Big bang begins

The 10th edition of the IPL is here. A few big stars are sitting this one out and a few will join the action midway, giving others an opportunity to hog the limelight. As defending champs Hyderabad take on Bangalore in the opener  tonight, here’s a lowdown on all the teams… For a larger image of the page, Click here
elhi Daredevils

Captain: Zaheer Khan..
Coaching staff: Paddy Upton, Rahul Dravid (mentor)

Player to watch out for: Angelo Mathews

It’s very difficult to see Delhi Daredevils excelling this season. Two key players, Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy, have pulled out. Their captain, Zaheer Khan, is 38 and plays only once a year. They do have excellent pace bowlers in Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Shami, but it’s likely that on Indian wickets, leg-spinner Amit Mishra will be their best bowler again.

Strength: They have top class pace bowlers in Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Shami and IPL’s leading leg-spinner in Amit Mishra

Past best: Semifinalists in 2008, 2009, playoffs in 2012

Kings XI Punjab

Captain: Glenn Maxwell..
Coaching staff: Virender Sehwag, J Arunkumar

Player to watch out for: Glenn Maxwell

Finalists in 2014, KXIP have shown shocking consistency after that, finishing last among eight teams two years in a row, winning three matches in 2015 and four in 2016. Now they’ve handed the captain’s reins to Glenn Maxwell, former coach Sanjay Bangar is gone and replaced by Virender Sehwag, and they hope for an upswing in their fortunes.

Strength: A destructive middle-order, comprising Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan and Glenn Maxwell

Past best: Runners-up in 2014

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Captain: Virat Kohli..
Coaching staff: Daniel Vettori, Allan Donald

Player to watch out for: Chris Gayle

Their last-ditch effort to win their maiden title has suffered a slight setback. They will start without their regular captain Virat Kohli who’s recuperating from a shoulder injury and will join the action a little late.

AB de Villiers, too, suffered an injury a few days back and is a doubtful starter for the first couple of games.

Strength: A batting line-up to dream about, including Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

Past best: Runners up in 2009, 2011

Rising Pune Supergiant

Captain: Steve Smith..
Coaching staff: Stephen Fleming, Hrishikesh Kanitkar

Player to watch out for: Ben Stokes

If a T20 team has names such as MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Ravichandran Ashwin, Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, you’d back it to beat all comers. But six players, including four overseas stars, suffered injuries and the team finished seventh. This year they’ve already lost Ashwin and Mitch Marsh to injuries. They’re now banking on the formidable Ben Stokes, IPL’s most expensive player.

Strength: An explosive batting order, including MS Dhoni and Ben Stokes, should keep their opponents on their toes

Past best: Finished Seventh in 2016 (First season)

Mumbai Indians

Captain: Rohit Sharma..
Coaching staff: Mahela Jayawardene, Sachin Tendulkar (mentor)

Player to watch out for: Jos Buttler

The team looks very strong on paper, packed with T20 match-winners like Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya. With the ball, they have a formidable pace attack including Mitchell Johnson and yorker specialists Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah. However, with practically this very team, they had finished fifth out of eight teams last year.

Strength: The team has explosive firepower in both batting and bowling, though they do seem a bit light in the spin bowling department.

Past best: Winners in 2013, 2015

Kolkata Knight Riders

Captain: Gautam Gambhir..
Coaching staff: Jacques Kallis, L Balaji, Simon Katich

Player to watch out for: Shakib Al Hasan

The Kolkata team will yet again enter the fray as one of the favourites. They have mastered the art of going beyond the league stage. The only concern nagging them would be the absence of their all-rounder Andre Russell, who’s serving a one-year ban for violating the whereabouts clause related to the anti-doping laws.

Strengths: A well balanced side with a steady batting unit, and a bowling attack with a lot of variety.

Past best: Champions in 2012, 2014

Gujarat Lions

Captain: Suresh Raina..
Coaching staff: Brad Hodge, Heath Streak

Player to watch out for: Brendon McCullum

They made a great debut last season by reaching the qualifiers. Their batting, with the likes of Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Bravo and James Faulkner in their ranks, again looks good. But with Jadeja and Bravo certain to miss a couple of matches, they can struggle a bit in bowling.

Strength: They have quite a few aggressive batsmen upfront, and quality all-rounders like Bravo, Faulkner and Jadeja to back them up.

Past best: Playoffs in 2016

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Captain: David Warner..
Coaching staff: Tom Moody, Muttiah Muralitharan

Player to watch out for: Ashish Nehra

The defending champions look a little short on batting. They depend heavily on Warner and Shikhar Dhawan for runs upfront, but the duo isn’t heading into the league in the best of forms. Dhawan is out of the Indian team, and Warner had a torrid time against India in the Test series.

Strength: They have arguably the best bowling attack with the wily Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman and Ben Cutting in their ranks.