With the 2016 Indian Premier League starting on Saturday, Paul Radley provides his team-by-team guide, including squad lists and predictions.
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DELHI DAREDEVILS
Pedigree: Third in 2009 and 2012
Captain: Zaheer Khan
Point to prove: Pawan Negi
The left-arm spinner was part of India’s Asia Cup and World Twenty20 squads, but the only competitive cricket he has played over the course of the past two months was a lone fixture against the UAE in Dhaka. First and foremost, he will probably be looking to prove he has not forgotten how to bowl in a match situation.
Matchwinner: Carlos Brathwaite
On the most recent form available, there is no finer matchwinner in the world. Nineteen required off the last six balls to win the World Cup? Pah, he will do it in four. If Delhi’s top order can take their run-chases close in the IPL, most opposition bowlers will be fearful when they see the towering West Indian at the crease in the death overs.
Squad: See here
Prediction: An unfulfilled franchise with a bowling-heavy, batting-light squad. That said, though, they do have Carlos Brathwaite, so anything is possible.
GUJARAT LIONS
Pedigree: New franchise
Captain: Suresh Raina
Point to prove: Dale Steyn
In and out of the South Africa side as he has been dealt a succession of injuries of late, but some have questioned his potency, anyway. “I love playing Dale Steyn because Dale Steyn is not dangerous,” Mohammed Shahzad, the Afghanistan batsman, said at the World T20. Which should be a call to arms for the South African paceman.
Matchwinner: Brendon McCullum
Never a sure thing, but when he fires it usually means his team are out of sight. For many years, he said the 158 he made on opening night in the first IPL was like a millstone. Now he is mostly pressure-free, having retired to a hero’s acclaim from the international game, to while away the rest of his playing days having fun and making money in T20. A pressure-free McCullum could be a thrill to watch.
Squad: See here
Prediction: Some firepower with bat (McCullum, Raina), ball (Steyn) and great all-round nous (Jadeja, Bravo, Faulkner). That said, expecting silverware from a standing start as a new entrant in the competition may be ambitious.
KINGS XI PUNJAB
Pedigree: Runners up in 2014
Captain: David Miller
Point to prove: Shaun Marsh
Perhaps this is the wrong way round, and he does not actually have a point to prove, seeing as Indian audiences have always seen the best of Marsh. The left-handed batsman has had a fine IPL career, but he remains an unfulfilled talent on the international scene.
Matchwinner: Glenn Maxwell
One of the few players in world cricket who can win a game for his side in any of three disciplines – as an innovative shotmaker with the bat, a canny offspin bowler, or as the sport’s most talented fielders. Those who made it to Kings XI matches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah when the IPL was played here two years ago saw him at his zenith.
Squad: See here
Prediction: Seemed set to break their title duck after getting off to a fast start in the UAE in 2014, but they fell at the last. Some of that side are still around, and their chances seem heavily dependent on the captain Miller and star man Maxwell.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Pedigree: Champions in 2012 and 2014
Captain: Gautam Gambhir
Point to prove: Sunil Narine
Once without peer in T20 cricket, the West Indian mystery spinner has become a forgotten man since having the legality of his bowling action questioned. He pulled out of the World T20, which the Caribbean side subsequently won without him, presumably because there are still doubts over his remodelled method. What version of Narine Kolkata are going to get this time around remains to be seen.
Matchwinner: Andre Russell
The West Indian world champion gives himself two chances to be his side’s star player, as a potential winner with both bat and ball. So accurate with the ball, he is even adept at bowling it through the rear passenger window of a car, according to adverts aired during the World T20.
Squad: See here
Prediction: Maybe it is their turn again, seeing as they have won the IPL every other year since 2012. The make up of their playing squad does not quite glisten like those of Mumbai or Bangalore, though.
MUMBAI INDIANS
Pedigree: Champions in 2013 and 2015
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Point to prove: Tim Southee
Fetched a handsome fee at auction, but then failed to make the New Zealand starting line up during the World T20 in India. He may have some substantial boots to fill, too. Lasith Malinga, probably the most successful seamer in IPL history, may not play at all due to a chronic knee injury, so Southee could have to lead the attack.
Matchwinner: Corey Anderson
The fact he announced himself as an international cricketer by breaking Shahid Afridi’s long-standing fastest ODI record no doubt opened lots of doors for Anderson. However, it might have misled some into believing he is just a slogger. The burly New Zealander is far more versatile than that.
Squad: See here
Prediction: The likely absence of Malinga due to injury will be a substantial blow, but the defending champions have got the stocks to cover his loss. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are fine emerging talents for India and the Indians.
RISING PUNE SUPERGIANTS
Pedigree: New franchise
Captain: MS Dhoni
Point to prove: Kevin Pietersen
In the eyes of his critics, the South Africa-born batsmen is an uncaptainable superbrat. Pietersen, for his part, denies that in the strongest possible terms. Either way, it will be interesting to see how he is managed by a captain who has won everything there is to win in cricket, in the form of MS Dhoni.
Matchwinner: Dhoni
In the most literal sense of the term. Dhoni sees his teams across the winning line more often than anyone else, as cricket’s greatest ever finisher. As a captain, he has won more matches than anyone else in IPL history. He will be looking to prove he is plenty fit enough to ward off all this tiresome talk about retirement, too.
Squad: See here
Prediction: They have picked the best morsels from the defunct Chennai franchise in Dhoni and Ashwin. They have X-factors in Pietersen and Mitchell Marsh. They have international leaders in Faf du Plessis and Steve Smith. There are bright prospects, too, in Ankush Bains and Adam Zampa. If a new franchise is going to do it, the Supergiants are the best equipped.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
Pedigree: Runners up in 2009 and 2011
Captain: Virat Kohli
Point to prove: Sarfaraz Khan
So many overseas stars, but they cannot all play in the starting XI. As such, the young Indian batsman will likely have to pick up the slack in the middle order. He should be well capable of it. The star of India’s advance to the Under 19 World Cup final should be using this IPL to press his claim for a place in the senior side, even though he is still only 18.
Matchwinner: Kohli
Everywhere you look down the RCB squadlist there are potential stars. AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson and Mitchell Starc would each have a claim to a place in a greatest ever IPL XI. Nobody takes such a firm grip on matches as frequently as Kohli does at present, though.
Squad: See here
Prediction: The fact they boast the most perfectly balanced squad in the tournament does not really count for much. They usually do, but they have never won the IPL before. They will be feared by batsmen. Adam Milne and Mitch Starc is the fastest new-ball pairing in cricket, trumping the Shaun Tait and Wahab Riaz partnership for Peshawar in the Pakistan Super League.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
Pedigree: Fourth in 2013
Captain: Shikhar Dhawan
Point to prove: Dhawan
Out of the India side by the end of the World T20, despite being man of the match in the final of the Asia Cup just a few weeks earlier. Dhawan’s form has been fitful for the national team of late. Maybe the added responsibility of the Sunrisers captaincy will help focus the mind.
Matchwinner: Mustafizur Rahman
It is tempting to think Mustafizur might be due a reality-checking dose of “Second Season Syndrome” after his sensational emergence over the past year or so. But this is his first season in the IPL, so the unorthodox Bangladesh left-armer still has plenty of batsmen to bamboozle before he they start to figure him out.
Squad: See here
Prediction: Relatively low expectations, with a best of just that fourth-place finish in 2013 their IPL highlight to date. There are no obvious signs that they will go much better than that this time around.
