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The opening match of the IPL 2025 is set on March 22 and is only a few days away. Now, all teams are getting ready for what could be a difficult two months of play.
In light of this, teams have begun to focus on their ideal playing lineup by analysing their advantages and disadvantages. While some teams have everything they need, others are lacking something.
Having said that, these are each team’s advantages and disadvantages for the 2025 IPL.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Strengths: The biggest strength of CSK is their spin attack. The franchise has reunited Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who are more than aware of the Chepauk surface.
On top of that, Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmed will assist them with his wrist spin, which will add more woes for the opponent batters.
Then CSK have several like-for-like all-rounders on their roster. This will help them swap players with ease.
Weakness: CSK’s pace attack is dependent on one bowler. They need their inexperienced bowlers to step up alongside Matheesha Pathirana.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Strengths: The Capitals have a balanced squad in place this season. They have enough firepower in the batting and bowling departments.
Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul, Jake Fraser-McGurk, and Tristan Stubbs will power DC’s batting while Mitchell Starc, Mohit Sharma, and T Natarajan will handle the pace duties.
Their new skipper, Axar Patel, will be a floater with the bat, while also bowling his left-arm spin. Kuldeep Yadav will assist Patel in the spin department.
Weakness: The only concern for DC is who will provide them finishing touches. Ashutosh Sharma and Sameer Rizvi are two options, but they lack consistency.
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Strengths: Jos Buttler’s addition has bolstered Gujarat’s top order. He may open for them and keep the wickets as well.
GT’s pace attack looks solid, with Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna almost ready to share the ball.
Weaknesses: GT’s middle-order looks thin. They don’t have a lot of proven options to rescue their batting after their top order collapses. Rahul Tewatia and M Shahrukh Khan aren’t consistent with the bat, while Glenn Phillips hasn’t played a lot in the IPL.
Apart from that, the Titans are heavily reliant on Rashid Khan in the spin department. They have Washington Sundar and R Sai Kishore, but none of them gives a lot of confidence.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Strengths: KKR have kept their core intact. They have tried and tasted dashers in the batting lineup, especially in the middle-order.
Plus, they have two of the best spinners, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, in the squad. Narine can smash the ball hard at the top as well.
Weaknesses: KKR’s pace attack lacks experience. They have two of the fastest bowlers, Harshit Rana and Umran Malik, with Rana likely to do the heavy lifting. Malik, though, hasn’t had a good time of late.
Apart from that, they might struggle with a strong opening, given Quinton de Kock isn’t in great touch.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
Strength: LSG have a fine middle-order packed with power hitters. Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, and Abdul Samad can smash the ball at their wills.
Weaknesses: LSG’s opening options are a bit weak. Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, who are potential openers, haven’t had a lot of success in the IPL.
And their pace attack is injury-prone. Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan may not be starters in all games if they are not fit.
In the spin department, Ravi Bishnoi is the only frontline spinner. He won’t have an able support from the other end.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Strengths: MI will come out with a balanced squad. They have solid hitters in the batting lineup.
As for their pace attack, it has strengthened after Trent Boult’s return. Deepak Chahar will also be there alongside Japsprit Bumrah and Boult.
Weaknesses: MI’s overseas picks are quite new to the IPL setup. So the Indian players need to do a lot of work.
In addition, they don’t have a reliable finisher apart from Hardik Pandya. This might dent their chances to finish high.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Strengths: The biggest positive for PBKS is a strong leader in Shreyas Iyer. Last season, he led KKR to the title triumph. He will play a crucial role along with the top seven batters in the squad.
PBKS’ bowling stocks have improved with the addition of Marco Jansen and Yuzvendra Chahal. Plus, they have solid all-rounders in Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Weaknesses: PBKS don’t have decent Indian pacers, in case Arshdeep Singh goes down. And their overseas picks aren’t too reliant.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Strengths: RR have tried and tasted batters in their top seven, with skipper Sanju Samson set to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Sandeep Sharma will be great with the new ball, moving the ball in and out. Tushar Deshpande, meanwhile, will control things at death overs.
Weaknesses: RR have two injury-prone players in Jofra Archer and Wanindu Hasaranga. If one of them goes down, it will derail their plans. And their backups don’t look strong enough.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Strengths: RCB’s batting looks formidable, with their top seven filled with clean-strikers. Phil Salt is likely to pair up with Virat Kohli at the top, with Liam Livingstone, Rajat Patidar, and Tim David to follow.
And after a long time, RCB seem to have a good pace attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood will join hands to keep tabs on opponent batters.
Weaknesses: The major concern for RCB will be their spin attack. While they do have Krunal Pandya, he lacks an experienced partner. Suyash Sharma is the only other decent spinner.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Strengths: SRH’s strength lies in their batting lineup. Their fearless batters are enough to change the outcome of a game.
Their bowling seems to be on par with the addition of the last two seasons Purple Cap winners, Harshal Patel and Mohammed Shami. And they have two good spinners in Rahul Chahar and Adam Zampa.
Weaknesses: While SRH have an explosive top-order, they might struggle with a reliable middle-order. And not having an experienced finisher will be another headache.
