So the Clock is ticking and less than 24 hours is remaining before the first match of IPL 2016. So let’s have a look at the teams. We had earlier written about DD & RCB you can read about them here.
1) Kings XI Punjab
If there was a prize for the most unpredictable team in the IPL there is no doubt that this team will claim it. Unpredictable performance by this team is as common as Messi scoring for Barcelona, and we know how often that happens. Right since the inception they are doing what is least predicted of them, in season in which they were considered a serious contender they performed poorly and in seasons in which no one gave them much of chance they performed much better.
This year they don’t look a formidable side at least on Paper when compared to Other team. They would once again would be relying heavily on the MMM pair of Marsh, Miller & Maxwell in the batting department & in the bowling they would be relying on Johnson & Mohit Sharma. With a new captain at Helm(Miller) they would be hoping for a change in fortune, a lot will depend on how they use the local Indian player as they lack quality Indian Players.
Squads – Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Murali Vijay, Nikhil Naik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Akshar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Johnson, Wriddhiman Saha, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Kyle Abbott, KC Cariappa, Marcus Stoinis, Farhaan Behardien, Pradeep Sahu, Armaan Jaffer, Swapnil Singh.
Captain – David Miller.
Coach – Sanjay Bangar.
Mentor – Virender Sehwag.
Key Players – Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Mitchell Johnson,Mohit Sharma,Murali Vijay.
2) Gujarat Lions –
One of the two debutantes team this season Gujarat Lions would be hoping to carve their own tales of glory right from the beginning itself . Led by ex cskian Suresh Raina they have got a pretty balanced side, and look a strong contender to challenge for the title. The team has got a strong CSK feel to it as there are many players from the banned franchise. With Raina,Finch & Mccullum leading the batting and the likes of Steyn and bravo spearheading the bowling attack they should be fancying their chance of going all the way.
Squads – Suresh Raina Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Brendon McCullum, Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith, Dhawal Kulkarni, Aaron Finch, Eklavya Dwivedi, Andrew Tye, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Shah, Shadab Jakati, Pravin Tambe, Pradeep Sangwan, Amit Mishra, Shivil Kaushik, Aksh Deep Nath, Sarabjeet Ladda, Umang Sharma, Paras Dogra.
Captain – Suresh Raina
Coaches – Brad Hodge(Head Coach),Heath Streak (Bowling Coach)
Key Player’s – Suresh Raina Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Brendon McCullum, Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn, Amit Mishra.