Welcome cricket lovers! we are very much happy to present our first post of this site.Since cricket is a game which keeps on entertaining,it becomes our prime responsibility to keep you all readers updated with the basic happenings of this game.As we all know that the seventh edition of Pepsi IPL has begun with a grand dose,so we are here to update you with the news and the strategies regarding the eight franchise which will square off in this IPL-7.
OWNER: Sun Network Pvt. Ltd.
Pepsi IPL 2014 FIXTURES
Friends we hope you enjoyed reading this wonderful post.Do follow this awesome tournament & keep supporting your favourite team.we will be back again with yet another interesting post until then cheers to all & happy IPL season.
Since IPL is the most entertaining,lavishing T20 format of the game,this cash rich event has undergone several changes when compared to the previous editions of this tournament.The teams have gone drastic change this edition and the early phase of the tournament has been shifted to UAE due to general elections in the country.So here we are presenting all the squads,their strengths and weaknesses and the fixtures of this wonderful tournament.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Virat Kohli (Captain)
- Yuvraj Singh
- Chris Gayle
- AB de Villiers
- Mitchell Starc
- Albie Morkel
- Varun Aaron
- Ashok Dinda
- Parthiv Patel
- Muttaiah Muralitharan
- Ravi Rampaul
- Nic Maddinson
- Harshal Patel
- Vijay Zol
- Abu Nechim Ahmed
- Shadab Jakati
- Sachin Rana
- Sandeep Warrier
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Tanmay Mishra
- Yogesh Takawale
OWNER: Vijay Mallya,UB Group.
COACH:Daniel Vettori.
MUMBAI INDIANS
- Mike Hussey
- Ambati Rayudu
- Rohit Sharma (Captain)
- Apoorv Wankhade
- Corey Anderson
- Shreyas Gopal
- Kieron Pollard
- Jalaj Saxena
- Ben Dunk
- CM Gautam
- Sushant Marathe
- Aditya Tare
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Josh Hazlewood
- Zaheer Khan
- Harbhajan Singh
- Marchant de Lange
- Lasith Malinga
- Pragyan Ojha
- Krishmar Santokie
- Pawan Suyal
OWNER: Mukesh and Neeta Ambani,RIL.
COACH: John Wright.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
- MS Dhoni (Captain)
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Suresh Raina
- Dwayne Bravo
- Faf du Plessis
- Brendon McCullum
- Dwayne Smith
- Ashish Nehra
- Mohit Sharma
- Ben Hilfenhaus
- Matt Henry
- Baba Aparajith
- Mithun Manhas
- Ishwar Pandey
- Pawan Negi
- Vijay Shankar
- Ronit More
- John Hastings
OWNER: N. Srinivasan,India Cements.
COACH: Stephen Fleming.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
- Debabrata Das
- Gautam Gambhir (Captain)
- Chris Lynn
- Manish Pandey
- Robin Uthappa
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Ryan ten Doeschate
- Shakib Al Hasan
- Jacques Kallis
- Andre Russell
- Yusuf Pathan
- Manvinder Bisla
- Piyush Chawla
- Pat Cummins
- Vinay Kumar
- Sayan Mondal
- Morne Morkel
- Sunil Narine
- Veer Pratap Singh
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Umesh Yadav
OWNER: Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla.
COACH: Trevor Bayliss.
KINGS XI PUNJAB
- George Bailey (Captain)
- Shaun Marsh
- David Miller
- Virender Sehwag
- Cheteshwar Pujara
- Gurkeerat Singh
- Mandeep Singh
- Manan Vohra
- Rishi Dhawan
- Glenn Maxwell
- Akshar Patel
- Thisara Perera
- Wriddhiman Saha
- Parvinder Awana
- Lakshmipathy Balaji
- Beuran Hendricks
- Mitchell Johnson
- Murali Kartik
- Anureet Singh
- Karanveer Singh
- Sandeep Sharma
- Shardul Thakur
- Shivam Sharma
OWNER: Priety Zinta,Ness Wadia.
COACH: Sanjay Bangar.
