IPL Turns 18
The high-octane ICC Champions Trophy just concluded with the men in blue taking home the cup for the third time. But for cricket enthusiasts, that’s no reason to rest, as we prepare for an electrifying 18th season of the Indian Premier League T20, where 10 teams will battle it out for the trophy, starting Saturday, March 22. So it’s time again for Adi’s Crystal Ball to make some predictions. My bet is on Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad coming out tops this year, but competitive cricket, like life, can always throw a curve ball or two.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Premier Buys: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Khaleel Ahmed, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad
Strengths: CSK favors continuity and brought back their old players, including Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. Conway and Ravindra are both prolific batters and CSK will depend on them keeping up their forms, along with captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad. By adding two spinners – R Ashwin and Noor Ahmed – CSK is well set up to excel at their home ground in Chepauk, Chennai. R Ashwin is a hometown legend who, besides being a world-class spinner, can also contribute with his batting. Noor Ahmad was a major factor in the Gujarat Titans becoming champions in 2022, and finalists in 2023. CSK will hope he will bring it on this year as well.
Weaknesses: CSK lacks major power hitters in their middle order, except for Shivam Dube. However, this can change if their talismanic thala, MS Dhoni, can be a major factor again. Last season MSD was significantly limited by a knee injury. He is now post-surgery, and CSK will hope that he can stay fit and contribute significantly.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Premier Buys: Ishan Kishan, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar
Strengths: SRH continued its strategy of prioritizing explosive batting. Last year their team produced scores of about 200 with ease on their home turf in Hyderabad, setting an IPL record of 287. This year they retained the main batters, including Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma and Nitin Kumar Reddy, and added Ishan Kishan to the mix. SRH’s pace bowling ranks have also improved with the addition of Harshal Patel and Mohammed Shami.
Weaknesses: SRH as a team tends to be very volatile. Last season, when the team clicked, they put up record-shattering performances. The same team, however, capitulated with very low scores at times, including in the finals. I think they will continue to struggle to bat on tricky surfaces. They also have a weaker spin department compared to 2024, losing Shahbaz Ahmed and Mayank Markande, while adding only the inconsistent Rahul Chahar.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Strengths: DC had the best auction and is well set up for a landmark season. Harry Brook and Jake Fraser-McGurk were two of my personal favorites. It’s a shame that Brook pulled out last-minute, attracting a two-year ban from IPL. Fraser-McGurk had a great 2024 season, scoring 330 runs in 9 matches at a strike rate of 230. Being only 22 years old, he is a long-term option for DC, and I believe he will be the next big thing in cricket. Brook, another young explosive batter, was also a great buy. Although he underperformed in his first IPL season two years ago, he has since gained experience and I had hoped to see him shine this year.
A huge change for DC is the loss of their charismatic and innovative skipper Rishabh Pant. However, they signed KL Rahul, another wicketkeeper batter, who showed his versatility and consistency in the recent Champions Trophy.
Weaknesses: The overall DC middle order is fairly weak. Abhishek Porel and Ashutosh Sharma had decent 2024 IPL seasons, but both lack experience. DC will heavily rely on their top order and KL Rahul to boost their batting.
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Premier Buys: Jos Buttler, Glenn Phillips, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj
Strengths: The Gujarat Titans have put together a strong top order, with new members such as Jos Buttler and Glenn Phillips set to make debuts for the former champions. Buttler has been a prolific batter for the Rajasthan Royals. Phillips is quite underrated and is a phenomenal all-rounder. He is an aggressive batter, a crafty off-spinner, and the best fielder in the world. They also bolstered their pace bowling contingent with Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj. This pace battery will be useful on their home surface in Ahmedabad and will set them apart from other teams.
Weaknesses: Similar to many teams, GT lacks a strong middle order. They will primarily use Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia, but overall it’s a lackluster group compared to other teams. They will struggle to post high scores on difficult wickets, as their batting depth isn’t strong enough to hold up against the best teams.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Premier buys: Quinton de Kock, Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson
Strengths: The defending champions were able to retain most of their core players from last season, but they lost a key player in Mitchell Starc. They have a formidable spin attack in Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy. They also hope to get breakout seasons from Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Harshit Rana, who both had impressive debut seasons. Raghuvanshi especially is primed for a great sophomore season. What truly set him apart from the others was how he made his runs. He was creative and played around the ground. I think Raghuvanshi is the next batter who will make it to the Indian national team.
