Ahead of the start to the 2015 Indian Premier League season, writers and editors from The National Sports section offer up their picks for who will win IPL 8. To make things interesting, they have also picked a top wicket-taker and run-scorer, with the stipulation that picks can't overlap.
Thomas Woods, Deputy Sports Editor
Who will win: Chennai Super Kings
They have the most explosive opening pair in Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith – who can easily take a game away from their opponents – while MS Dhoni is T20’s ultimate finisher.
Top run scorer: Aaron Finch, Mumbai Indians
A change of team this season for Finch. The opener is one of those who can explode once he gets a start. Will ride his luck in the opening overs but should score plenty.
Top wicket taker: Mitchell Johnson, Kings XI Punjab
Was overshadowed at the World Cup by Australia teammate Mitchell Starc, but can bounce back in IPL 2015.
Paul Radley, Reporter
Who will win: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Ridiculous batting talent, and the best limited overs bowler in the game at present, in the form of Mitchell Starc. No more underachieving for RCB.
Top run scorer: AB de Villiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Or Neo, as Dale Steyn, his South Africa teammate prefers to call him, in reference to the character of the same name with the superpowers in The Matrix.
Top wicket taker: Sunil Narine, Kolkata Knight Riders
Intriguing to see whether he has been handicapped by being reported for a suspect action. He has been cleared to bowl, and was as good as unplayable before.
Ahmed Rizvi, Reporter
Who will win: Royal Challengers Bangalore
With the likes of AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli on the batting side, and Mitchell Starc and Sean Abbott leading their attack, RCB look the most balanced of the eight teams
Top run scorer: Glenn Maxwell, Kings XI Punjab
The Australian has never looked short of confidence, but with a World Cup medal among his collection, the “Big Show” could really step it up this season and leave the rest of the willow-wielders in his shade.
Top wicket taker: Ravichandran Ashwin, Chennai Super Kings
Impressive on batting-friendly wickets in the World Cup, the India off-spinner will be looking forward to bowling on pitches, which suit his art a bit more. He is also likely to feature regularly in the Chennai XI and that improves his chances of bagging the Purple Cap.
Osman Samiuddin, Reporter
Who will win: Kings XI Punjab
They were, until the last game of last season, the best side in the league. Led astutely by George Bailey and coach Sanjay Bangar, they look a good bet to go one step further this time. Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Bailey, Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay is an awesome batting line. And Mitchell Johnson, Axar Patel and Sandeep Sharma is not a bad attack.
Top run scorer: Brendon McCullum, Chennai Super Kings
McCullum has been playing Twenty20 cricket for over a year now, whatever format he has actually been playing in. Against weaker attacks, on flatter surfaces, he will go ballistic.
Top wicket taker: Umesh Yadav, Delhi Daredevils
Mitchell Starc will miss part of the season and Imran Tahir is a good shot at this, but Yadav could well finish top. He had a good world cup and though he can be expensive, he will almost always get wickets.
Kumar Shyam, Production Editor
Who will win: Mumbai Indians
They have the right balance of stability, players out to prove a point after a half-decent World Cup each, addition of Aaron Finch and a stellar think-tank to steer the fortunes.
Top run scorer: Yuvraj Singh, Delhi Daredevils
He knows how to repay faith. He promised the World Cup to Sachin Tendulkar in 2011, and delivered. Delhi is next to please after they made him the richest player even as Indian selectors ignored him.
Top wicket taker: Josh Hazlewood, Mumbai Indians
Usual strategy in Mumbai’s attack. Lasith Malinga softens batsmen up and other bowlers benefit as long as they bowl a good line. Step up, Hoff – Left-arm fast bowler, young, calm under pressure and not short of motivation.
Chitrabhanu Kadalayil, Production Editor
Who will win: Chennai Super Kings
They have a solid batting line-up that includes the in-form Brendon McCullum and the ever-dependable MS Dhoni. They also have top-draw all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Top run scorer: Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians captain has been in excellent hitting form in recent times. All he needs is consistency at the top of the order, and he will score big. Captaincy will inspire him, too.
Top wicket taker: Irfan Pathan, Chennai Super Kings
Back from injury and in good form in the Ranji Trophy circuit, a rejuvenated Pathan could be the wicket-taking option Chennai are looking for.
Jon Turner, Web Editor
Who will win: Royal Challengers Bangalore
The best batting line-up in the league is finally supported by a fearsome bowling unit. Mitchell Starc could and should be the difference to the serial under-achievers.
Top run scorer: Chris Gayle, Royal Challengers Bangalore
If one player encapsulates the party atmosphere and fireworks of the IPL it’s Chris Gayle. While perhaps not the tour de force he once was, Gayle’s monster-hitting still has the ability to turn a match on its head.
Top wicket taker: Imran Tahir, Delhi Daredevils
On the back of a fine World Cup, Tahir has the ability to take wickets by the bucketload. The Indian conditions should suit his leg-break style.
Jonathan Raymond, Web Editor
Who will win: Kings XI Punjab
No need to get cute. KXIP had the second-most dominant group stage by net run rate in the seven editions of the IPL last year, and they bring back pretty much the same squad this year. That’s no guarantee, of course, but it’s highly likely they’ll be in the mix.
Top run scorer: Steven Smith, Rajasthan Royals
His career IPL average of 39.29 is just shy of the range of what can reliably provide a top total given the matches, which he hasn’t had since 2012 – but, the Australians are available for the full tournament this time and his impressive World Cup form suggests he has that little extra in him.
Top bowler: Vinay Kumar, Mumabi Indians
Maybe a reach, but consider this: He was the only bowler to finish top-five in wickets in the IPL in 2012 and 2013 before falling out of favour last year at Kolkata. Now he’s at Mumbai, where he’ll get to work with Shane Bond and he comes off a Ranji Trophy-winning run with Karnataka where he was the joint-leading wicket-taker in the series. Call it a hunch.