DELHI DAREDEVILS
- Mayank Agarwal
- JP Duminy
- Kedar Jadhav
- Milind Kumar
- Kevin Pietersen (Captain)
- Ross Taylor
- Manoj Tiwary
- Saurabh Tiwary
- Murali Vijay
- Jimmy Neesham
- Laxmi Ratan Shukla
- Jayant Yadav
- Dinesh Karthik
- Quinton de Kock
- Nathan Coulter-Nile
- Siddarth Kaul
- Shahbaz Nadeem
- Wayne Parnell
- Mohammed Shami
- HS Sharath
- Rahul Sharma
- Rahul Shukla
- Jaydev Unadkat
OWNER: GMR Groups.
COACH: Gary Kirsten.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
- Shane Watson (Captain)
- Stuart Binny
- James Faulkner
- Ajinkya Rahane
- Sanju Samson
- Steve Smith
- Brad Hodge
- Rajat Bhatia
- Tim Southee
- Dhawal Kulkarni
- Abhishek Nayar
- Kane Richardson
- Ben Cutting
- Karun Nair
- Unmukt Chand
- Iqbal Abdulla
- Deepak Hooda
- Dishant Yagnik
- Kevon Cooper
- Vikramjeet Malik
- Ankit Sharma
- Rahul Tewatia
- Ankush Bains
OWNER: Manoj Badale,Raj Kundra.
COACH:Paddy Upton.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
- Aaron Finch
- Shikhar Dhawan (Captain)
- David Warner
- Venugopal Rao
- Manpreet Juneja
- Ricky Bhui
- Srikkanth Anirudha
- Moises Henriques
- Karn Sharma
- Irfan Pathan
- Darren Sammy
- Parvez Rasool
- Naman Ojha
- Brendan Taylor
- Ishant Sharma
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Dale Steyn
- Ashish Reddy
- Jason Holder
- Amit Mishra
- Chama Milind
- Prasanth Parameswaran
OWNER: Sun Network Pvt. Ltd.
COACH: Tom Moody.
How the teams square up in the big
league!!
Mumbai Indians:
Strengths: The defending champions have retained as many as 11 players from their last year's victorious campaign and that will work them in their team bonding.This will be first time in seven years that Mumbai will be playing without Sachin Tendulkar but that hasn't diminished their batting fire-power that includes skipper Rohit Sharma,Kieron Pollard,Ambati Rayadu and the newly acquired Corey Anderson And Mike Hussey.They have perhaps the finest T20 paceman in Lasith Malinga.
Weakness: The MI management will be cracking their heads over the fitness of all-rounders Pollard and Anderson,who was snapped up for Rs.4.5 crore in the last auction.Despite the presence of Malinga,the pace department appears thinon resources with veteran Zaheer Khan looking the next best.MI will surely regret their decision of letting go of Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell.
Key Players: Rohit Sharma,Lasith Malinga,Harbhajan Singh,Corey Anderson
Past Record: 2008: 5th; 2009: 7th; 2010: 2nd; 2011: 3rd; 2012: 4th; 2013: 1st.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Strengths: Chennai has always had the model T20 team.Big-hitting batsmen,excellent bowlers and canny all-rounders and the scene is not different this season either.Skipper MS Dhoni,Suresh Raina,Brendon McCullum,Ravindra Jadeja,Faf du Plesis,Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo complete a set of package batsmen/all-rounders,while Ashwin and Samuel Badree could put any batsman in trouble.
Weaknesses: The CSK management are completely off-colour this season.Their off-field dramas have disturbed the peaceful atmosphere of the players.It becomes a big challenge for Dhoni & Co. to come out of this and perform well otherwise teams having Steyn or Malinga will have the final laugh.
Key Players: MS Dhoni,R. Ashwin,R. Jadeja,Dwayne Bravo,B. McCullum,S. Raina.