Weaknesses: Their batting is likely to be inconsistent; majority of the team has struggled in previous seasons. They also have a couple of downgrades, Mitchell Starc has been replaced with Spencer Johnso, and Phil Salt with Quinton de Kock. Both Starc and Salt were vital to KKR’s championship run last year, and their absence will be felt severely.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
Premier Buys: Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Mitchell Marsh, Akash Deep
Strengths: LSG broke the bank to secure Rishabh Pant for a staggering ₹ 27 crores (~ $3 million), betting that Pant will deliver their first-ever IPL championship. LSG has an impressive Indian bowling core, with Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, and Mohsin Khan. All players have done well in past seasons.This gives LSG the flexibility to use their overseas players for other roles.
Weaknesses: The losses of KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock leave a massive hole at the top order. Currently, LSG’s likely openers are Arshin Kulkarni and Aiden Markram. However, Kulkarni was unable to perform for LSG last season and is wildly inexperienced. South African Markram is a good batter, but hasn’t spent significant time opening innings; he could struggle against the new ball.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Premier buys: Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar (dropped out due to injury. Replaced by Mujeeb Ur Rahman) , Will Jacks
Strengths: MI strongly improved their pace bowling attack with the additions of Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar. Along with Jasprit Bumrah, the trio will be unstoppable and will wreak havoc with the new ball. MI had also signed one of my favorite players in the auction, Allah Ghazanfar, the 18-year-old Afghani spinner who had an unbelievable performance at the most recent U19 World Cup. I am disappointed that he had to drop out due to an injury. They also have great Indian batting talent in Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. This is probably the best Indian lineup in the IPL.
Weaknesses: One major problem that MI faced last year that still hasn’t been addressed is the locker room drama over the captaincy decision between Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma. The team was divided, with multiple players voicing disagreement over the decision to replace Captain Sharma with Pandya. Fans got involved in the controversy in favor of Sharma. If MI is to succeed this season, this issue should be firmly in the past.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Premier buys: Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marco Jansen
Strengths: PBKS replaced almost their entire team, with only two former players remaining. Shreyas Iyer is their new skipper, who just took KKR to an IPL trophy last year. They have also signed on great overseas players, including Glenn Maxwell and Marco Jansen. Both performed well in previous IPL seasons.
Weaknesses: PBKS lacks a strong Indian batting core. They will rely on Shreyas Iyer, Prabhsimran Singh, and Shashank Singh. However, only Iyer has international experience, which is a major weakness for PBKS.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Premier Buys: Jofra Archer, Akash Madhwal, Nitish Rana, Tushar Deshpande
Strengths: RR came into the auction with a seemingly settled squad. They signed a few quality pacers, Akash Madhwal and Tushar Deshpande. Both made valuable contributions last IPL, and RR will hope they will keep it going. They also recruited 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, an elegant left-handed batter, noted for his ferocious power hitting, making him the youngest IPL player ever. However, I believe\ he is still a few years away from being able to succeed at this level.
Weaknesses: RR lost both their Indian spinners, R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, and replaced them with Sri Lankans Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga. This is a serious downgrade, as both are overseas players and are less skilled than the highly experienced Ashwin and Chahal. This will be a weakness in their home stadium, which is notoriously a slow wicket, and at other spin-friendly pitches around the country.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Premier Buys: Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Strengths: RCB this year targeted aggressive batters in the auction, picking up Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt and Jitesh Sharma. All had productive seasons last year. They also got Jacob Bethell, the 21-year-old from England, a good left-handed batter. He has had a few great games against West Indies and New Zealand, and RCB will hope that his untapped potential will work for them.
Weaknesses: RCB has chosen Rajat Patidar as their captain. He lacks experience as a captain, only recently beginning to lead his state team. The team’s likely starting 11 also has only a few players with significant international experience.
Adi’s Crystal Ball Predictions for IPL 2025
Orange Cap: Travis Head
Purple Cap: Yuzvendra Chahal
Emerging Player: Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Player of the Tournament: Sunil Narine
Rankings
- Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Rajasthan Royals
- Chennai Super Kings
- Kolkata Knight Riders
- Mumbai Indians
- Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Delhi Capitals
- Gujarat Titans
- Lucknow Super Giants
- Punjab Kings
Champions
Rajasthan Royals will likely beat Sunrisers Hyderabad