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The 17th edition of the IPL is just a day away. The anticipation and excitement are palpable, and fans cannot wait for the action to begin. Like every season, four teams will qualify for the playoffs, with the top two sides having two chances to make the final, while the other qualifiers will contest the Eliminator.
The Chennai Super Kings enter as defending champions, having gotten past the Gujarat Titans in an IPL final that spanned three days. The Mumbai Indians, having not won the title since 2020, would also want to make a mark, while the Delhi Capitals, the Lucknow Super Giants, the Punjab Kings, and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru gun for their maiden IPL crown.
Predicting how an IPL season will go is one of the toughest gigs, given how each team has game-changers. But what fun is an IPL season without any quirky and, at times, wild predictions?
Here is a run-down of how the teams will finish post the league stages, predicting the exact position of each side. Without further ado, let's get stuck into it.
IPL 2024 Predictions
#10 Gujarat Titans
A new captain with hardly any captaincy experience. Lots of proven, if not high-profile, domestic performers. An astute coach. A side not looking as formidable on paper as some of the others in the IPL. The Gujarat Titans have been here before. In fact, they were here in their debut IPL season.
Hardik Pandya was the skipper then, and the Titans were not the favorites to win the IPL. Yet, they did, and they did so showing off the conviction rarely expected of a new entrant. This season, though, things just feel different.
For starters, Hardik is no longer around, thereby ridding them of the balance that made them so good in 2022 and 2023. Mohammed Shami, their bowling lynchpin from last year, will take no part in this IPL campaign either. If Azmatullah Omarzai is being looked upon as a like-for-like swap for Pandya, it could mean that Kane Williamson misses out, given the Giants will have to play an overseas pacer to offset Shami's absence.
Mohit Sharma, their surprise package from 2023, is also a year older and Rashid Khan arrives having just recovered from a back injury. Gill, too, has not captained in the IPL, and what effect that will have on his batting form remains to be seen.
The Titans still have plenty of quality players. The likes of David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Vijay Shankar, and Gill have proven they are capable of delivering in the IPL. Spencer Johnson, acquired for big bucks, is arguably one of the most exciting pacers going around.
But the big question is whether the Titans can deliver consistently enough and whether they can find the right balance to maximize the overseas and Indian players at their disposal. Evidence of that ilk, though, does not seem very forthcoming at the moment.
#9 Punjab Kings
It has been almost ten years since the Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab previously) qualified for the IPL playoffs. Since then, PBKS have had some power-packed sides, only for them to stumble when push comes to shove in the group stages.
Will things be any different in this IPL campaign?
Well, it is tough to definitively answer in the affirmative. They have several match-winners in their squad. Their batting unit comprises of captain Shikhar Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone. Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh, similarly, can cause plenty of damage with the ball.
There are a couple of factors, though, that might pull them down.
Firstly, they will be playing at a new home ground, which could either give them the home advantage they crave or lead to teething and adaptation issues. Because there is minimal evidence, it is hard to argue either way, although given how other IPL teams normally have a tried-and-tested strategy for their home games, this is where the Punjab Kings might struggle.
The other aspect is that they do not seem to have a strong enough Indian core. Apart from Arshdeep and Jitesh, none of the others are in the national reckoning. Harshal Patel, signed at the auction for a hefty sum, tends to leak runs, while Rahul Chahar has never really recaptured the IPL form that propelled him into the Indian team.
Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh, after last year, are two youngsters to keep an eye on. Chris Woakes and Rilee Rossouw, meanwhile, are capable backups. In fact, Punjab’s overseas contingent looks strong, considering Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza are also in the mix.
But only four of them can play on any given day. So, choosing the right personnel for the right game will be a challenge, whereas their relatively inexperienced Indian contingent will also be tested because of the heavy lifting they will have to do.
And for those reasons, their wait for a playoff berth might just continue.
#8 Delhi Capitals
All eyes, undeniably, will be on captain Rishabh Pant as he makes his long-awaited return to competitive cricket. And that could reinvigorate a Delhi side that fell woefully short of expectations in 2023.
Things, however, have started going wrong even before the season began. They bought Harry Brook at the auction, hoping he could be their middle-order enforcer. Lungi Ngidi, alongside Anrich Nortje, was billed as one of their key fast-bowling weapons. Neither of them will be available. Nortje, too, has not played much cricket after suffering a stress fracture in 2023.
