"With all the travel involved and summer upon us, fitness will be key. Hence bench strength and fitness levels will be crucial," Akram, who is a bowling consultant with the Kolkata Knight Riders, said.
"It will be interesting to see how senior Indian players like (Sourav) Ganguly, (Rahul) Dravid, (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Virender) Sehwag and Zaheer (Khan) cope up. They all have major roles to play for their respective teams," he added.
Akram believed the pressure will be enormous on Ravindra Jadega who will look to justify the amount Chennai shelled out for him.
"IPL-5 will tell us how much Ravindra Jadeja has evolved as a cricketer. He started promisingly on the Australian tour but faded out. He may have talent but he now has to justify the price that Chennai paid to acquire him. Jadeja really has to get his act together and the pressure will be enormous.
"At the same time, Virat Kohli will be under pressure to continue his good form. He has been a revelation so far for Indian cricket and deserves all the adulation he is getting on and off the field. Kohli now needs to keep his feet firmly grounded and enforce the belief that he is India captaincy material," Akram wrote in 'espnstar.Com'.
Akram backed KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore to make the qualifiers, besides usual favourites Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
"It is difficult to predict which teams will end up as top four. The IPL has always thrown surprises and it has made or marred reputations.