Past Record: 2008: 2nd; 2009: 4th; 2010: 1st; 2011: 1st;2012: 2nd; 2013: 2nd.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Strengths: Like it always has been,batting that revolves around Chris Gayle,Ab de villiers and skipper Virat Kohli is the strength of RCB.Some may say it as over-dependence on the trioka,but the truth is that they have been vastly consistent in the IPL that the rest had hardly been stretched.Now,they also have the additional fire-power in the name of Yuvraj Singh and Albie Morkel.If these players come up with some strong show then undoubtedly RCB is going to be the most entertaining team of this season on and off-field.
Weaknesses: In Varun Aaron and Mitchell Starcthey have speed but not accuracy,in Abu Nechim Ahmed,Yuzvendra Chahal and Ashoke Dinda they have talent but not enough fire power,leaving Ravi Rampaul and Muralitharan being a pair of trustworthy names.that mismatch may put them further or may even haunt them at some stage.
Key Players: Chris Gayle,Virat Kohli,Ab de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh,M. Starc,Albie Morkel
Past Record: 2008: 7th; 2009: 2nd; 2010: 3rd; 2011: 2nd; 2012: 5th; 2013: 5th.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Strengths: Their ability to fire in unison was the reason behind their title win in 2012.So,they will once again rely on a collaborative effort to come up triumph,and this season,unlike in 2013 where the finished seventh,they look a lot more capable of forming a formidable unit.While several names stand out in making the Knight Riders serious contenders,not one evokes the kind and respect the fear that West Indies spinner Sunil Narine does.
Weaknesses: The shah Rukh Khan owned outfit suffers from a problem of aplenty,especially Gautam Gambhir,Robin Uthappa,Jacques Kallis,Ryan Ten Doeschate,Yusuf Pathan etc are all exceptionally talented but it will come down to how well the team management assesses conditions on that particular day.
Key Players: Sunil Narine,Andre Russell,J. Kallis,G. Gambhir,Shakib al Hasan,Morne Morkel.
Past Record: 2008: 6th; 2009: 8th; 2010: 6th; 2011:4th; 2012: 1st; 2013: 7th.
Rajasthan Royals
Strengths: A mix of less costly but high-utility players,making them a force hard to ignore as ever.Skipper Shane Watson is their biggest name but their real strength is a bunch of excellent players like Sanju Samson,Stuart Binny,Ajinkya Rahane and James Faulkner.They also have the big hitting power in the name of Steve Smith and Brad Hodge in their camp.Apart from that the name not to forget is the legend Rahul Dravid.His calming influence can surely help the RR to lift the trophy one more time.
Weaknesses: They don't have a bowling unit that can run through a side even in helpful conditions;no fiery pacer or an effective spinner.There may be a time this season when Watson's desperate eyes look around Dale Steyn or R. Ashwin.
Key Players: Shane Watson,Sanju Samson,James Faulkner,Brad Hodge,Steve Smith,Ajinkya Rahane.
Past Record: 2008: 1st; 2009: 6th; 2012: 7th; 2011: 6th; 2012: 7th; 2013: 3rd.
Kings XI Punjab
Strengths: Packed to the brim with some of the most of the powerful hitters in cricket,the Punjab side is hoping to end its dismissal run in the tournament.They have roped in Virender Sehwag from Delhi Daredevils and made George Bailey the skipper after acquiring him from Chennai,while also including Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell from Mumbai,making this team one of the most destructive team this season.
Weaknesses: Barring Johnson,the Kings XI don't possess the quality in bowling tat will threaten too many teams.South African Beuran Hendricks,L. Balaji and Parvinder awana can be effective on their day but they are not wicket-tacking bowlers and that may haunt the side.
Key Players: Virender Sehwag,Glenn Maxwell,M. Johnson,G. Bailey,David Miller,Shaun Marsh.
Past Record: 2008: 3rd; 2009: 5th; 2010: 8th; 2011: 5th; 2012: 6th; 2013: 6th.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Strengths: Sunrisers Hyderabad are perhaps the most balanced side in the eight-team event thanks to their strategy of retaining the core of their squad that made the play-offs last season.In addition,they have acquired the duo of the most explosive T20 batsman-Aaron Finch & David Warner who complement skipper Shikhar Dhawan at the top and Darren Sammy in the lower middle.In Dale Steyn,Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma,they have three of the finest T20 bowlers.
