IPL 2023 Preview: A look at the teams and players to watch out
The 2023 Indian Premier League, the largest cricket event of the year, is ready to return to town.
For the first time in four years, franchises are returning to their home venues. What impact will the new Impact Player rule, which allows each side to replace one player each game, have? And as the ODI men’s World Cup later this year approaches, how will nations manage the strain of elite players?
In preparation for the 2023 season, which kicks off on Friday with a match between the reigning champion Gujarat Titans and the 2021 champion Chennai Super Kings, let’s assess the qualifications of the front-runners in the competition, examine the underdogs, and choose three individuals to keep an eye on.
Gujarat Titans
Last year, the Gujarat Titans easily won their first championship. Their successful championship defence was supported by a rock-solid middle order (spots 4-7) that, in 2022, had the best team-wide average of 39.8 runs per wicket. Since the conclusion of the IPL last year, their best scorers, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, and Shubman Gill, have all maintained outstanding form, averaging over 40 in men’s T20Is played in India.
Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami will once more be the Titans’ leading bowlers. Shami (11) had the most powerplay wickets taken in the IPL 2022, whereas Rashid has taken at least 17 wickets in each of the league’s previous seasons and has never given up an economy rate greater than 6.74 in a single season. With Lockie Ferguson gone, Alzarri Joseph can take the lead. The Antiguan fast demonstrated his potential by recording a career-high 5-40 against South Africa in the third Twenty20 international earlier this week.
Kane Williamson and Shivam Mavi, two recent signings, provide Gujarat’s top order and bowling greater balance, while Abhinav Manohar and Rahul Tewatia’s potential down the order adds explosiveness.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad has a strong hitting lineup going into the IPL this year. In the previous IPL, one of them, Abhishek Sharma, made a splash by scoring the highest runs by an Indian during the powerplay (255). He will be joined at the top of the list by Rahul Tripathi and Mayank Agarwal.
The captain Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen excelled in the SA20 league, and Glenn Phillips has recorded the fourth-most 50+ run scores in T20Is since the end of the IPL 2022 with seven. In the Vitality Blast 2022, Harry Brook scored 436 runs while batting at a 163.9 mph average and hitting a boundary per five balls.
Last year, Umran Malik led Hyderabad’s bowling attack with 22 tournament wickets, the most of any Indian paceman. Additionally, he caused the most batting false shots of any bowler (minimum of 10 overs bowled), on 45% of his deliveries.
The Sunrisers’ core of Indian bowlers includes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kartik Tyagi, Washington Sundar, and T. Natarajan. Depending on the situation, Marco Jansen and Akeal Hosein may also contribute.
Rajasthan Royals
Last year, Umran Malik led Hyderabad’s bowling attack with 22 tournament wickets, the most of any Indian paceman. Additionally, he caused the most batting false shots of any bowler (minimum of 10 overs bowled), on 45% of his deliveries.
The Sunrisers’ core of Indian bowlers includes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kartik Tyagi, Washington Sundar, and T. Natarajan. Depending on the situation, Marco Jansen and Akeal Hosein may also contribute.
Any IPL team is only as good as its nucleus of Indian players, and the Royals have that covered with players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, and Devdutt Padikkal on their team. Shimron Hetmyer, who was one of just two batsmen to score more than 200 runs in the last overs of the IPL last year, will provide a strong support for them. Jason Holder, a fellow countryman, will also be useful for winning games.
Last year, Rajasthan had the powerplay bowling down pat. Their strike rate of 23.5 was the third greatest during this time span, while their economy of 6.8 was the best among all teams. Prasidh Krishna made significant contributions to this cause, and his absence will impact the Royals, but Trent Boult is still just as powerful in his place.