The burden, unsurprisingly, will fall on Australian pair David Warner and Mitchell Marsh. As the years have gone on, though, the former has not been as consistent as he once was. He is still a match-winner, mind you, but there will be immense pressure on him.
As for Marsh, he is now an all-format player for his country. His stock has only risen in the past few months, but that does introduce the possibility of burnout, especially given he has had his run-ins with injuries previously.
The Indian contingent, comprising Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, and Prithvi Shaw can be match-winners on their day. But none of them has performed enough to be classified as a mainstay. Tristan Stubbs, who will most likely fill in for Brook, is also largely untested in the IPL.
Thus, the Capitals season could come down to how their three big batting guns fare, and how their spinners (Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav) perform. On paper, Axar and Kuldeep can lay claim to being the best spin-attack in the IPL; the latter, in particular, bowling as well as he has perhaps ever done.
But apart from that duo, things do not look very promising for the Capitals. And while the individual ability of these stars will take them past teams, it might not be enough to sustain their top-four challenge.
#7 Lucknow Super Giants
LSG, since they arrived in the IPL, have done relatively well, making the playoffs on both occasions. Thus, that is the least they would expect this season too. But can they do it?
KL Rahul, as captain and their best batter, will have a pivotal role to play. This time, though, that role will apparently be in the middle order. That does give the likes of Devdutt Padikkal (acquired through a trade; more on that later), Kyle Mayers, and Quinton de Kock freedom to tee off while offering Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran more support towards the end.
These overseas players, though, are in patchy form. Pooran has turned things around but the same cannot be said of Stoinis, who was omitted from the Australian team that faced New Zealand lately.
Quinton de Kock also did not set the world alight in the SA20, averaging less than 20 and striking at less than 125. Mayers was in decent form during the BPL, but the IPL will be a different kettle of fish altogether.
LSG have a new coach at the helm (Justin Langer replacing Andy Flower), with Gautam Gambhir also having departed for newer pastures. Their fast-bowling attack is also in transition, given they traded off Avesh Khan.
Mark Wood, due to concerns over his workload, was pulled out by the ECB, and there is uncertainty over when (or if) David Willey will join the squad, leaving Naveen-ul-Haq and Shamar Joseph as their overseas pace options.
They have plenty of all-rounders, though, and that gives them options. Add to that Ravi Bishnoi’s leg-spin, and the Super Giants have a side that will keep other franchises honest.
To make the playoffs, however, they will perhaps need a little more than that. And after two relatively successful seasons on that count, this is where they might come unstuck.
#6 Kolkata Knight Riders
Last season, KKR had to make do without their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer. So, they will be chuffed to know that he will likely be their starting captain this time. Gautam Gambhir has also returned - as team mentor - and his knowledge and nous will come in handy for a side that seemed a little bereft of ideas in 2023.
Rinku Singh, post an extraordinary campaign last season, is now an India regular in T20I cricket, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Andre Russell, back in the West Indian fold, has been striking the ball well, while Sunil Narine is bowling as tidily as ever. Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer, two vital cogs in this KKR wheel, also had good domestic seasons.
And…KKR splashed out the better part of ₹24 crore to bring Mitchell Starc on board. The issue, though, is that Starc’s acquisition did not give them much wriggling room elsewhere, and that is a concern because if Starc breaks down, they do not have any clear-cut alternative. The lack of experience, in particular, sticks out.
Their batting also tends to blow hot and cold. Gambhir will most likely have them playing a fearless brand of cricket, and that comes with its caveats too. Thus, there will be days when they blow teams out of the water and cast themselves as contenders.
Those days, though, might not happen often enough to materialize into a playoff berth.
#5 Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Could this be the year, finally? The RCB women’s team has already shown the way, can the men’s team now back it up and make it a truly memorable year for the franchise? These questions are commonplace, and whether RCB can break their IPL hoodoo is a conversation that happens before almost every season.
If you look at their top six, it is as good as any in the IPL. Virat Kohli, who reportedly has to prove his worth as a T20 batter, will be chomping at the bit to get stuck into the action and could have a massive season, alongside captain Faf du Plessis at the top of the order. Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, and Rajat Patidar are their middle-order marauders, and Dinesh Karthik their finisher. On paper at least, this is a title-winning top six.
