IPL 2019: Biggest strength of each franchise
Less than two weeks remain for the much-anticipated IPL 2019 to begin. Almost all the teams have kickstarted their training sessions. The first encounter of the upcoming edition will be contested between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Each team was given a budget of ₹82 Crore for completing its squad of a maximum of 25 players. A total of 60 players (40 Indian and 20 overseas) went under the hammer at the 2019 IPL auctions. A whopping ₹107 crores were spent by all the franchises combined at the auction.
The Punjab-based franchise opted to go for a major overhaul and retained just 9 of their players from last season. Meanwhile, the defending champions Chennai Super Kings retained as many as 23 players from last season and have pretty much the same side.
The auctions are now done and dusted with and the complete squads of the 8 IPL teams have been formed. In this article, we take a look at what is the strength of each franchise.
#1 Delhi Capitals - Top Order Batsmen
Delhi Capitals roped in Ricky Ponting to be their head coach ahead of IPL 2019. This is already a huge plus for the team. The Delhi-based franchise would be looking to bounce back strongly after finishing at the rock bottom 8th place on the IPL table last time around.
Shikhar Dhawan was also roped in during the transfers. 'Gabbar' had been going through a dry spell with the bat but proved his worth for the Indian team by smashing 143 in the 4th ODI against Australia recently. This is his highest-ever score in ODIs and would give him a much-needed morale boost.
Exceptionally talented Indian top-order batsmen such as Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Prithvi are sure to give the Capitals a good start - more often than not.
What's more is that they will be followed by the likes of Rishabh Pant and all-rounders Hanuma Vihari and Colin Munro.
Delhi Capitals look balanced overall as they have the brilliant fast bowling unit comprising Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, and Ishant Sharma.
Colin Ingram, Amit Mishra, and Axar Patel are some of the other players to watch out for.
Also Read: IPL 2019: Delhi Capitals Squad - Complete list of Players in DC Team for IPL 2019