IPL2025 : Brief analysis of all Team squads - KKR , SRH , CSK look formidable

 

The IPL2025 season is poised to start in a few days time. KKR & RCB are scheduled  to play the tournament opener at Eden Gardens on March 22 . It is now the right time to have a look at all the teams- their strengths , weaknesses  & do a brief preview of them specially as this IPL is being played after a Mega Auction 

Chennai Super Kings: 

A top side with a lots of gains post Mega Auction. The batting core remained the same but there has been a lot of replenishments on the bowling front .  In batting Ruturaj , Conway , Ravindra , Dube  & new addition  Rahul Tripathy will be a strong top 5 followed by MS Dhoni with his cameos . Vijay Shankar or Deepak Hooda  can be a floater if well used. The bowling has lots of options for all conditions & extremely formidable at home . Jadeja & Ashwin will be in the same team to provide top spinning options with backups like Shreyas Gopal .They can use Rachin Ravindra in spin bowling too. CSK pace attack looks formidable for all conditions with Khaleel Ahmed , Ansul Kambhoj, Mukesh Chowdhury providing pace , bounce & carry while Nathan Ellis & the return of Sam Curran providing the craft in the middle overs . All in all a formidable side for all conditions with a good reserve bench  . Playoff hopes very high as usual . 

Squad : Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Shaik Rashid, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Gurjanpreet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishnan Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth.

Delhi Capitals:

Delhi Capitals made a few losses & a few gains in the mega auction and their squad looks pretty good . While losing Rishabh Pant can be a big one they have roped in a rejuvenated KL Rahul who however may miss a part of the IPL due to birth of his first child . Axar Patel will  lead in this season . Karun Nair is back in IPL fold and he will be watched with interest after his spectacular domestic season . Nair is expected to provide stability in the middle overs which Delhi lacked recently . In Faf Duplessis, Jake Fraser McGurk, Stubbs & keeper Abhishek Porel Delhi have good firepower on batting front and when KL plays it will get stronger . Firepower in the lower order with Rizvi ,  Ashutosh Sharma & Donovan Periera  .  Bowling covers all bases with a strong bowling attack of Starc , Mohit Sharma, Natarajan,  Mukesh Kumar & Chameera. Axar & Kuldeep will provide healthy spin options . Might not have the best of reserve benches but if the first 11 or 15 combines well Delhi can challenge for a playoffs spot . 

Squad :  KL Rahul, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, Tristian Stubbs, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natrajan, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Mukesh Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Dushmanta Chameera, Donovan Ferreira, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.

Gujarat Titans:

The champions in their debut season has replenished their batting with the IPL & England superstar Jos Buttler who will surely open with Gill . Strong & a fiery middle order with the talented Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Lomror, Glenn Phillips & Rutherford . In Rabada , Prasidh Krishna , Siraj & Coetzee they have quality pace stocks and so Shami's loss may not prove to be costly . Sai Kishore , Rashid Khan and Sundar  will marshall the spin department and the last two named will provide firepower in the lower order batting along with Tewatia . A quality team and can be dark horses . Playoffs spot will be challenged by Gujarat Titans .

Squad:  Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler, B. Sai Sudharshan, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Mahipal Lomror, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Gerald Coetzee, Mohmmad Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Sherfane Rutherford, R. Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Kareem Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Kolkata Knight Riders: 

Reigning champions KKR  may have lost two keys players in last season & they are victorious skipper Shreyas Iyer and fast bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc but still they have managed a very strong team again after the mega auction . The batting has a lot of firepower with DeKock , Narine ,  Gurbaz ( two of them may play) or  Venkatesh Iyer all of whom can provide the start at the top . The return of Manish Pandey will provide stability in the middle order if he plays in the XI  . The new skipper this season , Ajinkya Rahane is coming from a great domestic season and if the old warhorse strikes form it will be a great plus for KKR . Good batting reserves in Raghuvanshi.  Lower middle order has insane firepower with Russell , Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh . There is all rounder Moeen Ali up their sleeves too  . Massive spin options with Narine , Varun Chakaravarthy ( even more after his great stint in Champions trophy) , Anukul Roy , Markande and Moeen  Ali . Starc was replaced by Spencer Johnson who has pace & good yorkers . Moreover they gave roped in Anrich Nortje who if he remains injury free and is in rhytm can cause damage . Good Indian pace options with the talented quick Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora with his skills . Great reserve bench and good impact options . Looks a clear front runner for playoffs along with few other top teams 

Squad : Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Umran Malik.

Mumbai Indians

After a mediocre last few seasons , Mumbai Indians are ready to rock with a revamped opening bowling attack . If Bumrah manages to play most games and Trent Boult is in his rhytm then this is the best opening bowling duo in this IPL and most lethal . Topley is also there to provide cover . Deepak Chahar also needs to fire after his injury issues. Hardik Pandya is bowling well lately in internationals . They are a bit thin on spin attack with Santner the only pidegreed spinner . However the batting looks really strong with good backups . Rohit, Rickleton , Jacks , Tilak , Surya & Hardik all can provide massive firepower .  With a champions mentality Mumbai Indians will continue to be a threat in playoffs and their chances always remain high. 

Squad : Hardik Pandya (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Verma, Trent Boult, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Shrijith Krishnan, Raj Angad Bawa, Venkat Satyanarayana Raju, Bevon Jacobs, Arjun Tendulkar, Vignesh Puthhur, Suryakumar Yadav.