T20 cricket, though, is played across 40 overs, of which 20 have to be bowled. And that is where RCB have more than a few shortcomings.
Before the IPL auction, they released Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, and Wanindu Hasaranga. The troika were not quite at their best last year, and it showed as RCB were blitzed out by powerful batting outfits. The worry, though, is that they have not filled those holes.
Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, and Tom Curran were bought at the auction. Reece Topley is also a part of their squad. But given the make-up of their top six, only one of these four pacers can play. None of them have IPL pedigree to bank on, and on the unforgiving pitches at the Chinnaswamy, could be found wanting.
Not only did RCB let Hasaranga go, but they also traded off Shahbaz Ahmed – a strange decision, considering he was in the Indian scheme of things not long ago. Mayank Dagar came in through the door as his replacement, but like the overseas pacers in the squad, he is largely untested.
A lot of bowling responsibility, thus, will fall on Mohammed Siraj. He has Akash Deep - fresh off an impressive Test debut – for company but if Siraj does not have a great season, RCB could huff and puff, especially when having to defend totals at home. Not to mention the pressure of chasing big scores when bowling first.
Because of the batting and all-round quality they have, they will be actively involved in what looks like a mid-table muddle. Can they emerge from that pack, though? Probably not.
#4 SunRisers Hyderabad
Some captains just seem to have that Midas touch. Everything they touch seemingly turns to gold. Pat Cummins, after winning the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, seems to fall in that category.
Skippering an IPL side, of course, will be very different. And Cummins, for what it is worth, does not have any experience of leading in the IPL. In fact, some would even argue that SRH overpaid for him at the auction and that if he were not captain, he might not have gotten into their first-choice eleven.
But for a team that has not lived up to its billing in the last two years, Cummins – the captain - is possibly just what they need.
Cummins will have his hands full picking SRH’s four overseas players. Aiden Markram, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Travis Head, and Wanindu Hasaranga will effectively be fighting for three spots. Klaasen seems a shoo-in, as does Head, because of how much SRH spent on him. The last spot will be a toss-up based on the match-ups and the conditions.
Whichever way SRH go, though, they have overseas match-winners.
Their Indian players, thus, will be under the scanner. They have a pretty decent contingent, truth be told. Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi were playing for India not long ago (albeit in different formats). Abhishek Sharma, who will probably make up SRH’s top three (alongside Mayank and Head) had a stellar domestic season too.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains a canny operator. T Natarajan, if he can stay fit, could prove a valuable death-bowling option, while Umran Malik’s raw pace could be harnessed excellently by someone like Cummins.
This is also a monumental IPL season for Washington Sundar, who has just fallen off the radar slightly. He could even have a bigger role to play with the bat and his off-spin, in the powerplay, could be crucial, with Mayank Markande adept at bowling in the middle overs.
So, SRH seem to have a lot of bases covered. Matches, of course, are not played on paper. But with someone of Cummins’ stature leading, SRH might just make the most of these resources and put to bed the disappointment of 2023.
#3 Chennai Super Kings
And…he’s back. Like MS Dhoni said he would. That is a cause for celebration among CSK fans, who know that their Thala has entered what can be called the twilight of his IPL career.
But Dhoni being the competitor he is, and CSK being the team they are, they would not want to settle for just a bit-part role in the IPL. If this is indeed Dhoni’s last IPL season, they would want him to sign off the only way he can.
For that, though, they will have to tide over several injury concerns. Dhoni, who hobbled his way through last season, did get his knee operated but it remains to be seen if he can tear across the wickets like he once used to.
Devon Conway is unavailable for the first half of the season, while there are question marks over Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman, both of whom injured themselves during the white-ball leg of the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka series. Shivam Dube is also not certain to start the IPL as he recovers from a side strain.
Thankfully for CSK, they had a more than decent auction. In Rachin Ravindra, they have a like-for-like replacement at the top of the order. Daryl Mitchell can take down spin akin to Ambati Rayudu (and Dube). Youngster Sameer Rizvi has been touted as a right-handed Suresh Raina, and with Shardul Thakur back, they have another death-bowling option, even if Shardul is prone to the odd expensive spell.
