IPL: AN IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE 8-TEAMS.

The much awaited IPL auction of the Star players is over and its still a pre-mature talk to tip the title favourites as the U-22 players are yet to be selected. But its’s worth in exploring the present line-up’s of the 8 Franchise teams so far.

BANGALORE ROYAL CHALLENGERS:
STRENGTHS:
1. Strong Pace battery with Zaheer Khan & Nathan Bracken, the two Contrasting Left arm fast bowlers who possess an excellent capability of bowling at the death.
2. Dale Steyn provides the speed required for an early breakthrough in the opposition batting –line up’s.
3. Presence of World-Class and experienced batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Mark Boucher and a 20-20 specialist for the Australian domestic cricket, Cameron White
WEAKNESS:
1. The Batsmen are probably World Class but not the ideal set when it comes to chasing a huge total in the 20-20 format.
2. Anil Kumble, the only regular spin bowler so far ( Cameron white is a part-time spin bowler) whose cricket reflexes are not suitable for the 20-20 action.
3. Absence of Pinch Hitters who could be handful in the 20-20 situation.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:
STRENGTHS:
1. Presence of 6-Left Hand Batsmen including Big-Hitters - Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram, Mike Hussey and the presence of World-class bowlers -Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Murali and All-Rounder Albie Morkel, Chennai Pose a formidable side to clinch the title.
2. Stephen Fleming provides to be a useful batsmen taking into account his Cricket Experience.
3. M.S. Dhoni is a prized catch for this event for a whooping sum of US$1.5MILLION.
WEAKNESS:
1. Murali is the only spinner so far in the team.
2. Lack of slow bowlers in the team.
3. Fielding Unit seems to be a bit weak.

DELHI DAREDEVILS:
STRENGTHS:
1. Best fielding side in the fray with specialist fielders- Dinesh Karthik, A.B.De villers, Tillekaratne Dilshan and Sohaib Malik.
2. Gautham Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary proves to be a good back-up.
3. Deadly pace combination of Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif.
WEAKNESS:
1. Absence of Local Fast bowlers
2. Daniel Vettori's bowling style may not be a suitable in the Indian Sub-continent.
3. Limited Bowling resources.

HYDERABAD:
STRENGTHS:
1. It is the team packed with Power hitters- Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Sahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris turns out to be an explosive Batting Line-up.
2. Rohit Sharma and Chamara Silva provides a batting solidity.
3. Left-arm pace battery of Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa and R.P.Singh pose a major threat to the Right hand batsmen.
WEAKNESS:
1. Bowling lacks in pace and variety
2. Lack of regular spinners
3. Lack of bowlers who possess the ability to bowl at the death.

JAIPUR:
STRENGTHS:
1. Presence of World-Class players - Shane Warne, Greame Smith, Younis Khan, Justin Langer adds spice to the side.
2. An even composition of the Foreign and Indian Players.
3. A blend of Youth and Experience.
WEAKNESS:
1. Except Mohammad Kaif, there's no athletic fielder present in the side.
2. With Munaf Patel, Warne and Justin Langer- its one of the weak fielding units in the League.
3. Absence of Power-Hitters.

KOLKATA:
STRENGTHS:
1. The best Crowd Puller side consists of star players- Chris Gayle, Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum ,Sohaib Akthar and the new found boy wonder- Ishant Sharma.
2. Sohaib Akthar and Ajith Agarkar turns out to be one of the formidable bowling pairs in the tournament.
3. Canny Fast Bowler Umar Gul and Ishant Sharma are the prized bowling catch for the Team IPL Kolkata.
WEAKNESS:
1. Absence of Match-Winning All-Rounders.
2. Sohaib Akthar is prone to frequent injuries and Ajith Agarkar sometimes, may be Very Expensive.
3. Presence of untested Stars- David Hussey, Tatenda Taibu and Murali Karthik.

MOHALI
STRENGTHS:
1. Fine balance in the Bowling Department.
2. Presence of Genuine quick bowlers- Brett Lee & Sreesanth and a swing bowler I.Pathan adds strength to the team
3. Piyush Chawla & Ramesh Powar turns out to be a handy spinners for the team.
WEAKNESS:
1. Apart from Yuvraj, there's no Batting Fire power present in the team.
2. Lack of Match Winning All-Rounders.
3. Fielding department seems to be a little weak.

MUMBAI:
STRENGTHS:
1. Presence of World's best batsmen- SACHIN TENDULKAR and SANATH JAYASURIYA, whose opening stand can turn any world-class bowling into nothing.
2. Pricey bowling combination of Shaun Pollock and Lasith Malinga.
3. An experienced spinner Harbhajan Singh has an excellent ability in bowling at the death and turns the course of the match.
WEAKNESS:
1. No Wicket Keeper in the team is a Major Draw back
2. Its difficult for a Local-Wicket Keeper to live upto the Pressures of an International Match standards.
3. Weak Fielding Unit.