Weaknesses: The batting is top heavy which means opposition attacks can exploit the apparent inexperience and lack of fire power in the middle order.Ishant sharma,a vital cog in their previous campaign,will have to regain his form quickly.Skipper Dhawan too needs to rediscover his touch.
Key Players: David Warner,Aaron Finch,S. Dhawan,D. Sammy,D. Steyn,I. Pathan,Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Past Record: 2008: 8th,2009: 1st; 2010: 4th; 2011: 7th; 2012: 8th(As DC);2013: 4th(As SRH).
Delhi Daredevils
Strengths: Their biggest advantage is the captain-coach combination.Kevin Pietersen is free of his England duties and the skipper is available for the full length of the tournament.Even before they went all out to buy back the charismatic batsman,they had pulled off a coup by roping in Gary Kirsten as their coach.The duo is expected to turn around the fortunes of this team that finished at the bottom of the heap in the last edition.
Weaknesses: In an effort to cleanse the rot,the franchise owners didn't retain even a single player and have bought several new players who may take some time to gel together.Besides,their pace bowling appears a bit loose while Jharkhand left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem is their best bet when it comes to spin.
Key players: 2008: 4th; 2009: 3rd; 2010: 5th; 2011: 10th; 2012: 3rd; 2013: 9th.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Strengths: Chennai has always had the model T20 team.Big-hitting batsmen,excellent bowlers and canny all-rounders and the scene is not different this season either.Skipper MS Dhoni,Suresh Raina,Brendon McCullum,Ravindra Jadeja,Faf du Plesis,Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo complete a set of package batsmen/all-rounders,while Ashwin and Samuel Badree could put any batsman in trouble.
Weaknesses: The CSK management are completely off-colour this season.Their off-field dramas have disturbed the peaceful atmosphere of the players.It becomes a big challenge for Dhoni & Co. to come out of this and perform well otherwise teams having Steyn or Malinga will have the final laugh.
Key Players: MS Dhoni,R. Ashwin,R. Jadeja,Dwayne Bravo,B. McCullum,S. Raina.
Past Record: 2008: 2nd; 2009: 4th; 2010: 1st; 2011: 1st;2012: 2nd; 2013: 2nd.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Strengths: Like it always has been,batting that revolves around Chris Gayle,Ab de villiers and skipper Virat Kohli is the strength of RCB.Some may say it as over-dependence on the trioka,but the truth is that they have been vastly consistent in the IPL that the rest had hardly been stretched.Now,they also have the additional fire-power in the name of Yuvraj Singh and Albie Morkel.If these players come up with some strong show then undoubtedly RCB is going to be the most entertaining team of this season on and off-field.
Weaknesses: In Varun Aaron and Mitchell Starcthey have speed but not accuracy,in Abu Nechim Ahmed,Yuzvendra Chahal and Ashoke Dinda they have talent but not enough fire power,leaving Ravi Rampaul and Muralitharan being a pair of trustworthy names.that mismatch may put them further or may even haunt them at some stage.
Key Players: Chris Gayle,Virat Kohli,Ab de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh,M. Starc,Albie Morkel
Past Record: 2008: 7th; 2009: 2nd; 2010: 3rd; 2011: 2nd; 2012: 5th; 2013: 5th.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Strengths: Their ability to fire in unison was the reason behind their title win in 2012.So,they will once again rely on a collaborative effort to come up triumph,and this season,unlike in 2013 where the finished seventh,they look a lot more capable of forming a formidable unit.While several names stand out in making the Knight Riders serious contenders,not one evokes the kind and respect the fear that West Indies spinner Sunil Narine does.
Weaknesses: The shah Rukh Khan owned outfit suffers from a problem of aplenty,especially Gautam Gambhir,Robin Uthappa,Jacques Kallis,Ryan Ten Doeschate,Yusuf Pathan etc are all exceptionally talented but it will come down to how well the team management assesses conditions on that particular day.
