IPL 2018: How each franchise might line up

Enter capt — All eyes will be on the big prize

The Indian Premier League is back again with its 11th edition. The 2018 IPL will begin on 7th April and the first game will be played between the three-time champions Mumbai Indians and the most dominating IPL side Chennai Super Kings.

The IPL Auction has seen the franchises build their sides with fresh players. So, all the teams will try to find a balanced lineup right from the beginning and have a positive start.

Let us try to know what can be the possible lineups for each team:

#1 Chennai Super Kings

The all-rounders of CSK will give Dhoni many options

List of players bought by the CSK at the IPL 2018 auction –

MS Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Billings, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur, Jagadeesan Narayan, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Asif K M, Lungisani Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Mark Wood, Kanishk Seth, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi

CSK are all set to make a comeback to the IPL after two years. They have been the most dominating side in the history of IPL as they have managed to enter playoffs every time they have participated.

With two titles(2010,2011) in their kitty, they will start their campaign with most of their old and experienced players along with some new members. MS Dhoni will lead the 25-member squad.

Here is the probable starting line-up for CSK:

M Vijay, S Watson, S Raina, Faf Du Plessis, K Jadhav, MS Dhoni(c)(wk), D Bravo, R Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, S Thakur, M Wood

CSK look to be a very balanced side with five batsmen, three all-rounders and three bowlers. They have players who can bat deep down the order at No. 7 and No.8 positions.

All-rounders have always been the strength of CSK. Shane Watson will come handy for them as he can open the batting and also bowl at crucial points to help them out.

T20 is all about variations and if you have options like Bravo, Watson and Jadeja then it releases a lot of pressure from your captain as he can experiment with the bowling line up.