Plus, they will likely play seven games at Chepauk, which plays into the strengths of Ravindra Jadeja, Maheesh Theekshana, and possibly Mitchell Santner and Moeen Ali. Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, with a T20 World Cup fast approaching, will have points to prove too, while Ajinkya Rahane would want to show that last season was not a flash in the pan.
So, CSK have several players who should have the bit between their teeth. And that, given this franchise’s pedigree and history, should be enough to take them to the playoffs. Repeating last season’s top-two finish in the league stages, though, might just be a stretch this time.
#2 Rajasthan Royals
In 2022, the Rajasthan Royals had cast themselves as one of the teams to beat in the IPL. They went all the way to the final, and it took a stellar Hardik Pandya bowling display to peg them back.
They seemed intent on making up for that disappointment last year, racking up four wins (in their first five games). But then, something broke and they just could not recover. They finished on 14 points and missed the playoff cut.
Some of the issues that plagued them, namely the lack of all-rounders and a suitable death-overs option still persist to an extent. What has changed, though, is that several of their players are now at the top of their game and have had rich recent international experience.
Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal were exceptional against England. Jaiswal was similarly sensational in IPL 2023 too, and it will not be a surprise if this duo puts opposition bowlers to the sword on a regular basis this IPL campaign.
Jos Buttler also arrives in much better form than he did last year, whereas Shimron Hetmyer, with a home T20 World Cup in sight, will want to make a dart at national selection. It will help that he will have West Indies captain Rovman Powell for company in the middle order, and if these three overseas stars can get going, there is no ground large enough in the IPL to contain them.
On the bowling front, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, and Yuzvendra Chahal will be key. Boult, in particular, will be fresh, having not played a lot of international cricket lately. RR have also added Avesh Khan to that attack, and he does offer incision, especially with Prasidh Krishna ruled out for the season.
RR’s X-Factor player, though, could be Riyan Parag. He has often been ridiculed on social media for his inability to deliver consistently. This time, he comes in on the back of an astonishing domestic season, which saw him take more responsibility and showcase the hitting ability that has made RR persist with him for so long.
Thus, it is hard to look past the Royals as one of the four teams that will qualify. How (or if) they hold their nerve will become clearer as the season progresses, but before a ball has been bowled, the Rajasthan Royals do look like one of the teams to beat.
#1 Mumbai Indians
The dream team. Much of the star cast that won the 2019 edition of the IPL and dominated the season after, is back. Hardik Pandya, undeniably, is the most high-profile returnee, having led the Gujarat Titans to a title and a runners-up finish during his time away.
Jasprit Bumrah, who did not bowl a single ball last season, has been purring in recent weeks, and he will single-handedly transform a bowling attack that seemed to lack bite at times in 2023.
Rohit Sharma, fresh off leading India to a 4-1 series win over England, will not be captain this time, but he is batting superbly, and featuring only as a player, could liberate him to rip apart bowling attacks during the powerplay.
Ishan Kishan, who has been through some troubled times lately, is also back in the fray, and will be hoping to push forward his case for a national call-up. Suryakumar Yadav, missing from action due to injury, is also primed to return and will likely play a massive role in MI’s IPL campaign.
To add to that, Mumbai have Tilak Varma and Tim David in the mix. The former remains an exciting prospect; the latter is a genuine finisher and has been in sterling form, meaning that pound-for-pound, MI have possibly the most devastating top six in the IPL.
The acquisition of Mohammad Nabi at the auction also seems shrewd, given he can bat below David, finish off games, and be a trusted four-over bowler.
Gerald Coetzee is a solid addition to their pace department, even though he is coming in on the back of an injury. Dilshan Madushanka, when fit, is a genuine wicket-taking option with the new ball, while Luke Wood (signed up as Jason Behrendorff’s replacement) has illustrated his ability to extract pace, bounce, and movement in various T20 leagues.
Their spin-bowling stocks, compared to some of the other IPL teams, seems slightly thinner but the tracks at the Wankhede Stadium are anyway not expected to aid spin much.
The only thing, thus, that can pull MI down is if they do not have a smooth captaincy transition. Given how experienced Hardik and Rohit are, and considering how successful Hardik has already been as an IPL captain, that should not be a big problem. And if that particular obstacle is hurled over, there is not a lot that can stop MI from topping the table in the league stages.
