It’s that time of the year again — serious cricket can be forgotten for a while as Cricketainment takes centrestage. Here’s a look at the eight teams competing for India’s domestic T20 crown…
Ready for tonight? The defending champions, Mumbai Indians, train in Mumbai on Friday. They kick off their title defence with their match against Pune Supergiants in Mumbai tonight.
Mumbai Indianscoaching staff: Sachin Tendulkar (Mentor), Ricky Ponting (Coach)
captain: Rohit Sharma
most expensive player: Jos Buttler
Rs 3.8 crore
the personnel: The defending champs will be the favourites, though they have suffered a setback due to the injury to Lasith Malinga. But their batting is very formidable — Rohit Sharma, Corey Anderson, Jos Buttler, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu and Lendl Simmons are all match-winners in this format. The bowling will be a worry, though. strengths: A very strong batting line-up and an experienced bowling attack.past best: Champions in 2013, 2015; runners-up in 2010
Rising Pune Supergiants
coach: Stephen Fleming
captain: MS Dhoni
most expensive player: MS Dhoni
Rs 12.5 crore
the personnel: One of the two new teams, Pune have great pedigree as they have some key members of the penalised Chennai Super Kings squad. Pune have MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Mitch Marsh and Steven Smith, among others. This is serious firepower.strengths: Pune are packed with all-rounders and proven match-winners.past best: This is their first IPL season
Kolkata Knight Riderscoaching staff: Jacques Kallis, Wasim Akram (Bowling coach)
captain: Gautam Gambhir
most expensive player: Jaydev Unadkat
Rs 1.6 crore
the personnel: The two-time champions have a strong batting line-up that includes Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey. They have several all-rounders, including Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Jason Holder and Yusuf Pathan. New Zealand sensation Colin Munro is the one to watch. Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav are the key pacers. strengths: A steady, settled unit with powerful batsmen and excellent all-rounders.past best: Champions in 2012, 2014
Delhi Daredevilscoaching staff: Rahul Dravid (Mentor), Paddy Upton (Coach)
captain: Zaheer Khan
most expensive player: Pawan Negi
Rs 8.5 crore
the personnel: The team has been revamped after another dismal show in 2015. They don’t have too many big names in the squad — one name familiar to the fans would be Carlos Brathwaite, who hit four sixers in a row to win the World T20 for West Indies. They do have young blasters like Sanju Samson and Karun Nair, and SA’s Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy.strengths: The team has young and “hungry players”, apart from a good leadership team.past best: Semifinalists in 2008, 2009; Playoffs in 2012
Royal Challengers Bangalore coaching staff: Daniel Vettori, Allan Donald (Bowling coach)
captain: Virat Kohli
most expensive player: Shane Watson
Rs 9.5 crore
the personnel: This team has had the best resources and probably the best hitters all these years, but hasn’t won a single title yet. They have Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson as their top stars. Among the youngsters, they have Sarfaraz Khan and Mandeep Singh. They do seem to lack in the bowling department.strengths: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson — this is a scary line-up.past best: Runners-up in 2009, 2011
Kings XI Punjab coaching staff: Virender Sehwag (Mentor), Sanjay Bangar (Coach)
captain: David Miller
most expensive player: Mohit Sharma
Rs 6.5 crore
the personnel: The team had a horror show in 2015, losing 11 of their 14 matches. This year they would hope to rise, banking on powerful players like Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Shaun Marsh, Gurkeerat Mann and Manan Vohra. They’ve also roped in allrounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis. The bowling will be led by Mitchell Johnson and Mohit Sharma.strengths: The team has several foreign stars who have the ability to individually win games for them. past best: Runners-up in 2014.
Gujarat Lions
coach: Brad Hodge
captain: Suresh Raina
most expensive player: Suresh Raina
Rs 9.5 crore
the personnel: The team was created after the punishment handed to CSK and Rajasthan Royals. This team, thus, has several proven stars — Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Dale Steyn, Aaron Finch and Dwayne Smith represent fearsome power and experience. Watch out for this team.strengths: The Gujarat outfit is rich on T20 experience and includes several world-class players.past best: This is their first IPL season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad coaching staff: Tom Moody, Muttiah Muralitharan (Spin bowling coach)
captain: David Warner
most expensive player: Yuvraj Singh
Rs 7 crore
the personnel: David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh and Eoin Morgan can win matches on their own. Trent Boult, Ashish Nehra and Barinder Sran would be the key bowlers, while Mustafizur Rahman could be the one to watch out for. strengths: The team is packed with potential game-changers, though there are concerns over Yuvraj Singh’s fitness.past best: Playoffs in 2013
*Most expensive players figures are only from this year’s auction