The IPL 2022 hostilities begin in and around Mumbai in right earnest with the franchise, now 10 in number, to be engrossed in an array of contests which will be challenging, draining and also deflating for six of the teams.
As many as 74 matches will be played this time around, with the final scheduled for May 29. As the searing heat of the Indian summer begins to bake the sides as much as the expectations, the new combinations, which will see former teammates taking on each other in a no-holds-barred tournament for the prize of the Indian Premier League trophy and the massive purse that comes along.
Related: BCCI announces schedule for IPL 2022
News galore surrounds IPL 2022. MS Dhoni suddenly gave the captaincy mantle for Chennai Super Kings and Ravindra Jadeja finds himself in the hot seat of a team that has again opted for the old guard as the core of the team.
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Royal Challenger Bangalore, short of a skipper once Virat Kohli stepped down, has gone for Faf du Plessis and he will lead a side that want to etch its name on the IPL trophy.
The newbies in Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans will be keen to see if their beginners’ luck holds. LSG have bought copiously and GT cluelessly, leaving one with a strong contingent and the other struggling to find a combination. KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya lead the two sides respectively but one can safely say Pandya will have a bigger challenge.
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So too will SunRisers Hyderabad, whose IPL auction was a nightmare to put it mildly. The clear difference within the franchise about who will decide seems to be festering and some have opted to leave while they are ahead. Not a pretty picture. And no one has any clue as to why David Warner and Rashid Khan were done away with.
Kolkata Knight Riders too have left a lot of questions unanswered and new skipper Shreyas Iyer too will be very happy if the side does even half-decently. They have too many gaps in the combination to be considered true candidates.
No one can say that of Mumbai Indians, possibly the most professionally run franchise. They always targeted the players they wanted and once they got into the bidding war, few stood up to oppose them for long.
Delhi Capitals with Rishabh Pant at the helm will surely be competitive and look to be among the favourites to qualify. They have almost everything they need and will challenge all the sides.
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Punjab Kings were on a shopping spree too and they bought almost everything they can and Mayank Agarwal is spoilt for choices. Shikhar Dhawan has re-invented himself and could well be a telling influence. PBKS will certainly want to do very well.
Rajasthan Royals will be harking the days when Shane Warne led them to the title. They too have a new-look team but Sanju Samson’s captaincy skills could well be an important factor in a circuit where several sides are pretty evenly poised.
It will be a long and arduous couple of months and then some, for all the teams. This is like an endurance race, and stamina and teamwork will be critical. Much will happen and many will fall by the wayside before we have a winner.
