The greatest cricketing show on earth returns and here is my summary of all the teams brought to you in association with BETOLIMP.
CSK
Experience: Dhoni, Faf, Bravo, Raina & Jadeja have experience in spades.
Quality: Tahir is currently operating at the top of his game and should pick up a bag full of wickets in IPL 2019. Somehow Chennai always seem to be a team that perform better than the sum of their arts (despite having some seriously good individuals as well of course).
Weakness: Will the old warhorses, Dhoni, Raina and Watson hit the tournament in form? Ngidi misses out with injury and Bravo’s death bowling has been figured out lately – what other options does Dhoni have to keep scores down or defend a total when things get tight?
DELHI
Experience: Boult & Rabada two world class quicks who have been around the globe. Dhawan to lead from the top.
Quality: Pant and Iyer are two young stars taking the Indian game by storm. The Capitals will again rely on these young Indian Internationals to lead the way with the bat.
Weakness: Not a lot of weakness in this squad apart from the fact that they perhaps just lack that real explosiveness either right at the top or batting at the death (if Morris isn’t at his best). They also have a history of poor runs where individuals just haven’t gelled into a winning combination.
KINGS XI
Experience: Gayle, Ashwin and Miller are experts at this format of the game.
Quality: Decent balance with top order, lower order and bowling unit all having some solid performers.
Weakness: Reliance on and availability of one or two major stars could be an issue in World Cup year as Miller and Gayle will be irreplaceable.
KKR
Experience: Uthapa, Karthik and Narine form the backbone of this squad as they have for a number of years.
Quality: This side can spin you sideways of the pitches suit them!
Weakness: Batting remains a concern as they are heavily reliant on Chris Lynn making a bucket load of runs at the top.
MUMBAI
Experience: Rohit, Pollard, Malinga and Bumrah are long time T20 players and Mumbai Indian stalwarts. Yuvraj Singh coming over adds even more experience to the ranks.
Quality: Quinton de Kock has been in great form for SA of late and gives you both a free scoring opener and covers the wicket-keeping spot. The Malinga-Bumrah duo could prove to be one of the best death combos in the competition.
Weakness : Some of their aging stars might already be past their best. If you get past the opening pair of De Kock and Sharma there could be a lack of consistent run scorers.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Experience: Rahane and Steve Smith bring the experience to this squad.
Quality: The English trio of Stokes, Butler and Archer could prove key cogs in the English wheel come World Cup time. In the IPL they find themselves central to the hopes of the Royals.
Weakness: There seems to be a number of areas of concern for Rajasthan in 2019. Batting wise they will rely heavily on Rahane and Smith whilst they could lack a quality spinner as well. With the ball they will need Archer to be supreme to have a chance. Another problem is that the English World Cup players will leave the tournament early.
RCB
Experience: Bollywood has seen many love stories but few rival the bromance of AB and Kohli.
Quality: They have two of the best shorter format batsmen in the world and a world-class legspinner.
Weakness: For some reason RCB just refuse to focus on solidifying their seam bowling attack and at the same time their batting has also slowly but surely diminished without De Kock/Gayle. The bromance couple can only do so much…
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
Experience: Buvi Kumar seems capable of hitting the blockhole if you wake him up in the middle of the night. Kane Williamson hardly strikes one as a player perfect for this format but his class knows no end and his nerves of steel will be crucial for the Sunrisers who no longer have Dhawan to rely on.
Quality: David Warner makes his long-awaited return to the global cricketing scene and all eyes will be on the dynamic Aussie opener who is a match-winner when on top form. Rashid Khan is seen as the best wrist spinner in the business at present.
Weakness: Yusuf Pathan no longer strikes fear into captains and bowlers. There seems to be a potential lack of lower order hitting ability to this line-up and they might end up missing Moses Henriques in this regard.
VERDICT:
The Sunrisers strike me as a strong team but since they are likely to miss a number of their key players at the business end of the comp I struggle backing them for glory.At long odds the Kings XI might also not be the worst play as Miller and Gayle can win games on their own. CSK have an extreme amount of experience but too much depends on the form of yesterday’s heroes – Dhoni, Watson and Raina for my liking and the lack of death bowling options could be a major problem as well.
THUS I can’t look past the men from Mumbai this season. Rohit and Quiney could form a formidable partnership at the top and then they have a great finishing duo of Malinga and Bumrah. For mind they have a strong Indian contingent which could be vital this year.
Bet: Mumbai Indians to win IPL 2019 @ 5.75 with BETOLIMP
(Note, all odds quoted are subject to change)
