IPL 2018: Teams that can win the title this season
The eleventh edition of the great Indian summer fest is all set to kick-off on April 7, 2018 at the Wankhede stadium, where the Mumbai Indians meet the Chennai Super Kings. Two teams- the Rajasthan Royal and Chennai Super Kings will be returning to the IPL after a two-year ban.
All the eight teams have formed a strong squad for this season and it is almost uncertain to predict this season's winner. But certain teams have formed a formidable squad which looks balanced in all the departments. Let us now look at the teams who can go all the way with the kind of players and the strategies they boast of.
#3) Delhi Daredevils
The Delhi Daredevils are the only side not to have reached the finals at least once in the first decade of the IPL. With local hero and two-time IPL winning captain Gautam Gambhir returning to the Kotla, the Daredevils will fancy their chances this season. They have Gautam Gambhir, Colin Munro, Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra to fill the opening slots this season. The Gambhir-Munro combo might be deadly if they get going, but the Daredevils might be tempted to field Jason Roy with Gambhir.
The two talented Under-19 World cup winning boys Shaw and Kalra also get opportunities to showcase their skills. The emerging Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer might be competing for the number three spot. The explosive Punjab batsman Gurkeerat Mann and quality all-rounders like Chris Morris, Daniel Christian, Vijay Shankar might well form the strong middle-order for Delhi. In the spin department, they have got Amir Mishra, Jayant Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Tewatia.
Star players like Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Chris Morris strengthen their pace attack, while the injury to Kagiso Rabada will be a major blow Delhi. Domestic bowlers like Harshal Patel, Sayan Ghosh, and Avesh Khan will be the exciting prospects to watch out for in the pace department. The experienced Naman Ojha will be striving for the wicketkeeper’s spot with Rishabh Pant. With Ricky Ponting, Praveen Amre and James Hopes to constitute the core of the support staffs and Gambhir at the helm, one might expect the Daredevils might go all the way this season.