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The Indian Premier League 2022 is all set to kick off on March 26 at Wankhede Stadium. The 10-team competition will feature 70 league matches followed by the playoffs.
With the expansion to 10 teams, the grandest T20 tournament in the world will see a return of a decade-old format. The teams are split into two groups according to their historical performance in the competition.
Each team will compete twice against four other rivals in their own group per this format. They will also clash twice against their equivalent from the opposite group. The franchises will play one match each against the remaining four teams from the other group.
Here 1xNews will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the five teams in Group B and try to predict the fortunes of these franchises.
Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni has led CSK to four championships in the Premier League, including their triumph in the 2021 season. The defending champions had a task of rebuilding their squad with the mega auction in play. The side stuck to their strategy of getting back familiar faces and managed to do it successfully to an extent.
CSK’s biggest strength is their deep batting line-up as it was in the previous edition. They have roped in Devon Conway to do the job Faf du Plessis did at the top of the order. While he isn’t as good a pace-hitter as the South African, Conway’s ability to play spin should come in handy. The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja make up for a strong line-up.
However, it is a batting line-up that could be vulnerable against high-end pace. CSK’s bowling remains their concern, especially with Deepak Chahar missing a sizable number of matches due to an injury. They also lack a quality leg-spinner in their ranks. Despite their obvious issues, CSK are one of the favourites to reach the playoffs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH won their only title in 2016 under the leadership of David Warner, but after a disastrous last season, they parted ways with the Australian. They also couldn’t get to terms with Rashid Khan and had to release him. The franchise retained the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad and Umran Malik. The Hyderabad-based franchise didn’t have a great time in the auction to say the least.
The Sunrisers brought in Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram, who could be their biggest strengths in the middle order. Pooran is an exceptional spin-hitter, while Markram is outstanding against pace. They should complement each other well at no. 4-5. However, the batting line-up has too many support players.
SRH bowling unit has some promising names, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan are injury-prone, while Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi are inexperienced. Washington Sundar as an off-spinning all-rounder was a good pick, but they lack a quality leg-spinner in the side.
All in all, SRH lacks the right balance and does not have proper game controllers. They are likely to struggle to make it into the top four.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB have reached the Premier League final a couple of times, but their wait for the maiden championship continues. Virat Kohli, who led the side for most of the last decade, has resigned, while AB de Villiers’ retirement has put a huge hole in the unit. They’ve brought in some reinforcements in the 2022 mega auction, most notably, bringing in Faf du Plessis as the skipper.
The side’s biggest strength is their bowling unit, comprising a very good seam trio Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel. It covers their new ball bowling as well as death overs. Wanindu Hasaranga as a frontline spinner is fantastic, whereas Shahbaz Ahmed and Glenn Maxwell will act as match-up options.
Their batting unit could be vulnerable to spin bowling, with du Plessis, Kohli and Dinesh Karthik having poor returns in the recent past. A lot will depend on Maxwell and Hasaranga as a floater. Fringe players Anuj Rawat and Mahipal Lomror will have a big role to play, being two left handers in the top order.
While RCB’s batting could be a worry, their strong bowling attack makes them a strong contender for the playoffs.
Punjab Kings
The runners-up of the 2014 campaign have languished in the bottom half of the table for the last seven years. They needed to make some tough calls ahead of the mega auction, and they did that by parting ways with KL Rahul. PBKS bolstered their squad with one of the better auction performances, having retained Mayank Agarwal, who will lead the side, and Arshdeep Singh.
The Kings have assembled a strong batting unit, competent against both spin and pace. It comprises Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith. The only issue could be the lack of quality left hand batter in the middle order.
PBKS’ bowling attack could be a concern, with a lot riding on Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh. The spin duo of Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar can be taken apart by left-handers.
Despite the limitations in the bowling unit, the side have the batting unit to power them into the playoffs.
Gujarat Titans
One of the two new franchises, the Titans had an opportunity to draft in three players ahead of the mega auction. They did a fantastic job in securing the services of Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill. They brought in some very good recruits in the auction for the upcoming season.
The bowling attack is the stronger suit of GT. Lockie Ferguson, Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami make up for a strong trio, while Yash Dayal or R Sai Kishore are decent support bowlers. Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya will share the fifth bowler’s responsibility.
The Titans batting unit has good players of pace bowling in Gill, Matthew Wade and David Miller. The performance of the lower middle order will be highly dependent on Hardik. The lack of proven spin-hitters in the side could be a concern. Overall, GT have a decent squad that could compete for the fourth place if some players click.
