Indian T20 League: SWOT analysis of all ten teams

The recently concluded mega auction for the Indian T20 league 2022 saw several top-class players go under the hammer. Thus, all ten teams look strong on paper. Yet, none of them are perfect, and have their flaws. Today, we shall be doing a SWOT analysis of all the teams for the upcoming 2022 edition.

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1) Chennai:

Strengths: Like every season, Chennai enters the season with a lot of experience. They purchased several seasoned campaigners in the mega auction. At the end, it is the veterans who are the one's who will play well under pressure.

Weaknesses: Contrary to the last few editions, Chennai lack a proper spinner. Although they do have Maheesh Theekshana, it is doubtful if he will get a consistent run in the XI as he is an overseas player.

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Opportunities: Devon Conway has been in the form of his life, he might prove to be the ideal replacement for Faf du Plessis.

Threats: There might be injury concerns as a lot of players are in their late 30's. Lack of match practise among the senior players might be another concern.

Likely XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Adam Milne

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2) Mumbai:

Strengths: They have a lot of aggressive players. From Rohit Sharma to Kieron Pollard, all their experienced batters have the capability to single-handedly win games.

Weaknesses: Lack of backups could be a worry.  In case one of their key players is injured or out of form, they are going to find it really hard to find a replacement. Besides, the "X factor players" such as the Pandya brothers, Trent Boult and Quinton de Kock aren't in Mumbai anymore.

Opportunities: With the form Tim David is in, he can prove to be Mumbai's biggest match-winner. He alongside Pollard can create some epic fireworks this time around.

Threats: With Jofra Archer being unavailable for this edition, a lot will depend on Jasprit Bumrah. Tymal Mills and Daniel Sams aren't necessarily in the same league.

Likely XI: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Fabien Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills

3) Bangalore:

Strengths: Unlike the previous editions, Bangalore have a world-class bowling attack. With the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga, they have all their bases covered, from the bowling perspective at least.

Weaknesses: Their over-reliance on a few players might prove costly. Their best bet at the lower-middle order is a 36-year-old Dinesh Karthik.

Opportunities: With the arrival of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli can play more freely, and wouldn't have the burden of leading the side. Thus, he can be at his vintage best.

Threats: If Kohli has a bad season, then they might not really have an Indian player capable enough of winning games. Besides, the franchise highly depend on a few individuals with the bat.

Likely XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood

4) Hyderabad:

Strengths: They have a formidable pace attack. The likes of Marco Jansen, Natarajan, Umran Malik and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are expected to wreak havoc.

Weaknesses: The absence of match-winners. They do not have David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Rashid Khan. Besides, Kane Williamson's elbow injury might be a cause of concern.

Opportunities: Washington's Sundar might prove to be the X factor. This could probably be his breakthrough season.

Threats: Nicholas Pooran hasn't really been in the best of form, and Hyderabad got him for INR 10.75 crore. Moreover he will be their best bet in the middle overs.

Likely XI: Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Romario Shepherd, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik

5) Gujarat:

Strengths: Rashid Khan will be key for Gujarat. If they can put up a decent total, Khan can spin a web on the opposition batters.

Weaknesses: Lack of world-class batters. A lot depends on Jason Roy, Shubman Gill and David Miller.

Opportunities: Now that he's the captain, Hardik Pandya has the ideal platform to proceed to the next level in the cricketing world. Besides, this is his best chance of making a comeback to the Indian team by proving his fitness.

Threats: Too many sloggers. If the pitch is tricky, Gujarat might struggle.

Likely XI: Shubman Gill, Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Sai Kishore

6) Lucknow:

Strengths:  Be it the batting all-rounders or the bowling all-rounders, they have it all. Moreover, most of them are of absolute quality.

Weaknesses: Lack of specialist spinners. A lot will depend on Ravi Bishnoi

Opportunities: KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock at the top can provide some explosive starts. If both are at their best, opposition bowlers can go on to have some sleepless nights

Threats: Too many cooks might spoil the broth. Hence, if the all-rounders have a dismal season, it could lead to several complications.

Likely XI: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Krishnappa Gowtham, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi

7) Delhi:

Strengths: A dynamic top-order in the best of form of David Warner, Prithvi Shaw and Michell Marsh. No score is safe when a team plays against them.

Weaknesses: Lack of quality spinners. Picking wickets in the middle-overs isn't going to be easy for them.

Opportunities: Proven match-winners. They have some world-class players in their side.

Threats: Injury concerns. With Marsh and Anrich Nortje injury prone, one injury could severely dent their chances to win the title.

Likely XI: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Mandeep Singh, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya

8) Punjab:

Strengths: Explosive batting order. They have a lot of hard-hitters in their side.

Weaknesses: Lack of an anchor. Tricky chases could prove to more trickier for them if their hitters have a bad day.

Opportunities: A lot of youngsters such as Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar and Ishan Porel can prove their worth. Besides, they will get the chance to interact with several legends.

Threats: The absence of an established captain might hurt them. A good leader is always necessary in the team.

Likely XI: Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Raj Angad Bawa, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

9) Rajasthan:

Strengths: Top-class Indian players. Contrary to the norm, Rajasthan's Indian core of players are superb.

Weaknesses: Lack of finishers. After Shimron Hetmyer, the batting looks thin and inexperienced.

Opportunities: The duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. Both can turn games in the middle-overs.

Threats: Lack of role clarity. With Devdutt Padikkal in the side, either Sanju Samson or Jos Buttler will have to bat at four or five.

Likely XI: Jos Buttler, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, James Neesham, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna

10) Kolkata:

Strengths: The spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. Both can be really hard to pick in the middle overs.

Weaknesses: They lack a good keeper-batter. A lot is going to depend on Sam Billings.

Opportunities: Shreyas Iyer will be captaining a new side. He will be looking forward to achieving new heights in what happens to be a new chapter for him.

Threats: Lack of good replacement options. Add to that the fitness concerns of Andre Russell, Narine and Chakravarthy.

Likely XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Alex Hales, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Sheldon Jackson, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy