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The 19th season of IPL will start from March 28. The winner will be decided after 74 matches between 10 teams. 7 teams have won the title, while Delhi, Punjab and Lucknow are waiting for the first title.
This time, to know how strong is whose claim is, we have analyzed all the teams on 5 parameters. These include captain, team combination, player performance, possible game plan and expert opinion.
1.Chennai Super Kings Economy of spinners less than 7.50 Dhoni’s position will decide the results
captain Rituraj Gaikwad captained 19 IPL matches, won 8 and the team lost 11. Last season, in 5 matches, Ruturaj could score only 122 runs at a strike rate of 150.61. Due to injury, MS Dhoni took over the captaincy after him, but the team remained at 10th position after losing 10 out of 14 matches.
team combination Australian fast bowler Nathan Ellis was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. In his place, the team included left arm pacer Spencer Johnson from Australia. Spencer could take only 5 wickets in 9 IPL matches, he could also play only 8 T20 for Australia.
- Possible starting 12: Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Prashant Veer, Shivam Dubey, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Akil Hussain, Noor Ahmed, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed.
player performance The top order scored runs at a strike rate of 154.29 and an average of 45.81 since January 2023. The middle order scored at a strike rate of 154.73 and an average of 31.35. Pacers took 246 wickets at an economy of 8.22. The spinners took 355 wickets with an economy of 7.44.
Possible game plan CSK has increased its batting depth. Chepauk’s pitch used to be beneficial for spin, but last year it was made batting friendly. The team will focus on winning the match by scoring big scores on the basis of batting.
Expert Opinion Former cricketer Aakash Chopra said that if Dhoni wants to play as an impact player then he should retire. Sanju Samson is his perfect replacement. Dhoni should now leave the hands of captain Ruturaj. The team is strong, but there are still flaws in the bowling.
Final Verdict: Can reach top-4.
2. Punjab Kings Captain Shreyas’s leadership gamechanger Ferguson out of initial matches
captain Shreyas Iyer has also captained Kolkata and Delhi before Punjab. Last season, PBKS took it to the top in the league stage, but the team lost to Bengaluru in the final. Captain Shreyas has 48 wins and 35 losses in 87 IPL matches. He also led with his batting and scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07.
team combination New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson will not be able to play the first few matches due to paternity leave. In his place, the team can play the opening matches to Xavier Bartlett or Ben Dwarshus.
- Possible starting 12: Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Mitchell Owen, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Yanson, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal and Lockie Ferguson.
player performance The top order scored at a strike rate of 163.03 and an average of 34.14. The middle order scored at a strike rate of 146.67 and an average of 27.3. Pacers took 413 wickets at an economy of 8.35. Whereas the spinners have 150 wickets in their name with an economy of 8.12.
Possible game plan Punjab has explosive batsmen at numbers 1 to 8, this time the team will bat with a more attacking approach. Chahal, Arshdeep, Yanson, Brar have proved themselves in T20 bowling, so the team will focus on creating pressure in the bowling department as well. The team will back itself in both the batting and bowling departments.
Expert Opinion Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan said that Punjab has very strong backup players. Even if 1-2 players get injured, it will not make much difference to the team combination. Pace bowling all-rounders are increasing the depth of the team. The leadership is very strong, so the team has the potential to win the title once again.
- Final Verdict: Is a contender to become champion.
3. Sunrisers Hyderabad Scored 275+ runs 4 times Cummins out of initial matches
captain Pat Cummins, who took SRH to the final in 2024, will captain this time too. Due to injury, Ishan Kishan will take command in his place in the initial matches. Cummins captained 30 IPL matches, winning 15 and losing 14. Last season, he took 16 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 9.06. However, the team remained at sixth position after losing 7 matches.
team combination Captain Cummins himself will not be able to play the initial match due to injury. He himself has said that he is targeting the second half of IPL, which means he can miss 6 to 8 matches. Australia’s Jack Edwards was out due to injury, David Paine was included in his place. Sri Lanka’s Ishan Malinga will also not be able to play the initial match.
