indians

After the recent controversy with Hardik transfer from Gujarat to Mumbai and he been announced as the captain dethroning 5 time IPL winner Rohit Sharma , Mumbai Indians will be the most watched team this season. Fans will watch how Rohit Sharma plays in this IPL as a normal player also now that  he is the Indian captain to play in the coming  world  up . Mumbai has a strong squad with batting power hitters like Surya Kumar Yadav, Brevis , Ishan Kishan , Tilak Verma , Nehal Wadhera etc. In bowling Akash Madhwal has shown last season his ability to bowl yorkers. Mumbai have roped in Dilshan Madushanka & Coetzee two promising quicks in the last 50 over World cup . Mumbai this time will miss the services of Jason Behrendorff  & Luke Wood of England replaces him. They have also added allrounders Mohammed Nabi & Romario Shephard apart from of course the captain .  Playoffs chances - very good if the team gels well and all is well between Hardik & Rohit 

MI  squad

Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal,  Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya, Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma, Luke Wood

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals has a talented team but their batting fragility made them struggle last year . A lot will depend on how their first choice openers Warner & Shaw  step up . Mitchel Marsh & Axar Patel need a good season for Delhi to prosper and they have two overseas batters of great promise in  Tristan Stubbs & Jake Frasier McGurk who has replaced injured quick Ngidi . Harry Brook who was bought by Delhi in the auction has withdrawn from this years IPL so one of Protean  Stubbs or talented Aussie destructive batter   McGurk who is a predominantly on side player may get a look in .  In Nortje and Jhye Richardson  they have quality overseas quicks to choose from but a lot will depend on their fitness levels after recent spates of injuries to Nortje & Richardson. Also Khaleel Ahmed need to have another good season for DC to prosper along with Kuldeep Yadav . Above all Rishabh Pant is back and it now remains to be seen how he shapes up after a 15 month break due to a life threatening accident and whether he keeps wickets too. All eyes will be on Pant's much awaited  return to competitive cricket.  DC has to gel well in all aspects to win the title this year. 

DC squad : Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav,  Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, Swastik Chhikara, Jake Fraser McGurk

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings are a dangerous team but has consistently failed to live upto their billing despite having a quality team. 

They have a high quality batting lineup with many power hitters . The batting will revolve around Dhawan and  Bairstow . Liam Livingstone & Sam Curran needs to do more as batters to boost the middle order. The bowling has been replenished with the addition of Harshal Patel & Chris Woakes.  Sikander Raza and Mathew Short needs to fire for Punjab to make an impact .  Playoffs chances - a lot depends on how the team plays important moments .

Punjab Kings squad

Shikhar Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Short, Harpreet Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Gurnoor Brar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw

 

Rajasthan Royals

The team that Rajasthan Royals possess , they are a strong contender again. They have great bench strength & can easily field 2 quality teams . They have players in Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel who are in very good form . They have a serious batting lineup and will bank on Jaiswal , Samson , Buttler , Heytmer and an in form Riyan Parag with Jurel helping the lower order. The bowling looks all powerful with quality seamers and spinners which can perform in all conditions. Royals can take the horses for courses approach with their depth in backups  . Rajasthan Royals may well be one of the favourites to lift the title if they gel well in important moments . 

RR  squad 

Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger

 

 

Royal Challengers Bangaluru

RCB like Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings flatter to deceive every year . The strong fanbase have continued to take the dissappointments in their stride. Virat Kohli will be watched after a long layoff from cricket due to personal reasons and he needs to have a good IPL to force his selection for the T20 World cup . RCB has roped in Will Jacks , a high quality & destructive opener for T20 cricket who along with Maxwell will provide massive firepower in the batting to support Faf & Kohli and then there is the all rounder Cameron Green who is traded from Mumbai Indians  .  Remains to be seen whether Kohli drops down to number 3 and what will be the batting number of the talented Rajat Patidar .  Their lower middle order needs to fire more. In bowling they have added Alzarri Joseph & Lockie Ferguson but they lack a good quality spinner . Knockout chances - Lots of components needs to click for RCB to go all the way 

RCB squad

Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar (trade), Vyshak Vijaykumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Curran, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan

 

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers have spend a fotune to buy Pat Cummins and despite his moderate returns in T20 cricket has made him the captain obviously trying to bank on his outstanding captaincy success in international cricket . Thus Aiden Markram, the last years captain & the latest winner of SAT20 will play as a normal player. SRH has also roped in Travis Head after his success in the finals of the WTC & World cup . SRH has already got quality overseas batters in Klaasen & Phillips and in the bowling they have Jansen & Hasaranga . Thus SRH thinktank will have a huge challenge in choosing their best overseas combination and they have to play Cummins the captain in all the games thus only 3 overseas option remains to choose from . SRH have good first class Indian cricketers in their ranks . They need a sensible combination to choose . Their playoffs chances depends on how  quickly they are able to set up their best  XI from the embarassment of riches available to them. . 

SRH squad

Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, Shahbaz Ahmed, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan