IPL 2022: Predicting 3 teams that may almost certainly make the top 4
IPL 2022 will begin at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26. The first match of the season will be between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and last season's runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders.
As per the IPL 2022 schedule, 70 league matches and four IPL playoff games will be played over 65 days in two cities - Mumbai and Pune.
The Maharashtra government has already given its approval to fully-vaccinated spectators thronging the stadiums at a 25% capacity. With two new IPL teams entering the fold, the season will see plenty of new permutations and combinations.
However, considering the squads and players snapped up at the mega auction, there are teams that look favorites to make it to the top four.
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Here, we take a look at three teams that look favorites to qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs:
3.) Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings (PBKS) came into the auction having made just a couple of retentions, including opener Mayank Agarwal and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
PBKS were quite busy at the auction as they acquired the services of 23 players. Several marquee signings include Shikhar Dhawan for INR 8.5 crore, Kagiso Rabada (INR 9.25 crore), Jonny Bairstow (INR 6.75 crore) and Odean Smith (INR 6 crore).
Liam Livingstone was one of their most expensive buys at INR 11.5 crore and with these players at their disposal, the Punjab Kings look a serious unit.
Mayank Agarwal has been named captain of the side and they have a solid group of Indian and overseas players. The middle-order is an explosive one with the likes of Liam Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan present in the ranks.
Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Sharma and Arshdeep Singh are more than capable of getting the job done with the ball and hence, Punjab should make it to the playoffs.
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2.) Lucknow Super Giants
Making their debut in the IPL this season, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were mighty impressive at the auction. They went into it after having snapped up KL Rahul (INR 17 crore), Marcus Stoinis (INR 9.2 crore) and Ravi Bishnoi (INR 4 crore) in the draft.
They were extremely busy in the auction and snapped up Quinton de Kock (INR 6.75 crore), Manish Pandey (INR 4.6 crore) and Evin Lewis (INR 2 crore). They also acquired the services of Jason Holder (INR 8.75 crore), Krunal Pandya (INR 8.25 crore) and Deepak Hooda (INR 5.75 crore).
As far as their bowling is concerned, they will be led by Indian pacer Avesh Khan (INR 10 crore). He will be sharing the new ball with Mark Wood (INR 7.5 crore) and Sri Lankan fast bowler Dushmanta Chameera (INR 2 crore).
They look like a perfectly-balanced squad and in KL Rahul, they have a proven customer to lead them. LSG could go all the way if the roles are properly defined this season.
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1.) Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals (RR) had perhaps the best IPL mega auction and they now have a solid squad at their disposal.
Having already retained skipper Sanju Samson (INR 14 crore), Jos Buttler (INR 10 crore) and Yashaswi Jaiswal (INR 4 crore) pre-auction, they went on to make a number of solid purchases. The highest they spent was INR 10 crore on Prasidh Krishna.
With the likes of Shimron Hetmyer (INR 8.5 crore), Trent Boult (INR 8 crore), Devdutt Padikkal (INR 7.75 crore), Yuzvendra Chahal (INR 6.5 crore), and R Ashwin (INR 5 crore) in the squad, the side seems to have covered all bases.
If they play to their potential, RR could well make it to the playoffs and perhaps even go all the way and repeat the success of the maiden IPL season.
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