IPL 2022: Ranking all teams based on their strongest playing XIs

The participating teams have their squads ready now to set the tournament on fire. The mega Indian Premier League (IPL) auction was good for all the teams, and all of them looked satisfied with the resources they got. Only 204 out of 590 players in the auction managed to get contracts. The teams had varied strategies, and it remains to be seen which one was effective.

The teams will find it difficult to put across their playing XIs as they will have a problem of plenty. All of the teams have a huge amount of talent. The teams will have to make tough calls while selecting their first-choice XI. Who sits on the bench? It can be a hard thing to crack.

The competition is going to be more thrilling, as two brand new teams are set to be part of the 15th edition of the IPL. A quality playing XI of an IPL team forms with the combination of good domestic Indian players, and established international cricket stars.

Here we rank the 10 IPL 2022 teams based on their strongest playing XIs:

10. Gujarat Titans

It will be fair to say that the Titans could have done better at the auction. At times, they looked clueless while bidding. Till the last session of the auction, they did not have a single wicket-keeper. They went for Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha in the dying moments of the event. It will be very interesting to see who opens with Shubman Gill, as Jason Roy has opted out from the season.

After his exclusion, Matthew Wade is expected to open the innings with Shubman Gill who can double up his role by keeping the wickets. They can try someone like Abhinav Manohar at number three as they don’t have many options. The Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar will probably be the one to take up the number four batting position.

The South African star David Miller can be seen finishing games at number five, with skipper Hardik Pandya at number six. Rahul Tewatia can be a trump card for them down the order. Rashid Khan is expected to be the most valuable player for them, and he can be partnered by Rahul Tewatia in the spin bowling department. Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, and Pradeep Sangwan will probably form the pack attack.

9. Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Hyderabad-based franchise had the most surprising retention ahead of the auction. Their decision of letting David Warner and Rashid Khan go was surprising, to say the least. They have tried to form their line-up around Kane Williamson, who will lead the team. Hyderabad started their bidding quite late at the auction as they were seen backing their previous players.

They have successfully bought Rahul Tripathi, who is expected to be their first-choice opener in the tournament. The skipper can be seen opening alongside him. Aiden Markram has done well for South Africa batting at number three, and we can see him doing the same for the Sunrisers. SRH spent a lot of money on in-form Nicholas Pooran, who will undoubtedly be their most dependable batter in the middle-order.

The young all-rounders Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma will have the responsibility of finishing games for them at number five and six. The latest West Indian sensation Romario Shephard can be seen batting at number seven for them. Washington Sundar will have a big role to play for the franchise, too. He will be partnered by Shreyas Gopal during the spin-bowling at the middle overs. Bhuvi and Natarajan are their first-choice pacers.

8. Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders had a relief on their faces when they purchased Shreyas Iyer, as they desperately needed a solid skipper. The Indian batter has been named the skipper of the KKR for the 2022 season. They retained Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakravarthy, ahead of the mega auction.

Venkatesh Iyer did well while opening during the second leg of the previous season. He can get an opening partner in the form of Aaron Finch. The skipper Shreyas Iyer has shown a quality display of batting at number three for India recently. Nitish Rana will have the responsibility of their middle-order, alongside someone like Sheldon Jackson who has the dual ability to keep wickets.

Andre Russell will continue his role of finishing games for KKR in 2022, too. Sunil Narine will probably bat at number seven and will be one of KKR’s strongest pillars of bowling. Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, and Umesh Yadav can form the pace battery. Varun Chakravarthy will partner Sunil Narine as a spin bowler.

7. Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals also had a decent auction. Their problem now is that they have a lot of top-order batters. As a result, it can be tricky for the management to select three or four of them. Sanju Samson will lead the team this season, too, and Rajasthan will have a lot of hopes from him as a batter. On the other hand, they have a good-looking bowling line-up.

Rajasthan retained Yashasvi Jaiswal before the auction and he will be the contender to open the batting for them with Buttler. Devdutt Padikkal might not get his favorite batting position and rather he can be seen batting at number three. The skipper Sanju Samson can be seen thrashing the bowlers at number four.

Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag will be the best option for them at their lower-middle order. James Neesham will provide his multi-dimensional services to the Royals. Ashwin and Yuzi Chahal will handle the spin attack. Trent Boult’s performances will be crucial for them, as he is expected to lead their pace attack with Prasidh Krishna as a quality partner.

6. Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings was the franchise with the least number of retentions. They retained Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh. Just like every season, PBKS was looking to build a fresh and new team in 2022, too. Punjab went to the auction with the biggest purse, and they were quite busy while bidding for the players at the event. They have successfully assembled a decent squad.

Mayank Agarwal has got a nice opening partner in the form of Shikhar Dhawan. The hard-hitting English batter, Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone will take the charge of Punjab’s middle-order. The addition of these two stars is a blessing for the franchise.

The hero of the recently concluded U19 World Cup, Raj Bawa, has been bought by the Punjab-based franchise and will be seen batting for them at the middle-order. Shahrukh Khan was one of the most expensive uncapped players, who will be seen as a finisher for the franchise. Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, and Arshdeep Singh can take charge of fast-bowling, while spin-bowling can be taken care of by Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar.