Lucknow Super Giants

LSG has made a few changes at the top including the captain. With the exit of KL Rahul & Krunal Pandya as well as DeKock , this still looks a strong outfit with lots of batting firepower . Skipper Pant himself , Nicholas Pooran , Breetzke, Markram , Marsh,  Miller , Badoni  etc will provide batting firepower right from the top to middle.  Promising bowling options with Avesh Khan , fit again  Mohsin Khan , Mayank Yadav ( some doubts on fitness ) , AkashDeep, Hangargekar , Bishnoi , Suddharth will provide the belief though now they will miss Krunal Pandyas overs . Decent overseas bowling option like  Shamar Joseph . Playoffs chances will rest on how the team gels &  how the team is able to handle its injury prone players like Marsh , Mohsin & Mayank 

Squad : Rishabh Pant (c), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bisnoi, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke. Ayush Badoni . 

Punjab Kings:

Punjab Kings is entering IPL 2025 with a lot of hope . They have roped in an IPL winning captain & an IPL winning coach . In the mega auction they worked very hard to get the best talents and was successful to a good extent . The management wants to end their IPL title drought . Their batting has massive firepower and lots of options . Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell ( back in Punjab fold again ) , Stoinis, Prabsimran, Shashank Singh ...all these players can provide the firepower . Shreyas Iyer can provide the stability at number 3 . There is the young  talented  Musheer Khan to provide more option after his insane domestic season . In Omarzai , Maxwell , Stoinis they have a solid overseas all rounder base . Lots of eyeballs will be on talented and hard hitting domestic pace all rounder Suryansh Shedge who can hit the ball a fair distance and double up as a good pace bowler . Good options in pace department in Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Kuldeep Sen, Xavier Bartlett and the fiery  Lockie Ferguson. Each quick has different skillsets which can help the team accross conditions.  However the spin stocks are a bit thin with only Yazuvendra Chahal their lone pidegreed spinner . Chahal will have points to prove after being out of favour for an Indian spot  . Good squad which can travel well  and if they gel well and win more matches at home this time around then playoffs is a very good possibility  . 

Squad :  Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, Nehal Wadhera.

Rajasthan Royals: 

Rajasthan Royals will be considerably weakened this season with the exits of Buttler & Boult . Buttler exit will also hit them emotionally . Even then Rajasthan Royals look an extremely talented team . Yashasvi Jaiswal will no doubt miss Buttler's support this time as opener but his overseas performances for India lately  will give him more confidence after a mediocre last season in IPL . Who will open with Jaiswal remains to be seen and it can be the captain Samson himself . Riyan Parag after a stellar last season is expected to assume more responsibility in the middle order and keep providing the firepower . New recruit  from KKR  Nitish Rana , Heytmer , Jurel and young teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi is expected to provide excitement in the middle phase . Bowling looks talented and varied but Jofra Archer's output will depend on his fitness . With skillful Farooqi, pacy  young Protea sensation Maphaka , Tushar Deshpande ,  Yudhvir Charak & Madhwal there are some skilful fast bowlers and then there is Sandip Sharma , who with his variations is an asset . Spin options are strong too with Lankan duo of  Hasaranga , Theekshana and domestic star Kartikeya Singh . Rajasthan Royals will be underdogs this season . They have the team to trouble the best but playoffs will be tough for them this season. 

Squad : Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer, Wainindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Nitish Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Charak, Fazal Farooqi, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kwena Maphaka, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Will RCB bring smiles to their devoted and strong fanbase finally ? They did well in the mega auction and has a good squad . The new & experienced recruits Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will add to their bowling skills . The English group of Phil Salt , Jacob Bethel &  Liam Livingstone  will provide insane firepower in their batting where Virat Kohli & the new captain and extremely talented Rajat Patidar will be the two cornerstones . Salt is likely to open with Kohli with Patidar at 3 and the strokeplayers to follow . They have solid batting reserves in Romario Shepherd who may actually play in the first XI due to his  bowling . Then they also have the powerhitter in Tim David . So batting has tremendous firepower . The pace attack looks balanced with Hazlewood , Bhuvneshwar, Yash Dayal  & Ngidi in their stocks . There is the left handed Nuwan Thushara , the Malinga clone  . They are a bit thin with spin options so Krunal is important for them this season as well as young leggie  Suyash Sharma. Liam Livingstone with his varied spin can be a vital cog in RCB wheels 

Overall a batting powerhouse but bowling may not be suited for all conditions . RCB can make a brave effort to reach playoffs it could go either way  . If they gel well and can be fearless , they can be a dangerous team 

Squad : Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.

SunRisers Hyderabad: 

SRH was one of the most watched teams last season mainly due to their breathtaking opening pair of southpaws Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head who set IPL 2024 on fire with their dazzling starts . Then they have Klaasen in the middle . They have retained the same core with Cummins at the helm .Nitish Reddy who impressed as an youngster last season , will be watched more keenly after his good show in Australia test series and he can provide good batting firepower & a few bowling overs . They have  strengthened the bowling with the addition of Indian star Mohammed Shami and CSK quick Simarjeet Singh . Ishan Kishan will also add firepower to their batting as is Kamindu Mendis from Sri Lanka who can be a good backup though his T20 outputs are pretty limited.  Harshal Patel can be useful on slower decks with his cutters and slowers . Good spin stocks in Zampa & Rahul Chahar but little spin backups with the exit of Sundar. 

However a strong team capable of winning in away games and making a strong home fortress . A very strong contender for playoffs again 

Squad : Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Mohammad Shami, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa, Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Aniket Verma, Eshan Malinga, Sachin Baby.