- Possible starting 12: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingston, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Harsh Dubey, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat.
player performance The top order scored at an average of 33.45 and a strike rate of 177.36. The middle order scored at a strike rate of 151.47 and an average of 27.22. Pacers took 202 wickets at an economy of 8.39, while spinners took 30 wickets at an economy of 8.43.
Possible game plan SRH has 4 best scores in the top-5 of IPL history, the team scored more than 275 runs all four times. Not only this, Hyderabad also chased the target of 246 runs last season. The team has explosive batsmen from numbers 1 to 7, which is why SRH will focus on winning the match by scoring the biggest score this time too. The team does not want to depend too much on its bowlers.
Expert Opinion South African legend AB de Villiers said that Abhishek Sharma will be an important player. If they come in form then the team can win the title after 10 years. At the same time, Aakash Chopra said that even the target of 250 runs is not safe for SRH, the team has the power to achieve it. However, the bowling is becoming weak due to the lack of Cummins.
- Final Verdict: Will finish in bottom-4.
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore Dayal out, Hazlewood injured Kohli-Salt in excellent form
captain Rajat Patidar is only the fourth player to make the team champion in the very first season of his IPL captaincy. Under his captaincy the team won 10 out of 13 matches and lost only 3. Due to Rajat’s injury, Jitesh Sharma was also the captain in 3 matches, the team stood second in the league stage. Patidar scored 312 runs in 2025 at a strike rate of 143.78.
team combination Left arm pacer Yash Dayal, who made the champion in 2025, was ruled out of the entire tournament. He will not be able to play IPL due to personal reasons. Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, who is supporting him, will not play the initial match. RCB had won many important matches on the strength of both the bowlers.
- Possible starting 12: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (captain), Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Suyyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salaam.
player performance The top order scored at a strike rate of 151.86 and an average of 38.63. The middle order scored at a strike rate of 157.24 and an average of 27.96. The spinners took 106 wickets at an economy of 7.57. Whereas Pacers had 171 wickets with an economy of 8.07.
Possible game plan Bengaluru team is balanced in all three departments – batting, bowling and all-rounder. Rasikh Salam will join in place of Dayal. If Hazlewood makes a quick comeback then the team will once again start following the winning combination. Kohli, Salt and Patidar are in form. The team will focus on playing according to the pitch and opposition instead of making big scores.
Expert Opinion Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin said that the RCB team is very balanced, they also have excellent backup options. Hazlewood not playing is definitely a problem. Whereas former England captain Alastair Cook said that Bengaluru is a contender to win the title once again.
- Final Verdict: Can come in top-4.
5. Lucknow Supergiants Strike rate of top-3 150 Pant was a flop last season
captain Rishabh Pant got the captaincy of Lucknow only last season, he has also captained Delhi. He has 29 wins and 27 losses in 57 matches. The first season was bad for Lucknow, they could score only 269 runs at a strike rate of 133.17. His team also lost 8 matches and finished at number 7.
team combination Josh Inglis is going to get married in April, if he is not available for a long time then the team may face problems in the opening combination. All the players are definitely fit, but there are two such players in the team in the form of Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav, who constantly struggle with injuries.
- Possible starting 12: Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis/Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper and captain), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Digvesh Rathi, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav.
player performance The top order batsmen scored at an average of 33.71 and a strike rate of 150.28. The middle order batsmen scored at a strike rate of 143.95 and an average of 26.57. The spinners took 208 wickets at an economy of 7.94. Whereas Pacers had 115 wickets with an economy of 8.39.
Possible game plan Nicholas Puran of Lucknow Supergiants scored runs at a strike rate of 194 last season. Last season the team was completely dependent on the top order, this season LSG will focus on increasing the batting depth on the basis of its middle order. Shami and Mohsin are strengthening the bowling, so the team can win the match on the basis of bowling also.
Expert Opinion Irfan Pathan said that Lucknow will have to use Mayank Yadav in a better way. He struggles with injuries, so he should be given chances only in important matches. Mayank can trouble any batsman with his pace. Whereas head coach Justin Langer believes that Pant is a good leader, he will turn the fortunes of the team this season.
- Final Verdict: Chances of finishing in bottom-4.
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