5. Mumbai Indians

The most successful team in the history of IPL spent more than 10 crores on a single player for the first time in the auction. They went berserk while picking Ishan Kishan. MI has been a franchise that has backed its core. They invest in their familiar faces and build a team around them. Despite the Pandya brothers’ departure from the team, they still look very good.

The skipper Rohit Sharma is one of the best openers in the shortest format, and this time the pocket-size dynamo Ishan Kishan can accompany him who is a dependable gloveman, too. Suryakumar Yadav has been MI’s number three for a good time now, and his role will not be different from other seasons. Mumbai can use Tilak Verma as their number four who is a promising player.

The T20 star from Singapore, Tim David, can be seen finishing games for MI, alongside veteran Kieron Pollard. Daniel Sams is a good player to have in the team due to his all-round abilities as a cricketer. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack of MI, finding good support from Jaydev Unadkat and Tymal Mills. MI have got Mayank Markande as a quality leg-spinner who has done well for them previously.

4. Royal Challengers Bangalore

The IPL franchise with the biggest fan base has not done many wonders in the Indian Premier League. The franchise will not be the same anymore as AB de Villers has decided to take retirement from all forms of the game, and their skipper Virat Kohli has decided to quit captaincy. RCB have announced that Faf du Plessis will lead the franchise this season.

Faf can be seen opening the innings for RCB, alongside Virat Kohli. RCB can think a little bit out-of-the-box while selecting their number three. They can go for someone like Shahbaz Ahmad. The star performer for RCB last season, Glenn Maxwell, will take charge of RCB’s middle-order. RCB have roped in the experienced Indian wicket-keeper, Dinesh Karthik, and sending him at number five can be a good move.

Mahipal Lomror is a gun cricketer and RCB can invest in him as their go-to all-rounder. They have spent a huge amount of money on Wanindu Hasaranga who is all set to set the stage on fire. Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj can gel up with Josh Hazlewood, and form a good fast-bowling line-up. Yuzvendra Chahal is not with RCB anymore. Hence, Karn Sharma can be a good replacement for him.

3. Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings has a good mixture of experienced and young guys in their squad. They have this time has picked some young, budding cricketers who can serve the franchise for many more seasons. The big news is that Suresh Raina has not been picked by CSK, which was a surprising decision by the franchise.

Ruturaj Gaikwad has lost his opening partner Faf du Plessis but CSK have picked a good option in Devon Conway. Moeen Ali batted at number three for CSK last season, and did well so they can think of giving him a long run. Robin Uthappa did well for CSK in their last few games when he was given the number four batting position. Ambati Rayudu has been a star for CSK and he will continue doing his duty.

The face of CSK, MS Dhoni, will continue his role which he has been doing since 2008. The MVP of CSK, Ravindra Jadeja, has evolved as a batter, and there never was a doubt about his bowling. Jadeja will be the most important player for CSK. With Deepak Chahar getting injured, we can see someone like Tushar Deshpande and KM Asif replacing him in the first few matches in his absence. Bravo and Milne can be the first-choice pacers with a good spin option in the form of Santner.

2. Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals were the busiest franchise at the mega auction. They sealed some quality deals at the event. Rishabh Pant did well captaining Delhi last year, and will continue doing the same thing in 2022 too. DC have some stand-out match-winners of the 20-over format, and they have successfully assembled one of the strongest squads.

The most surprising deal of the IPL 2022 mega auction was of David Warner. Warner will probably be the new opening partner of Prithvi Shaw, and that duo can be a big threat for the opposition. KS Bharat had some good outings for RCB last year, and they can use him as their number three. The skipper Rishabh Pant can be seen batting at number four.

They can go for Mitchell Marsh at number five as he has done well for Australia, as well as his BBL franchise Perth Scorchers batting up the order He can also bat at three as he did for Australia in the T20 World Cup. Rovman Powell can be given the responsibility of finishing the games for them. Axar Patel can be a dependable number seven. Shardul, Nortje, and Sakariya can be the first-choice pacers. Kuldeep Yadav can have a breakthrough season in 2022, as he is expected to get a long run from the Delhi-based franchise.

1. Lucknow Super Giants

It will not be any wrong to say that the Lucknow Super Giants have managed to get the best-looking squad among all the teams. The Lucknow-based franchise is taking part for the first time, and is expected to do well in their inaugural season. They have named KL Rahul as their captain for the season, who was a draft pick alongside Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi.

KL Rahul has been the most consistent batter in the last few editions of the league. KL is expected to open the innings for LSG alongside Quinton de Kock who is one of the best wicket-keepers in world cricket, and he will be the first-choice keeper for LSG. They have managed to get Manish Pandey who is a quality number three batter. At number four, they have someone like Deepak Hooda who is an all-rounder with a lot of promise.

The main strength of LSG is their all-rounders. They have Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, and Krunal Pandya who can be their number five, six, and seven respectively. At number eight, they again have a good all-rounder in the form of Krishnappa Gowtham. After that, they have Avesh Khan who was extraordinary in 2021.

With Mark Wood injured, Chameera is expected to partner Avesh. The icing on the cake is Ravi Bishnoi who can deceive most of the batters in the tournament.