Key Players: Sunil Narine,Andre Russell,J. Kallis,G. Gambhir,Shakib al Hasan,Morne Morkel.
Past Record: 2008: 6th; 2009: 8th; 2010: 6th; 2011:4th; 2012: 1st; 2013: 7th.
Rajasthan Royals
Strengths: A mix of less costly but high-utility players,making them a force hard to ignore as ever.Skipper Shane Watson is their biggest name but their real strength is a bunch of excellent players like Sanju Samson,Stuart Binny,Ajinkya Rahane and James Faulkner.They also have the big hitting power in the name of Steve Smith and Brad Hodge in their camp.Apart from that the name not to forget is the legend Rahul Dravid.His calming influence can surely help the RR to lift the trophy one more time.
Weaknesses: They don't have a bowling unit that can run through a side even in helpful conditions;no fiery pacer or an effective spinner.There may be a time this season when Watson's desperate eyes look around Dale Steyn or R. Ashwin.
Key Players: Shane Watson,Sanju Samson,James Faulkner,Brad Hodge,Steve Smith,Ajinkya Rahane.
Past Record: 2008: 1st; 2009: 6th; 2012: 7th; 2011: 6th; 2012: 7th; 2013: 3rd.
Kings XI Punjab
Strengths: Packed to the brim with some of the most of the powerful hitters in cricket,the Punjab side is hoping to end its dismissal run in the tournament.They have roped in Virender Sehwag from Delhi Daredevils and made George Bailey the skipper after acquiring him from Chennai,while also including Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell from Mumbai,making this team one of the most destructive team this season.
Weaknesses: Barring Johnson,the Kings XI don't possess the quality in bowling tat will threaten too many teams.South African Beuran Hendricks,L. Balaji and Parvinder awana can be effective on their day but they are not wicket-tacking bowlers and that may haunt the side.
Key Players: Virender Sehwag,Glenn Maxwell,M. Johnson,G. Bailey,David Miller,Shaun Marsh.
Past Record: 2008: 3rd; 2009: 5th; 2010: 8th; 2011: 5th; 2012: 6th; 2013: 6th.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Strengths: Sunrisers Hyderabad are perhaps the most balanced side in the eight-team event thanks to their strategy of retaining the core of their squad that made the play-offs last season.In addition,they have acquired the duo of the most explosive T20 batsman-Aaron Finch & David Warner who complement skipper Shikhar Dhawan at the top and Darren Sammy in the lower middle.In Dale Steyn,Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma,they have three of the finest T20 bowlers.
Weaknesses: The batting is top heavy which means opposition attacks can exploit the apparent inexperience and lack of fire power in the middle order.Ishant sharma,a vital cog in their previous campaign,will have to regain his form quickly.Skipper Dhawan too needs to rediscover his touch.
Key Players: David Warner,Aaron Finch,S. Dhawan,D. Sammy,D. Steyn,I. Pathan,Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Past Record: 2008: 8th,2009: 1st; 2010: 4th; 2011: 7th; 2012: 8th(As DC);2013: 4th(As SRH).
Delhi Daredevils
Strengths: Their biggest advantage is the captain-coach combination.Kevin Pietersen is free of his England duties and the skipper is available for the full length of the tournament.Even before they went all out to buy back the charismatic batsman,they had pulled off a coup by roping in Gary Kirsten as their coach.The duo is expected to turn around the fortunes of this team that finished at the bottom of the heap in the last edition.
Weaknesses: In an effort to cleanse the rot,the franchise owners didn't retain even a single player and have bought several new players who may take some time to gel together.Besides,their pace bowling appears a bit loose while Jharkhand left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem is their best bet when it comes to spin.
Key players: 2008: 4th; 2009: 3rd; 2010: 5th; 2011: 10th; 2012: 3rd; 2013: 9th.
Pepsi IPL 2014 FIXTURES
Friends we hope you enjoyed reading this wonderful post.Do follow this awesome tournament & keep supporting your favourite team.we will be back again with yet another interesting post until then cheers to all & happy IPL season.