 "Group A captains and teams: All that has changed for franchises in IPL 2023")
The Indian Premier League (IPL) changes every season bit by bit and before you get a hang of what has happened, sometimes the entire team’s nucleus gets revamped. The mini-auction in December 2023 played a pivotal role in changing the look and feel of certain teams in the league. Here’s what to expect from teams in Group A of IPL 2023.
Delhi Capitals: Got specialists, released bits and pieces players, plagued by Pant’s injury
Captain- David Warner
Squad- David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav,
The first and most important change in the Delhi Capitals’ side is the absence of its skipper Rishabh Pant. Pant got injured in an accident and has been replaced by experienced David Warner as the skipper of the side. Axar Patel has been promoted to the ranks of vice captains thanks to his brilliant run with both ball and bat in the international circuit for Team India.
The other major change has been the buying up of quality specialists in the form of Phil Salt, Rilee Rossouw and Mukesh Kumar. Delhi released Shardul Thakur who could bat and ball but was impressive with none.
In the transfer window, they got Aman Khan, a hard-hitting youngster from Kolkata in return for Thakur. Similarly, it also released KS Bharat and Mandeep Singh as they were not fitting the plan.
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With the impact player rule in place, the likes of Kumar could be used up front with the ball and then changed by an impact batter to suit the team in the chase, or vice-versa in case the team is defending the total.
It is a solid team according to the lineup even after the absence of Pant, but will that translate into glory, only time will tell.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Captain injured, team struggling but has a successful coach
Captain- Nitish Rana
Squad- Nitish Rana (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan
Like the Capitals, Kolkata too are without their original skipper Shreyas Iyer. Iyer had lost the captaincy of Delhi Capitals and eventually the team when he got injured before the 2021 season and once again he is injured just before an IPL season with yet another franchise.
Nitish Rana, who has had no experience of captaincy at the highest level, has been given the reins of a team that boasts of international stars and leaders like Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan and Tim Southee. It is being touted as a ceremonial position and coach Chandrakant Patil, who has led domestic sides like Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh to Ranji Titles, is supposed to be running the show from behind the boundary lines.
The signing up for the players in the mini auction was also not on the brighter side for the two-time champions as they could only sign the lies of David Wiese, Shakib Al Hasan (already with them), Litton Das and Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan.
However, in the transfer market, they got Shardul Thakur and Lockey Ferguson and traded away Aman Khan to the Capitals.
It is a team of talented players with a proven track record and a lot of T20 experience. For coach Pandit and skipper Rana, the test is altogether different. Will they be able to ace it is a question that remains unanswered as of now.
Lucknow Super Giants aim to go past the playoffs this time
Captain- KL Rahul
Squad- KL Rahul (c), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Nicholas Pooran, Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Daniel Sams, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad, Swapnil Singh, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yudhvir Charak.
The Lucknow side has brought interesting changes to their team. Having let go of Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey and Dushmantha Chameera, the Rahul-led side has tried to negate the complications that come along with out-form or injured overseas players.
In return, they signed Nicholas Pooran for a huge sum of Rs 16 crore. They already have a keeper in Rahul and openers are set in the form of de Kock and the skipper himself. Where will Pooran play then? The price that Lucknow have paid to acquire him certainly means he would play and would most likely be used as a finisher and a gun fielder near the boundary ropes.
Apart from Pooran, no other major signings or transfers have been done by the Super Giants. The side which made it to the playoffs in their debut season would look to go one better this
Mumbai Indians brace for yet another season of struggles
Captain- Rohit Sharma
Squad- Rohit Sharma (c), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal, Cameron Green, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Vishnu Vinod, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Raghav Goyal
Mumbai Indians' troubles do not seem to end. Last year they lacked a proper finishing all-rounder and the services of a quality pacer to bowl alongside Jasprit Bumrah. This year around, they do not have Bumrah when Jofra Archer is available.
The signing of Cameron Green at a hefty price of Rs 17.5 crore shows the team's desperation to find Kieron Pollard’s replacement who was released post the last season. Other than Green, another Australian, a pace-bowling all-rounder, Jhye Richardson was added to the Mumbai squad. Sandeep Warrier has been brought in as the replacement for Bumrah.
With Rohit Sharma’s availability in question and Suryakumar Yadav not being in form, it will not be preposterous to claim that it is going to be yet another tough season for the blue and gold.
Rajasthan Royals could utilise the impact player rule to the best
Captain- Sanju Samson
Squad- Sanju Samson (c/wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa, Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, Murugan Ashwin, Akash Vashisht, Abdul P A, Joe Root
The Rajasthan Royals' table at the IPL auction this year seemed like the most prepared with the new rules in place. They have added to their kitty the likes of Jason Holder, Joe Root and Adam Zampa. These are all experienced campaigners and could be utilised in a particular situation. Say, for example, the pitch is turning and helping the spinners, Zampa could then come in as the impact player during the second innings and join Yuzi Chahal and Ravi Ashwin to outfox the opposition.
The released players from Rajasthan include a certain Daryl Mitchell who looks in red-hot form right now. Other than him, the Royals have done well to let go of the likes of James Neesham and Rassie van der Dussen.