IPL 2022: 3 most balanced squads in the tournament
IPL 2022 is less than a month away and the franchises involved have already begun prep work after assembling what they feel are competitive and match-winning squads during the IPL 2022 Auction.
With two new IPL teams in the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT) part of the marquee tournament, the edition is now a ten-team affair and will see teams give defending champs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) a run for their money.
"Finding the balance" is one of the key phrases that sides will be using at the start of the tournament, but some teams will have felt they are pretty much a sorted unit.
Ahead of the start of IPL 2022 schedule, we look at the three most balanced squads in the tournament.
#1 Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are one of the more balanced teams in IPL 2022
Lucknow comes in as a well-balanced unit for a reason. With their skipper KL Rahul and gloveman Quinton de Kock, the team has an explosive opening combo.
This will be followed by a promising middle-order comprising of Manish Pandey, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, and Jason Holder — each of them fully capable of changing the tide of the game.
Ravi Bishnoi, Mark Wood and Avesh Khan lend more teeth to the bowling attack. This is a side that looks as formidable on the field as it does on paper.
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#2 Delhi Capitals (DC)
One of the teams tipped to win IPL 2021 was the Delhi Capitals, but they fell short during the IPL playoffs, losing to Chennai and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
This time around, the team, buoyed by some big-money buys at the mega auction in the form of David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Shardul Thakur, will stake a claim for their maiden title.
Solid retentions in the form of Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje and Prithvi Shaw will also lend stability to the side. Their biggest threat to the opposition is their all-rounders.
Marsh and Thakur have notched up some phenomenal performances leading up to IPL 2022 and this might just be Delhi's most balanced outfit.
#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are one of the eternal bridesmaids of the IPL with their campaign almost always starting with a bang and ending with a whimper.
This time around, the new-look side sans their champions AB de Villiers and Yuzvendra Chahal look a lot more balanced on paper. With Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik and Wanindu Hasaranga as some of their key acquisitions, they ensured the side had proven match-winners.
The bowling unit comprising of Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and some left-arm options in Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey and Jason Behrendorff makes them a pretty lethal side.
Will IPL 2022 belong to RCB? Only time will tell.