Team analysis of KKR, RR, DC and MI:Rohit Sharma to play as ‘Impact Player’?; Kolkata’s bowling lineup struggles

The 19th season of IPL starts today. The opening match will be between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabd (SRH). RCB is the defending champion, while SRH won the title 10 years ago by defeating Bengaluru in the 2016 final under David Warner’s captaincy. 7 teams have won the tournament that started in 2008, while Punjab, Delhi and Lucknow are still waiting for their first title. This time injured pacers have increased the troubles for 2024 champion KKR. Meanwhile, five-time winner Mumbai Indians appears to be a title contender. In second part of the IPL team analysis story, details of Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals… 1. Mumbai Indians
4 World Cup winning players included
Lack of experience in spinners Captain
Hardik Pandya captained Gujarat before Mumbai. Not only that, he made the team champions in the very first season of 2022. The team was also runner-up in the next season. In 2024, Hardik rejoined Mumbai and was made captain. The team finished 10th then, but last season qualified for playoffs by winning 8 matches. Mumbai did win the eliminator but lost to Punjab in Qualifier-2. Hardik scored 224 runs along with taking 14 wickets then. He has captained in 60 IPL matches, winning 35 and losing 25. Team Combination
All players are fit, but Deepak Chahar and Jasprit Bumrah’s workload may need to be managed. Chahar couldn’t play all matches last season due to injury. Shardul Thakur is present in the team as his backup. Also read: Can gritty Gill, super Siraj bring glory for Gujarat Titans?:Consistency key for 2022 champions; GT SWOT analysis Possible Starting-12: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya (captain), Sherfane Rutherford, Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar/Mitchell Santner, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult. Player Performance
Since January 2023, the top order has scored runs at a strike rate of 149.85 and an average of 31.78. The middle order scored at a strike rate of 149.08 and an average of 31.98. Spinners took 154 wickets with an economy of 7.88. While pacers have 264 wickets with an economy of 7.73. Possible Game Plan
Strong Mumbai has the power to win matches with both batting and bowling in every department. The team will focus on winning by scoring 225+ runs at their home ground Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai also holds the record for chasing the most 200+ scores in IPL. Expert Opinion
Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh said that Rohit should not be used as an impact player. His presence on the field will make it easier for the captain to make decisions. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin said that Suryakumar Yadav should captain. His World Cup experience will benefit Mumbai. Final Verdict: Can become champions. 2. Kolkata Knight Riders
4 Pacers Injured, Harshit Rana ruled out
Tournament’s Best Spinners Included Captain
Ajinkya Rahane first captained an IPL team in 2017. Since then, he has captained in 38 matches. The team won 14 and lost 23. Last year, he took over KKR’s captaincy, but the team lost 7 matches and finished at 8th position. Though Rahane scored 390 runs with a strike rate of 147.73, the team appeared confused with their playing combination. Team Combination
Harshit Rana and Akashdeep are out due to injury, while Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman won’t be able to play IPL due to political controversy. Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana is also not fully fit. The team’s bowling has weakened in the absence of 4 key pacers. KKR brought in Blessing Muzarabani, Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Dubey, but all three have very limited IPL experience. Possible Starting-12: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Tim Seifert (Wicketkeeper), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Umran Malik, Blessing Muzarabani. Player Performance
Top order scored runs at a strike rate of 163.99 and an average of 36.26. Middle order scored at a strike rate of 150.88 and an average of 29.08. Spinners took 285 wickets with an economy of 7.29. Pacers claimed 170 wickets with an economy of 8.63. Possible Game Plan
KKR has explosive batters from positions 1 to 8. After the shortage of bowlers, the team will now focus on winning matches through batting power alone. The squad has explosive openers like New Zealand’s Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, who can take the team beyond 80-90 runs in the powerplay itself. Expert Opinion
Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif said, Captain Rahane appeared under pressure last season. The right time has come to give captaincy to Rinku Singh. Andre Russell has retired, the team has bought Cameron Green to replace him, but he is a much weaker T20 player compared to Russell. Final Verdict: Chances of finishing in bottom four 3. Gujarat Titans
Top Order Strike Rate 145+
Spinners have 250+ wickets Captain
After debuting in 2022, Gujarat Titans played playoffs in 3 out of 4 seasons. After Hardik, Shubman Gill took command. After flopping in 2024, last year he led the team to playoffs. However, the team lost the eliminator to Mumbai. Shubman did score 650 runs with a strike rate of 155.88. He has been consistently scoring 400+ runs for the last 6 seasons. Team Combination
