IPL 2023: Ranking each team on the basis of their squads

As it was a mini-auction, 405 players went under the hammer to fill the 87 slots available.

IPL 2023: Ranking each team on the basis of their squads

The 10-team Indian Premier League (IPL) auction took place on December 23, 2022, in Kochi, with the franchises filling up their empty slots with their desired players. As it was a mini-auction, 405 players went under the hammer to fill the 87 slots available.

The 16th edition will be played in its regular ‘Home and Away’ format. Sunrisers Hyderabad were the ones with a large purse, for they released Kane Williamson. Kolkata Knight Riders entered with a small purse but still, they seemed happy with their purchases.

Before IPL 2022, Gujarat Titans named Hardik Pandya as their new captain but very few had thought the flamboyant all-rounder, with the assistance of head coach Ashish Nehra will lead the team to victory in their maiden season. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson and power-hitter Jos Buttler secured the runners-up position.

However, fans are waiting to see if their buys have strength enough to take their teams to reach heights or falter badly in the next season. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) had a horrible season, for they stood at the bottom of the points table just above four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Both teams released their long-standing players, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo respectively. In their places, MI will get the services of Aussie star all-rounder Cameron Green, while CSK roped in English Test skipper Ben Stokes.

Before that, here’s the analysis of the teams based on the strength of their squads (the list is not about which team has more chances to win the IPL).

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Ranking each team on the basis of their squads

Gujarat Titans: Without a doubt have their departments sorted. Like IPL 2022, Shubman Gill will find veteran Wriddhiman Saha as his opening partner, while Matthew Wade will take care of the no. 3 spot.

Pandya and Miller are well-known finishers, not to forget their star spinner Rashid Khan and veteran pacer Mohammed Shami. GT also roped in Irish all-rounder Josh Little and fought with CSK to get Shivam Mavi’s services. But their main catch in the auction was Kane Williamson as his experience is a bonus to the squad.

Rajasthan Royals: If Jos Buttler continues to play like IPL 2022, then nothing can keep RR from having another incredible season. But it’s not due to Buttler alone that the team reached the final. RR has one of the best batting sides.

The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, and the finishing touches by Shimron Hetmyer were very helpful. Jason Holder can add his experience but it’ll remain to be seen how he will help Hetmyer in the finishing role. If Riyan Parag remains consistent, he can be a pretty good finisher too.

Mumbai Indians: Despite having powerful faces in the squad, the five-time champions were at the bottom of the points table. Now they’ll try to forget and move on to start again with destructive batters like Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, and Ishan Kishan.

Rohit Sharma is under lots of criticism so he’ll be under the radar based on how he bats. After releasing their long-standing all-rounder Kieron Pollard, MI has acquired Aussie’s sensational all-rounder Cameron green.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: RCB’s batting line-up has always been one of the strongest among the teams. It has the likes of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, and Rajat Patidar.

It’s their bowling department that disappoints a lot. They have Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, and Josh Hazlewood who have performed well in the previous season. Kohli’s form will give a fiery start to the innings, but, it remains to be seen how their all-rounder performs, for Glenn Maxwell has not been in fine form in the recent matches.

Chennai Super Kings: The team that has the most experienced players, but they had a below-par season in IPL 2022. Next year team can be under the leadership of MS Dhoni who knows perfectly well how to manage every department.

Plus the addition of Ben Stokes only strengthens their all-rounder department which also has Ravindra Jadeja. They have acquired Ajinkya Rahane as well and though he doesn’t play T20 matches much, CSK must be looking for a new leader as 2023 can be Dhoni’s last IPL.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: SRH is searching for a new captain after they released Kane Williamson. Their signing of Mayank Agarwal, who has leadership skills, for a large amount might be the reason to fill the captaincy slot.

Their batting department has players like Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, and Washington Sundar, who has often rescued the team as a middle-order batter and can be a bonus along with Marco Jansen. SRH’s squad has a quality bowling lineup with the likes of Umran Malik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Lucknow Super Giants: The KL Rahul-led has a good bowling option on their side but they lack solid batters. Rahul’s slump in form is not a good sign for the team, not to forget he is an opener. So, if Rahul’s lean patch continues, then LSG won’t have a solid start. But they took care of this by roping in Nicholas Pooran for a whopping amount.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Having acquired the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, and N Jagadeesan, KKR’s batting line-up still looks as if they lack something. But Litton has proved his resilience on many occasions, while Jagadeesan, who didn’t get many chances with CSK, has been in quite in form in the domestic matches. They have traded-in Lockie Ferguson as well to strengthen the pace department which has Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav.

Delhi Capitals: DC have power hitters like David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Rovamn Powell, and now they have Rilee Rossouw. But skipper Rishabh Pant’s form in T20 has been always questioned.

The bowling department has been taken care with the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Anrich Nortje, and Kuldeep Yadav. DC fought to get Mukesh Kumar, who has done pretty well with CSK in the previous season. Their middle order and especially the spin department will be a concern despite Axar Patel’s presence.

Punjab Kings: Despite acquiring Sam Curran for the highest-ever price (INR 18.5 crore), Punjab’s squad still lacks balance. All eyes will be on Liam Livingstone again as he was the sole warrior for most of Punjab’s innings. Sikandar Raza has the ability to perform in all the departments, so it’s a bonus for them.

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