If 5 years ago you told me that Rajasthan Royals purchased players worth 12.5 crores, 8.4 crores, 8 crores, 7.2 crores and 6.2 crores, I’d have laughed at you in disagreement. Last 2 auctions though, RR has been splurging, the result of which is that RR posses a solid arsenal, at least on paper.
Much like CSK, MI have retained majority of their team from last year and they enter this year’s IPL a couple of acquisitions and some new signings. Lasith Malinga is back as a player and Yuvraj Singh will don Mumbai Indians’ jersey for the first time in IPL.
I don’t know about others but I feel that Carlos Brathwaite for 5 crores and Lockie Ferguson for 1.6 crores are great buys. KKR went into the auction to buy batting, all-rounders and spinners reserves and to build a fast-bowling lineup. I’d say they were quite successful in doing so. On paper, the KKR team looks as strong as ever and DK showed us last year that he is more than a capable captain.m
Surprisingly, at least for me, R Ashwin turned out to be a great captain for KXIP last season. But, unlike his former franchisee CSK, KXIP will enter this edition with 14 new signings and only 9 players from the previous edition. That being said, KXIP made some good buys, some debatable transfers and some other eye-raising buys.
For the first time in many years, the Delhi franchisee had a sensible auction, making only necessary bids and buying only necessary players. If I was from the Delhi management, I’d be a happy bloke. That being said, Delhi Capitals enter the tournament boasting of a great roster and it falls on the captain Shreyas Iyer and the coach Ricky Ponting to leverage this beautiful opportunity that presents itself to them.
CSK not only enter this edition of the IPL as the defending champions but they also come with 24 players from the last edition. No prizes in guessing that such a roster is led by the one and only Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With their only addition at this year’s auction being uncapped batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, we shouldn’t expect much changes to the playing XI from last year. The playing XI will only be strengthened with the availability of Mitchell Santner and Kedar Jadhav, both of whom were injured last year.
Am I the only one or does it feel like this year’s IPL is lacking a certain level of enthusiasm that we have become accustomed to over the years? If you think so too, much of the blame can be accredited to the fact that this is the first time in its 12-year history that the IPL, the ICC Cricket World Cup and India’s General Elections are occurring in the same year.
Week-wise Schedule of IPL 2018.
Who all are playing? What is the combination of the team? Who are the ones missing out due to injuries? Which team has better fast bowlers? Which team has better batsmen? Answers to these questions and many more, as we have divided the complete roster of each team into Batsmen, Wicket-Keepers, All-Rounders, Spinners and Fast Bowlers.
One of our authors Samrat Darda has put together the probable and best suitable playing XI for all the 8 teams.