Glenn Phillips, who was injured last season, is fully fit now, he is enhancing team’s balance with his off-spin and explosive batting. He has scored runs at a strike rate of 150 since 2025. Prithviraj Yara got injured, left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya was included in his place. Apart from these, all players are completely fit. Possible Starting-12: Shubman Gill (Captain), Sai Sudarshan, Jos Buttler (Wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. Player Performance
The top order scored with a strike rate of 147.39 and an average of 41.21. The middle order scored runs with a strike rate of 142.17 and an average of 23.75. Spinners took 254 wickets with an economy of 7.72. Pacers claimed 190 wickets with an economy of 8.39. Possible Game Plan
Rabada could play very few matches last season. This time he is fit, and has support from Siraj, Prasidh, Sai Kishore and Rashid. Last season the team’s bowling was poor in powerplay, this time the team will focus on winning matches through bowling. Gill, Sudarshan and Buttler could once again be seen scoring maximum runs for the team in the top order. Expert Opinion
Former cricketer Sanjay Bangar said that Gujarat’s top order is very experienced, but the team’s middle order needs to come forward and perform. After Hardik’s departure, the team hasn’t found a perfect replacement here. Aakash Chopra has said that due to Rashid’s injury, the team’s bowling hasn’t been able to find its edge. Final Verdict: Could remain at number 5 to number 6. 4. Delhi Capitals
Pacers have only 151 wickets
Rahul will open, partner not present Captain
Axar Patel got Delhi’s captaincy last season. The team made a good start by winning first 5 matches, but lost 6 matches in the end and couldn’t make it to playoffs. Axar promoted himself up the order and scored 263 runs with a strike rate of 157.49. However, he remained weak in bowling and could only take 5 wickets. Team Combination
Delhi confirmed that KL Rahul will handle the opening position this time. England’s Ben Duckett has withdrawn his name from the tournament. In such a situation, Karun Nair or Pathum Nisanka could get the opening with Rahul. Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc will be out of the initial few matches. He may join the team in the second week of April. Also read: RCB take on SRH in blockbuster season opener:No opening ceremony, Virat Kohli’s men up against Abhishek Sharma’s army Possible Starting-12: KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Karun Nair/Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (Captain), David Miller, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, Auqib Nabi, Thangarasu Natarajan. Player Performance
Top order scored runs at a strike rate of 141.21 and an average of 33.63. Middle order scored at a strike rate of 142.46 and an average of 30.92. Spinners took 226 wickets with an economy of 7.61. While pacers claimed 151 wickets with an economy of 8.54. Possible Game Plan
Delhi’s team is balanced like Punjab and Mumbai. Along with strong batters from positions 1 to 8, they also have T20 specialist bowlers like Kuldeep, Ngidi, Natarajan, and Axar. Delhi will focus on winning maximum matches through their bowling strength. Last season the team appeared weak in this department. Expert Opinion
Aakash Chopra said that Delhi can end their trophy drought this time. The team has strong players along with good backup options. With the addition of David Miller and Nisanka, the team’s batting has become even stronger. Many experts said that the decision to send Rahul for opening is best for the team. Final Verdict: Chances to finish in top-5, could also make it to playoffs. 5. Rajasthan Royals
15-year-old Vaibhav will open
Top order strike rate 160+
Captain
Riyan Parag will captain Royals full-time for the first time. Last season, after Samson was injured, he captained for 8 matches but the team succeeded in only 2. RR finished 9th last season after losing 10 matches. However, Parag scored 393 runs with a strike rate of 166.53. Team Combination
All-rounder Sam Curran is out of the tournament due to injury. He had scored 167 runs along with taking 6 wickets in the last World Cup. Rajasthan has included Sri Lanka’s T-20 captain all-rounder Dasun Shanaka in place of Curran. Shanaka remained unsold in the last 3 IPL auctions, but came into the tournament as a replacement each time. However, he could only play 3 matches. Possible Starting-12: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag (Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande. Player Performance
The top order scored runs at an average of 38.88 and strike rate of 163.17. The middle order scored at a strike rate of 155.74 and average of 26.09. Spinners took 153 wickets with an economy of 7.93. While pacers claimed 221 wickets with an economy of 8.78. Also read: IPL 2026 ‘Virat Kohli on top of his game,’ says Andy Flower: Hazlewood out of season opener; Vettori provides Pat Cummins’ update Possible Game Plan
Rajasthan’s batting will depend on Vaibhav, Yashasvi, Parag and Hetmyer. They will have to bat responsibly to win matches for the team. While the spin department has strengthened with Bishnoi and Jadeja, the pacers’ economy rate remains very high. The team will need to play unitedly. Expert Opinion
Ravichandran Ashwin said that Jadeja should have been given captaincy instead of Parag. The first year of captaincy was difficult for Parag, and he will remain under pressure. Riyan is young and should focus only on his batting for now. Meanwhile, Krishnamachari Srikant said that Rajasthan does not have a team capable of becoming champions. Final Verdict: Chances of finishing in bottom four