Best playing XI – Kane Williamson, Shubman Gill, KS Bharat (WK), Hardik Pandya (C), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Shivam Mavi, Mohammed Shami, R Sai Kishore

Chennai Super Kings

Strengths: MS Dhoni’s return as captain for the full season after a mid-season change last season will come as a major boost. While there will be many who will sweat about the future and a succession plan after the failed Ravindra Jadeja experiment, Dhoni as captain is a x-factor like any other. With a group of players hand picked by him, CSK knows they have the captain who will get the best out of each player, making them greater than the sum of their parts like always.

Weaknesses: CSK finished 9th last season, and at least on paper, it is a squad that comes out full of flaws. While CSK have a solid top three in Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Ben Stokes, their batting does not inspire confidence. There is no doubting how good Dhoni was in his prime, but it will be surprising if he can produce that level of performance on a consistent basis. Something similar can be said about Ambati Rayudu, who has barely played any cricket in the last 12 months after a poor 2022 season. CSK will be left expecting a lot out of players like Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shivam Dube.

Deepak Chahar’s return will come as a major boost, but the loss of Mukesh Choudhary is just as much of a disappointment. CSK lacks both an express pacer and a death overs specialist with Dwayne Bravo’s retirement. Ben Stokes’ inability to bowl only adds to their concerns.

Best playing XI – Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ben Stokes, Mooen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Shivam Dube, Deepak Chahar Mahesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande

Mumbai Indians

Strenghts – Looking to bounce back from a 10th place finish in 2022; Mumbai Indians’ bating is one that will worry any bowling attack. If each player can hit form, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, and Cameron Green is explosive a batting unit as any in the tournament.

Weaknesses – MI’s bowling unit was exposed in 2022 and Jasprit Bumrah’s absence gives them even more headache in the deparment. While Jofra Archer’s return is a positive, the English pacer is only coming back from a long hiatus and will need more support and Jhye Richardon’s injury has only added salt to the wounds. The Rohit-led outfit lack an established spinner and will need to rely on rookies like Kumar Kartikeya and Hrithik Shokeen or an clearly past his best Piyush Chawla.

Best playing XI – Rohit Sharma(C), Ishan Kishan(WK), Surykumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Cameroon Green, Arshad Khan, Jofra Archer, Kumar Kartikeyan,Hrithik Shooken, Jason Behrendroff

Strengths: While they failed to make the final in 2022, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had an impressive season in 2022 as they narrowly missed out on making the final, and they did that despite Virat Kohli’s worst season. Now that Kohli is back among the runs, it only augurs well for the RCB. Skipper Faf du Plessis has looked like a rejuvenated player over the last year and shown he can up the ante against spinners too. With the same players, they look like a much more dangerous batting unit with Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, and Rajat Patidar in the ranks. Moreover, if fully fit, RCB would arguably have the best bowling unit in the tournament.

Weaknesses: Injuries have put RCB’s campaign under major doubt as two stars of their 2022 campaign, Josh Hazlewood and Rajat Patidar, are not fit to start the tournament, and there are doubts over Maxwell’s fitness having just recovered from a serious leg injury. It goes without saying that their absence leaves a huge hole in RCB’s line-up and severely compromises their balance.

Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel were brilliant in 2022, but Karthik has not played any cricket since November, and Harshal has looked significantly off-colour in the Indian jersey for a number of months. If the duo fail to hit their levels, RCB will find it tough to make up for it.

Best playing XI- Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(C), Rajat Patidar (Anuj Rawat), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell (Michael Bracewell), Dinesh Karthik(WK), Shabaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood (Reece Topley)

Kolkata Knight Riders

Strengths: The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) continue to maintain a USP with the presence of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell in their side, as these are two players who are arguably the best-ever T20 players. If the duo is at its best, they can single handedly win matches.

