IPL 2018: 11th edition of cricket festival in India

Today, on April 7, 2018, The cricket festival in India is going to start. We will witness some extraordinary cricket action for 51 days with 60 matches to be played between 8 teams. IPL is one of the most successful cricket league in the world. Isn't it? Many fans like me are waiting for this season as we are going to see two champions team be played again after two years. IPL auctions were also very interesting this year as many teams have left their superstars and other teams tried hard to get those stars and that's the charm of IPL. It provides a huge platform for young Indian cricketers to show their talent. It also helped some veterans to get a place in their respective country team. It also provides bread and butter to many supporting staffs. Therefore, I believe it is worthy to watch and enjoy even if all the matches are fixed! Consider it as an entertainment rather than sports (just like WWE). I found some discussion related to which team is weak and which team is strong on platforms like Quora. I am also preparing such a list every year for the fantasy league and support the team which has good match winning players, however, my prediction stands true only twice in the last 10 years! Here is my ranking of the team with reasons:

Image Source: http://s3.india.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/kkr.jpg

8. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): One of the major reason for this rating is non-retention of Gambhir, the person who shows them winning track and help to lift trophy two times. Gambhir is one of the most successful captains in IPL. Another reason is they don't have enough Indian talent. Here is the list of Indian and Foreign players of KKR:

• Indian: D. Karthik, P. Chawla, K. Yadav, N. Rana, R. Uthappa, V. Kumar (6)
• Foreign: M. Johnson, C. Lynn, S. Narine, A. Russell (4)

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7. Rajasthan Royals: Exclusion of S. Smith is considered to be the huge blow to RR and I also consider buying B. Stocks at such high price didn't allow RR to buy other quality players. However, Stocks will be an X-factor for team RR. They are also lacking in terms of quality foreign players. Here is the list of Indian and Foreign players of RR:

• Indian: A. Rahane, S. Samson, D. Kulkarni, S. Binny, J. Unadkat, A. Singh, Z. Khan, R. Tripathi (8)
• Foreign: B. Stocks, D. Chameera, J. Buttler, H. Klaasen (4)

Image Source: http://s3.india.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/kings.jpg

6. Kings XI Punjab (KXIP): Even after the hard shopping of Preity Zinta, I believe they short of some captain material player. However, they got some quality foreign players at a reasonable price which any women in this world will be proud of! They have some big guns as a foreign batsman but Indian batsmen have to work hard to make owners happy. They have three of the most destructive batsmen of T20 cricket but it is a matter of time and they have to fire up this time to make KXIP proud. One thing I like the most about KXIP is that they got Yuvi back into the squad. It doesn't matter whether he plays up to the mark or not but he will help KXIP to pull some audience into the stadium. Isn't it? C. Gayle will be the X-Factor as always! Here is the list of Indian and Foreign players of KXIP:

• Indian: R. Ashwin, L. Rahul, Y. Singh, M. Sharma, K. Nair, A. Patel, M. Tiwary, B. Sran, M. Aggarwal (9)
• Foreign: M. Stoinis, A. Finch, A. Tye, C. Gayle, D. Miller (5)

Image Source: http://s3.india.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dd-3.jpg

5. Delhi Daredevils: Captaincy means a lot to me so I believe a return of G. Gambhir to the side as a captain helps a lot to DD. However, They lack in terms of quality Indian batsmen. Especially, they will miss the coaching of R. Dravid. I am not doubting the coaching ability of R. Pointing but promoting young talent is the strength of Dravid. Here is the list of Indian and Foreign players of DD:

• Indian: G. Gambhir, J. Yadav, S. Iyer, R. Pant, A. Mishra, M. Shami, N. Ojha, S. Nadeem, V. Shankar (9)
• Foreign: K. Rabada, C. Morris, C. Munro, T. Boult, G. Maxwell, J. Roy, D. Christian (8)

Image Source: http://s3.india.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/sun-1.jpg

4. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Again D. Warner's exclusion from IPL hurts a lot to SRH because he is one the greatest destructor of a cricket ball and also a great captain. However, Williamson is a good captain but replacement of Warner as a batsman is hard to find. With the help of most dedicated support staff like V. V. S. Laxman and M. Muralitharan, SRH can turn the tables any time. Here is the list of Indian and Foreign players of SRH:

• Indian: S. Dhavan, M. Pandey, B. Kumar, B. Thampi, S. Kaul, T. Natrajan, S. Sharma, D. Hooda, Y. Pathan, B. Sharma (10)
• Foreign: K. Williamson, R. Khan, B. Stanlake, S. Al Hasan, C. Braithwaite, M. Nabi, C. Jordan (7)

Image Source: http://www.yespunjab.com/images/Sports/RCB-Logo-Spo.jpg

3. Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB): It looks the most balanced side ever in the history of RCB. When you have a run machine like Kohli and AB you don't need any backup but sometimes middle order has to play a crucial role in which RCB is lacking. Here are the Indian and Foreign players of RCB:

• Indian: V. Kohli, M. Siraj, Y. Chahal, M. Singh, P. Patel, M. Ashwin, P. Negi, U. Yadav, S. Khan, M. Vohra, W. Sunder (11)
• Foreign: Q. De Kock, M. Ali, C. Woakes, C. Anderson, A. B. De Villiers, B. McCullum, T. Southee, C. DeGrandhomme (8)

Image Source: https://js.newsx.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/mumbai-indians-644x362.jpg

2. Mumbai Indians (MI): The defending champions are the most balanced side in this year's IPL. However, defending IPL trophy is near to impossible task as per the history of IPL. By winning IPL 3 times, they have already proved their metal and it will be difficult for the opponent to grab the trophy from this champion side. However, this time they have tough competition with one of the most successful side of IPL (yes it's CSK).Here is the list of Indian and Foreign players of MI:

• Indian: R. Sharma, J. Bumrah, R. Chahar, I. Kishan, H. Pandya, K. Pandya, P. Sangwan, A. Tare, S. Tiwary, S. Yadav (11)
• Foreign: P. Cummins, B. Cutting, A. Dhananjaya, J. Duminy, E. Lewis, G. McClenaghan, M. Rahman, K. Pollard (8)

Image Source: https://isportsexpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/chennai-super-kings-csk-1160x665.jpg

1. Chennai Super Kings (CSK): You can consider me biased if you want but I am a huge fan of MSD. In my opinion captaincy matter a lot and when you have world's best captain you have fair chances of a win. I just want to say that lion is back in the hunt and no one hunts better than the king of the jungle. Isn't' it? Here is the list of Indian and Foreign players of CSK:

• Indian: M. S. Dhoni, M. Vijay, R. Jadeja, D. Chahar, S. Raina, S. Thakur, K. Sharma, A. Rayudu, H. Singh, K. Jadhav (10)
• Foreign: S. Billings, F. DuPlesis, D. J. Bravo, L. Ngidi, S. Watson, M. Santner, M. Wood (8)

If you read all the content and reach here, I believe you are a big fan of IPL or mine (probability is very low!). So if the first option is true, join my league at (https://fantasy.iplt20.com/leagues) league code is "KjAWmzth

Enjoy IPL 2018...