The 2017 Indian Premier League season gets underway on Wednesday and once again features some of the world’s best cricketers.
There is also an influx of English talent in this year’s tournament, with no fewer than eight England internationals involved, including Ben Stokes, who was signed for a record £1.6 million in the auction last month.
So as well as finding a team to support, we’ve assessed all eight teams involved and provided you with comprehensive betting odds for the tournament.
Delhi Daredevils
Can they win it?
Unlikely, considering they’re the worst performing franchise out of any in the IPL. They’ve made the knockout phase just once in seven years and have also finished bottom of the table on three occasions, however last year’s sixth-place finish does offer slight encouragement.
Captain: Zaheer Khan
Coach: Paddy Upton
Best Performance: Third (2012)
2016 Result: Sixth
Top Runscorer in 2016: Quinton de Kock (445)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Chris Morris/Amit Mishra (13)
England Star: Sam Billings
Overseas Players: Corey Anderson (New Zealand), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Pat Cummins (Australia), Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka), Chris Morris (South Africa), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
IPL Betting Odds: 13/2
Gujarat Lions
Can they win it?
Gujarat were the early pace-setters last year and finished in first place in the table in their maiden IPL season, but they faded badly towards the end. They’re bound to be in the mix again and their top order is stacked full of big hitters. It’ll be interesting to see which combination of Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina they go for, while they also purchased England big hitter Jason Roy in the auction.
Captain: Suresh Raina
Coach: Brad Hodge
Best Performance: Third, after finishing first in points table (2016)
2016 Result: Third (2016)
Top Runscorer in 2016: Suresh Raina (399)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Dhawal Kulkarni (18)
England Star: Jason Roy
Overseas Players: Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), James Faulkner (Australia), Aaron Finch (Australia), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand), Dwayne Smith (West Indies), Chirag Suri (United Arab Emirates), Andrew Tye (Australia)
IPL Betting Odds: 13/2
Kings XI Punjab
Can they win it?
Kings XI have finished bottom for the last two seasons and it’s difficult to see them mounting much of a challenge this year. England captain Eoin Morgan has arrived at the franchise, but Glenn Maxwell, who’s never captained a team in any format of the game, will lead them this season. Maxwell and David Miller inspired them to a run to the final in 2014, but neither have been prolific since. If Kings XI are to succeed, the all-round duo will need to perform.
Captain: Glenn Maxwell
Coach: Virender Sehwag
Best Performance: Runners-up (2014)
2016 Result: Eighth
Top Runscorer in 2016: Murali Vijay (453)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Sandeep Sharma (15)
England Star: Eoin Morgan
Overseas Players: Hashim Amla (South Africa), Martin Guptill (New Zealand), Matt Henry (New Zealand), Shaun Marsh (Australia), Glenn Maxwell (Australia), David Miller (South Africa), Darren Sammy (West Indies), Marcus Stoinis (Australia)
IPL Betting Odds: 11/1
Kolkata Knight Riders
Can they win it?
They’ll be there or thereabouts. They’ve made the play-offs four times in the last six years and have won it twice. Their success can be attributed to having a settled squad featuring veterans Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, T20 superstar Andre Russell and spinner Sunil Narine. Russell won’t feature this year and it’s up to England’s Chris Woakes to fill his boots. The bowling is strong with the arrivals of Trent Boult and Nathan Coulter-Nile, while big-hitting Aussie Chris Lynn could also get a game.
Captain: Gautam Gambhir
Coach: Jacques Kallis
Best Performance: Winners (2012 and 2014)
2016 Result: Fourth
Top Runscorer in 2016: Gautam Gambhir (501)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Andre Russell (15)
England Star: Chris Woakes
Overseas Players: Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Darren Bravo (West Indies), Nathan Coulter-Nile (Australia), Chris Lynn (Australia), Sunil Narine (West Indies), Rovman Powell (West Indies)
IPL Betting Odds: 8/1
Mumbai Indians
Can they win it?
Mumbai finished outside the play-off places for the first time since 2009 last year, but they should be better this time around. Their work in the auction wasn’t particularly eye-catching, but Mitchell Johnson has returned after an excellent Big Bash. Combine Johnson’s arrival with the return from injury of Lasith Malinga and opposition teams will struggle to score runs in the latter stages of the innings. England’s Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard will form a big hitting combination in the middle order.
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Coach: Mahela Jayawardena
Best Performance: Winners (2013 and 2015)
2016 Result: Fifth
Top Runscorer in 2016: Rohit Sharma (489)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Mitchell McClenaghan (17)
England Star: Jos Buttler
Overseas Players: Asela Gunaratne (Sri Lanka), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Nicholas Pooran (West Indies), Lendl Simmons (West Indies), Tim Southee (New Zealand)
IPL Betting Odds: 5/1
Rising Pune Supergiants
Can they win it?
The Supergiants were poor last year and they’ve made two big moves to rectify their problems. The first was to replace MS Dhoni as captain with Australian Steve Smith, which could be interesting following the recent Test Series between India and Australia, while the second is to buy Ben Stokes in the auction for an IPL record overseas signing fee of £1.6 million. They should be very competitive this year, but expect an inquisition if they fail again.
Captain: Steve Smith
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Best Performance: Seventh (2016)
2016 Result: Seventh (2016)
Top Runscorer in 2016: Ajinkya Rahane (480)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Adam Zampa (12)
England Star: Ben Stokes
Overseas Players: Dan Christian (Australia), Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand), Usman Khawaja (Australia), Steve Smith (Australia), Adam Zampa (Australia)
IPL Betting Odds: 5/1
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Can they win it?
So often the bridesmaids, but never the bride. RCB have finished runners-up on three occasions, but have never won it. With a top order featuring Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Shane Watson, they should post some imposing totals this year. Their bowling has been the downfall in previous IPL seasons, but England fast bowler Tymal Mills arrives for £1.4 million, while Yuzvendra Chahal and Watson will have to step up if they are to win.
Captain: Virat Kohli
Coach: Daniel Vettori
Best Performance: Runners-up (2009, 2011, 2016)
2016 Result: Runners-Up
Top Runscorer in 2016: Virat Kohli (973)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Yuzvendra Chahal (21)
England Star: Tymal Mills
Overseas Players: Samuel Badree (West Indies), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Chris Gayle (West Indies), Travis Head (Australia), Adam Milne (New Zealand), Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa), Billy Stanlake (Australia), Shane Watson (Australia)
IPL Betting Odds: 33/10
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Can they win it?
They’re the defending champions and the Australian pairing of Tom Moody and David Warner return to try and retain their title. Warner would have finished as top scorer last year, had it not been for Kohli, but it was the bowling attack that really won them the title. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the top wicket taker in the tournament, while Mustafizur Rahman helped him from the other end. They’ve strengthened their seam bowling department with the arrival of England’s Chris Jordan, but they could struggle when it comes to spin. The arrival of 45-year old Pravin Tambe and Afghanistan teenager Rashid Khan isn’t as eye-catching as some of the other teams in the tournament.
Captain: David Warner
Coach: Tom Moody
Best Performance: Winners (2016)
2016 Result: Winners
Top Runscorer in 2016: David Warner (848)
Top Wicket Taker in 2016: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (23)
England Star: Chris Jordan
Overseas Players: Ben Cutting (Australia), Moises Henriques (Australia), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Ben Laughlin (Australia), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh), David Warner (Australia), Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
IPL Betting Odds: 11/2