Weaknesses: Shreyas Iyer’s injury has left KKR not just without their regular captain but also with a huge hole in their middle order. Their batting fails to inspire confidence and requires the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, and Rinku Singh to make massive improvements. In 2020 and 2021, Varun Chakravarthy was a difference maker, but his 2022 season has put a major cloud over him and the two-time champions’ bowling

Best playing XI – Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan (WK), Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav

Rajasthan Royals

Strengths: The Rajasthan Royals (RR) reached the final in 2022, and with the same core present, there is no reason why they cannot build on the season. RR were a well balanced unit last season and have addressed their all-rounder concern with the signing of Jason Holder, while the impact player will help them overcome the issue even more. In Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin, they have the best spin bowling unit in the competition, and the luxury of having Adam Zampa in the reserves is an embarrassment of riches.

Weaknesses: Prasidh Krishna took up a lot of responsibility in the bowling unit, and his absence is a huge blow and puts a lot of pressure on Kuldeep Sen and Navdeep Saini. Trent Boult is a legend of the sport but not the person you want bowling death overs, and the Sanju Samson-led team severely lacks a specialist for that part.

Devdutt Padikkal will once again have to bat in the middle order as Yashasvi Jaiswal continues to open with Jos Butter. As talented as Padikkal is, he is a complete misfit in the middle order, which can derail the momentum of an inning.

Best playing XI – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (C/WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Bout

Strengths: Despite the huge Rishabh Pant void, the Delhi Capitals’ batting unit is one that can consistently do a lot of damage. There is no reason to believe that David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Rovmen Powell, and Axar Patel (With Phil Salt, Riley Rossouw on the bench) cannot match any batting unit in the competition. Additionally, with Kuldeep Yadav and Axar, they have an excellent spin duo in their ranks too

Weaknesses: While the Delhi Capitals have Anrich Nortje in their ranks, his support cast will worry them as it lacks an established pace. However, it might not be as much of a worry as Khaleel Ahmed had a very good season in 2022, and Chetan Sakariya has proven himself to be among the best young left-arm pacers in the country.

Best playing XI – David Warner(C), Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan(WK), Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Strengths: Sunrisers Hyderabad went into the auction with the biggest purse after releasing Kane Williamson and Nicolas Pooran, and their auction buys justified their decision. With the likes of Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, and Adil Rashid in their ranks, they look as balanced a team as any in the competition, with quality in both the batting and bowling units.

Weaknesses: SRH are likely to end up relying on an all India pace attack unless they drop either Rashid or an overseas batter to play Marco Jansen, and they will depend on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, and T Natarajan to be at their best. While Umran is rapidly growing in stature, Natarajan has not played any professional cricket since October, while age is catching up with Bhuvneshwar, and this could end up being a cause of worry for the 2016 champions.

Best playing XI – Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(C), Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips(WK), Washington Sundar, Adil Rashid, Bhuvneshar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik

Lucknow Super Giants

Strengths: Like in 2022, this is a team built on all-rounders, which makes their squad extremely balanced, and despite letting Holder go, they still have that advantage with the likes of Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcos Stoinis, and the signings of Kyle Mayers, Daniel Sams, and Ramorio Shepherd. Nicolas Pooran’s inclusion also adds a lot of firepower to a misfiring middle order.

Weaknesses: While Mark Wood’s return to fitness still makes LSG a different beast with the bowl, whether they have the right personnel to support him remains questionable. Mohsin Khan’s injury takes a lot away from their pace bowling, especially due to Avesh Khan’ recent inconsistent run of form and Jaydev Unadkat failure to make a mark in the IPL since 2017 despite his exploits in domestic cricket.

Best playing XI – KL Rahul (C), Quinton de Kock(WK), Deepak Hooda, Nicolas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Marcos Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Jaydev Unadkat.

Punjab Kings

Strengths: Punjab Kings’ batting unit remains one that can cause a lot of damage despite Jonny Bairstow’s absence with Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, and Sam Curran in the ranks. However, how that translates on paper is something only time will tell, with most of these players coming up with a question mark. With Arshdeep Singh and Curran, they have probably the best death-over bowling duo, and that will allow Kagiso Rabada to finish his quota with the new ball, where he is more dangerous.

Weaknesses: Rahul Chahar remains their leading spinner, and although he did a tremendous job for MI in their two title wins in 2019 and 2020, he has failed to match those levels in the last two years, and that could be a cause of concern for PBKS.

Best playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeeep Singh