With IPL 10 underway, Paul Radley gives a glance of each of the eight teams in the marquee Twenty20 cricket tournament. Click or swipe through for each team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Captain: David Warner
Last year: Champions
Star player: Ashish Nehra
Watch out for: Rashid Khan — Sunrisers must have thought they were about to land a bargain when they started bidding for a teenaged leg spinner who operates in international cricket's margins. He ended up costing the equivalent of around Dh2.1 million.
In brief: Surprise winners last year, as the unheralded side from Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final. With Rashid coming in, they have added even more mystery to an already savvy attack, that includes the likes of Mustafizur, Nehra and Buvneshwar Kumar.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Captain: Virat Kohli
Last year: Runners-up
Star player: AB de Villiers
Watch out for: Billy Stanlake — a 6ft 7in fast bowler who has played just two one-day internationals, and a T20i for Australia so far, taking one wicket in the process. The raw pace he showed in the Big Bash League encouraged PCB to risk around $44,000 on recruiting him.
In brief: Last season, Kohli became only the second Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar in 2010, to be named player of the tournament in the IPL. He was basically untouchable, and yet his all-star side still faltered at the last, beaten to the title by Sunrisers.
How have they responded? By lavishing big money on some new quicks, Tymal Mills and Stanlake, and bringing in some relatively unvarnished local talent.
Gujarat Lions
Captain: Suresh Raina
Last year: First in the table, eliminated in the final qualifier
Star player: Ravindra Jadeja
Watch out for: Chirag Suri — it might be a case of trying to spot the UAE's first IPL representative. The 22-year-old batsman might not feature much in the starting XI, but he is craving a chance to show what he can do.
In brief: Jadeja has proved remarkably durable during India's year-long endurance test. Seventeen Tests in eight months has brought on injuries for the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravi Ashwin and KL Rahul, but Jadeja has emerged stronger for it all.
If he can maintain his fitness for six weeks more, his finishing with the bat, spin with the ball, and gun fielding will be the basis on which Gujarat build their IPL challenge.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Captain: Gautam Gambhir
Last year: Fourth
Star player: Sunil Narine
Watch out for: Chris Lynn — maybe not a guaranteed starter, and he has recently struggled with injury. If he can reproduce the form he showed in Australia's Big Bash, though, he will be the star of the IPL.
In brief: Twice winners of the IPL, but they have not featured in the final for the past two seasons. To remedy that, they spent big on two overseas fast bowlers not necessarily famed for their expertise in T20 cricket, Trent Boult and Chris Woakes.
The New Zealander and Englishman will bolster an attack led by Narine, whose economy rate of 6.18 is comfortably the best in the competition’s history.
Mumbai Indians
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Last year: Fifth
Star player: Jos Buttler
Watch out for: Mitchell Johnson — the fact he stopped playing internationally, and is wending his way towards retirement, did not stop Mumbai parting with around $300,000 to secure the 35-year-old fast bowler's services.
In brief: The two-time champions struggled in defending their title last season, falling short of even making the playoffs.
With the power of Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler in the middle-order, the experience of Johnson with the ball, plus the bright young things of Indian cricket, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in tow, too, they should challenge this year.
Delhi Daredevils
Captain: Zaheer Khan
Last year: Sixth
Star player: Quinton de Kock
Watch out for: Jayant Yadav — a Test century and a first-class double-century to his name. Not bad for a No 8 nominally picked for his off spin bowling. Delhi possess plenty of firepower in their late-middle order batting.
In brief: An Indian team with an Afrikaans accent. At one point it seemed likely all four overseas player berths could conceivably be filled by South African internationals of great repute. De Kock and JP Duminy are injured now, but Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris remain.
How that means they will fare is anyone’s guess. This will be Delhi’s 10th go at winning the IPL. They have yet to even contest a final.
Rising Pune Supergiant
Captain: Steve Smith
Last year: seventh
Star player: Ben Stokes
Watch out for: Adam Zampa — very much the junior spinner on the Supergiant books, but the Australian leg spinner has a vital role to play now Ravi Ashwin has succumbed to a groin injury and will miss the tournament.
In brief: A potentially combustible dressing room, given the barbs captain Smith and India's leading players threw at each other from either side of the divide in the India v Australia Test series.
Maybe Ben Stokes will play peacemaker. That would be a laugh! The fiery England all-rounder will be looking to impress after Pune broke the bank to bring him to the IPL.
Kings XI Punjab
Captain: Glenn Maxwell
Last year: bottom of the table
Star player: Glenn Maxwell
Watch out for: Marcus Stoinis — the Australian all-rounder cemented his reputation as an international cricketer of substance with a remarkable innings against New Zealand in Auckland in January.
He hit 146 not out from 117 balls to take Australia to the brink of winning a one-day international that had seemed lost when he arrived at the wicket.
In brief: Consistent underachievement has characterised Kings XI in the IPL.
In a bid to rectify that, they have initiated a similarly out-of-the-box plan to that used by Sunrisers Hyderabad last year. Namely, they have instilled an Australian whose captaincy credentials do not obviously stand out as their leader.
If Maxwell can achieve what David Warner did with Sunrisers last year, the Punjab franchise will be delighted.
pradley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport