IPL 2025 - Team Previews & Predictions
Teams that retain a good core often do well, and that's probably going to be case in this IPL as well.
The 18th season of the IPL is here. This one is after a mega-auction which essentially means most of us will need 2 weeks to correctly remember which younger/lesser-known players we like have moved to which teams. Consistent with their usual strategy, some teams like CSK, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, SRH, and KKR have gone with a strategy to retain/buy back a pretty big core. DC and RCB have retained a few players, while others like Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants have gone for a fresh start.
Here’s a team-wise breakdown of each team’s strengths & weaknesses:
Mumbai Indians
Strengths
Ryan Rickleton is in great form, he is also a wicket-keeper and he will possibly open with an experienced line-up of Rohit, SKY, Tilak Verma, and captain Hardik Pandya. One could argue that this is the best top 5 batting orders in this IPL.
With New Zealand captain Mitch Santner alongside Mujeeb, this is a formidable spin attack with one finger spinner who is in great form and a wrist spinner as back-up.
New ball wicket takers: Trent Boult, returning to MI, and Deepak Chahar will be handy with the new ball and allow them to save Bumrah’s overs for the depth.
Concerns
Really the only concern is Jasprit Bumrah’s availability and fitness. If Bumrah is available for most of the season, they are going to very well. In case he is out most of the season, it’s obviously a big miss. Boult has improved as a depth bowler and Hardik is smart too, but neither are Bumrah-level.
Would love to see
U-19 star Raj Bawa is in the squad and hopefully he will get a few games with Hardik missing the 1st one.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Strengths
The defending champions have been smart in the auction/retention and really retained players with multiple skills (Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell) or unique skills that really suit their plan at the Eden Gardens like Varun Chakravarthy. Shreyas Iyer is a fabulous player and captained the side well but he was only a batter, so they didn’t break the bank for him.
Solid bowling attack with Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora available, and quicks Umran Malik and Anrich Nortje to bring in when needed. The first two have been solid, can swing the new ball and then have variations to keep batter in check. Add the spin attack of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine to that at Eden Gardens - there’s a lot to like here.
Weaknesses
From a batting perspective, this is a high-variance XI. The likes of Sunil Narine, Quinton De Kock, Rinku and Andre Russell will be destructive on their day and could be very ordinary if chances don’t come off. Although they bat deep with Ramandeep likely coming in at 8, one of Rahane, impressive Raghuvanshi and Venkatesh Iyer will need to be consistent.
Punjab Kings
Strengths
With Prabhsimran likely to open, Glenn Maxwell at 4, captain Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis, and former MI batter Nehal Vadera and retained Shashank Singh - they have pretty good batting firepower with Marco Jansen available to bat at 7/8. Unproven yet, but exciting Priyank Ansh is also part of the line-up but unsure he will get a chance.
Amongst bowlers, they have IPL regulars Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar and Yuzi Chahal in the line-up with all rounders to support, and the likes of Lockie Ferguson or Yash Thakur available to complete the attack. It’s not that best attack of the line-up
Weaknesses
They play 7 home games across two different grounds, and will have the hope the conditions don’t vary too much. Last year, their batting got into the groove and scored some big runs and with this line-up, they will hope for the same across the two grounds.
As good as they appear on paper, Punjab Kings are a new side with the exception of a handful of players. Even Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer are new to the set up and it sometimes takes a season to figure out roles and who bats where.
Lucknow Super Giants
Strengths
There’s a few solid retained players like Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Ravi Bishnoi and Mohsin Khan. They have brought in Rishabh Pant and David Miller, both good strikers of the ball, and could play Abdul Samad as an Impact Sub as well. Shahbaz Ahmed is a decent allrounder who adds some balance too.
Weaknesses
Where is the bowling line-up? Apart from Ravi Bishnoi, who are the bowlers that can be depended on for a full quota of 4 overs? Thanks to injuries, a lot of their bowling attack is unavailable (Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav) and I am not sure Akash Deep or Akash Singh is as dependable in T20s.
They aren’t the best managed franchise, as we saw last season year with the owner arguing with captain KL Rahul after a game, and it won’t be easy for Rishabh Pant or other new faces to gel instantly.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Strengths
With Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, and Rajat Patidar - they have some firepower to balance the Virat Kohli and Devdutt Paddikkal, who are more accumalators. With back-up option like Jacob Bethell, they definitely have what it takes to score runs quickly particularly at their home ground.
Weaknesses
As RCB often does, the bowling line-up is quite ordinary. Although he had a good first game, Krunal Pandya isn’t a big wicket taker and Suyash Sharma hasn’t shown the same consistency yet. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood are good and can bowl in all phases, Rasikh Dar and Yash Dayal are decent but there’s really no X-factor. I expect this bowling line-up to struggle on flat batting pitches, of which there will be plenty.
Who are the spin hitters? Apart from Rajat Patidar, who is fabulous players of spin, there’s no one who can take on spin bowling. Kohli has shown a lot of improvements in recent months (like the Champions Trophy), but uncertainty over where Padikkal plays and Livingstone’s ordinary record - teams with a good spin attack will definitely try to target this.
