Ft. KKR, PBKS, RR, LSG, SRH
The upcoming season of Indian Premier League is just a couple of days away and the fans are gearing up to witness tough competition and a fight for the elusive title. Teams have been hampered by players’ injuries as well as unavailability but replacements have been named and the tourney is about to begin. With this, here is how each team would look on paper and their major strengths as well as weaknesses in the upcoming season –
Knights bank on Caribbean Powerhouses in Shreyas Iyer’s absence
The Kolkata Knight Riders have been dealt with a huge blow before the start of the season with Skipper-Shreyas Iyer set to miss few games due to injury. Nitish Rana has been appointed the interim captain and is set to take up the leadership responsibilities as well as of the team’s key batsman. With all things happening around the team, the Caribbean superstars Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are as always expected to do the bulk of the team’s performance with Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das set to miss few games as well.
Eyes on Shikhar Dhawan, Overseas Contingent as Punjab Kings look to end Playoffs Drought
Punjab Kings have failed to acquire a big Indian batsman after the departure of Mayank Agarwal and the depth in Indian batting looks weak as Shikhar Dhawan remains the team’s only capped Indian batsman. Jitesh Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan were given opportunities last season but the later has failed to live upto expectations. With a weak Indian batting core, all eyes remain on Shikhar Dhawan and the foreign bastmen Liam Livingstone and Bhanuka Rajapaksa to carry the team’s batting with Johnny Bairstow also ruled out due to injury. His replacement Matthew Short could possibly turn out to be the team’s X-factor but his lack of game time in Indian conditions could hamper the same.
Rajasthan Royals’ bet on specialists set for a second time success?
Rajasthan Royals’ theory of 6 batsmen and 5 bowlers did fare well last season though they felt short in both areas on few occasions. This time around they have managed to bridge the gap and provide themselves with some sort of depth in both areas with Jason Holder joining the Royals Camp. Riyan Parag is set to receive a larger role with the ball this season as the team of specialists is set to bridge the gaps this time around.
Nicholas Pooran in focus as K.L. Rahul reunites with old ally –
Nicholas Pooran and K.L. Rahul are set to reunite after their stint at the Punjab Kings and they would hope to turn the fortunes of their new team with strong performances this time around. Pooran is entering the IPL on the back of solid knocks in international arena and is expected to take up the middle order responsibility along with Deepak Hooda and Marcus Stoinis.
Underrated Stars hope to turn the tables for SRH
All eleven players along with those on the bench in the Sunrisers camp including their skipper are heavily underrated but proven match-winners in their own. Be it Mayank Agarwal at the top, Aiden Markram in the middle or Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball, all of them are capable of delivering match winning performances and have done it in the past as well. With no Box office players but underrated stars are the helm, SRH have a very solid team this time around which is not dependent on individual performances and has the ability to win as a team.
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