Delhi Capitals
Strengths
This is flexible line-up. There’s Axar Patel, who can bat anywhere in the middle order. There’s KL Rahul, who can bat everywhere. Tristan Stubbs is an amazing striker and can be brought in based on match ups. And at the top, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis provide plenty of firepower. And there’s Sameer Rizvi if you can somehow fit him in.
Weaknesses
From a bowling standpoint, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitch Starc and T Natarajan make up a good core, with each a definite in each phase of the innings. But apart from Axar Patel, there’s not as much as depth as you would like for a long season.
They have retained a few players with an experienced coach in Hemang Badani, but altogether this is a new set up. They will definitely have some good games thanks to the talent they have, but will have to find consistency to make it to the playoffs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Strengths
If you think the top 5 of the Mumbai Indians are amazing, this top 5 is somehow even more explosive. The likes of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Ishan Kishan can go from ball one, and Heinrich Klassen and Nitish Kumar Reddy are superstars too.
The bowling has good variety - Harshal Patel has solid slower balls, Shami has joined them and can bowl yorkers and in the PowerPlay. Pat Cummins can do both as well and Adam Zampa is top class spinner, well supported by the experienced Rahul Chahar.
Weaknesses
The only weakness is possibly the lack of batting depth. The number 6 and 7 in the batting line-up aren’t as proven, and Pat Cummins at 8 is good but there’s not much to follow after that. Nonetheless, it’s a solid side.
Chennai Super Kings
Strengths
Often dubbed the old man’s XI, CSK continues to have plenty of 35+ members with MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Devon Conway and the returning R Ashwin. Is it the optimal way to play T20s? Perhaps not, but they have shown they can make older players work with a mix of good youngsters like Rachin Ravindra, Sheik Rasheed and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
With Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Noor Ahmed and half of the their games at Chepauk, they have a brilliant spin attack. To support them, they even have Rachin Ravindra, who should start considering the form he is in. This is supplemented by pacers Khaleel Ahmed, the X-factor Pathirana and Shivam Dube if needed.
Weaknesses
The squad doesn’t have big powerhitting. Shivam Dube is outstanding against spin, and Rahul Tripathi can play cameos but Rachin isn’t as proven in T20s and Jadeja batting at 7 isn’t the deepest attack. MS Dhoni has proved people wrong in the past season or so, but he bats usually at 8 for a few balls these days.
Would love to see: I have been a big fan of Kamlesh Nagarkoti since the U-19 WC, hoping he is fit now and gets some chances to prove himself.
Gujarat Titans
Strengths
With captain Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharshan and Jos Buttler, it’s a solid top three. They also have good finishers in Shah Rukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia (both retained) and Rashid Khan lower down the order. They have also added Glenn Phillips who has been in good form, and is an asset on the field.
The pace attack also has good depth with (one of) Prasidh Krishna and Ishant Sharma available as 2nd pacer to Mohammed Siraj, and back-up of Gurnoor Brar, who’s also quite quick. One of the South Africans, Rabada and Coetzee, will play as well and Rashid Khan’s 4 overs are a guarantee to round up a good attack.
Weaknesses
The middle order lacks some firepower. Washington Sundar will likely have fit around 5, and T20 batting is probably his weakest link. Any time aiming for a big score, one of the top 4 will have to play fast and play long which is quite tough to do consistently.
Rajasthan Royals
Strengths
It’s a set up that has a lot of same faces with Yashavi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel. Even coach Rahul Dravid has been with RR for a while, add to that the likes of Sandeep Sharma and Jofra Archer - it doesn’t quite feel like a fresh start. Shimron Hetmeyer and Nitish Rana round up a good batting line-up, although not quite a headturner.
Weaknesses
The bowling definitely feel a little short. Wanindu Hasaranga and Jofra Archer can be solid on their day but both are returning from injuries and probably won’t be as consistent. Akash Madhwal, Tushar Deshpande and Shubham Dubey can play specific roles, but there’s not a lot of flexibility in this line-up.
Predictions
Top 3 positions: Mumbai Indians, KKR and SRH appear to the most balanced sides on paper, and barring injuries and players losing form should have a great chance of making the playoffs.
4, 5 and 6 positions: This is where things get interesting. I reckon DC, Punjab Kings and CSK will fight for these. I think Punjab might just miss out due to 2 home venues but DC will also have challenges with a new-ish set up. There have been no two consecutive IPL Finals that did NOT feature MS Dhoni and on the back of a squad that suits Chepauk, I think Chennai will be the 4 to qualify.
7-10 positions: RCB, Gujarat Titans, RR and LSG could make up the bottom 4. I think RCB should do slightly better than the other 3 since they have attacking batters who can win one-off games, but overall all these teams will struggle with consistency unless one of their stars (Phil Salt, Gill/Buttler, Jaiswal, Pooran/Pant) has a stand-out season.