IPL 2018: Biggest weakness of each franchise

All franchises go in to the IPL auctions with a set game plan in mind. Owing to the dynamical nature of the auctions, seldom is a franchise able to stick to their plans. Due to budget constraints and the dearth of quality players, all teams are bound to have some weakness or the other.

Let us take a look at the primary weakness of each franchise, ahead of the eleventh edition of the IPL.

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#1 Chennai Super Kings- The age factor

CSK unsurprisingly opted to retain the services of their star players and veterans in the yellow jersey - MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni, aged 36, and Raina, aged 31, are well past their prime. Jadeja at 29 also seems to have left behind his heydays, after having lost his place in the Indian side.

Having retained these three, CSK were expected to recruit younger prospects who can set the stage on fire. Surprisingly none of their first eight buys in the auctions were aged under thirty! Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir and Karn Sharma are all aged thirty or more.

It is important to note that this squad will play not just the upcoming edition of the IPL but the next three seasons as well. This squad would have been flawless half a decade ago, however, it may not be fit enough for 2018.

#2 Delhi Daredevils- A vulnerable bowling line-up

The Delhi Daredevils will be hoping to clinch their maiden IPL title in 2018

The Delhi Daredevils have unarguably been the worst performing team over the ten seasons of the IPL. They will be looking to make amends from this season and their batting line-up looks set to do the job. They also have roped in one of IPL's most successful captains, Gautam Gambhir, who will be leading them from the front.

However, their bowling attack could be a concern. They are likely to star Mohammad Shami, Kagiso Rabada, Shahbaz Nadeem, Amit Mishra and Chris Morris as their five main bowlers initially. Rahul Tewatia or Vijay Shankar could pitch in as the sixth bowler.

Shami has been underwhelming in the IPL's history. His economy rate hovers around 9 every season and he almost always misses games owing to injury. Rabada has featured in only 6 games so far and his economy of 8.81 is also on the higher side. However, Amit has been a sensation in the IPL but he is 35 now and age isn't on his side. Last season his economy was hovering around 8.83. Nadeem has picked up just 8 wickets in 15 games over the last 3 seasons and Shankar and Tewatia are both inexperienced with the ball.

All in all, the Delhi Daredevils have reasons to be concerned with regards to their bowling attack.

#3 Kings XI Punjab- Lack of a full-time wicket-keeper

The Kings XI Punjab do not have a full-time wicket-keeper in their ranks

The Kings XI Punjab have a well-balanced team for the 2018 IPL. They have fine batsmen such as KL Rahul, Aaron Finch, Chris Gayle, Karun Nair and Yuvraj Singh in their ranks and their bowling department looks good too, with the likes of Andrew Tye, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel.

However, the Kings XI Punjab did not obtain the services of any full-time wicket-keeper in the auction. They are set to field Rahul behind the stumps, who was discharging the wicket-keeping duties for RCB, albeit unconvincingly. Having a part-time keeper might turn out to be a hassle for the Kings. To add to their woes, they have no back-up wicket-keeper in their squad either. Considering Rahul's history with injuries, this could turn out to be a major issue for the team from Punjab.

#4 Kolkata Knight Riders- Lack of captaincy candidates

Kolkata Knight Riders could repent letting go of their most successful captain, Gautam Gambhir

The Knight Riders retained West Indians Sunil Narine and Andre Russel, and then snatched up overseas players like Chris Lynn and Mitchell Starc in the side during the auctions. As rumours had rightly predicted, the Knight Riders did not retain their most successful captain, Gautam Gambhir, as the player wished to end his IPL career with his home side, the Delhi Daredevils.

Their small squad of 19 may be star-studded but lacks a player with experience in captaincy. Considering that it was Gambhir’s captaincy that got them back on track after a poor first half in the IPL, it is surprising that the Knight Riders did not pick up an established captain in the auction. It will be interesting to see who they pick as the leader out of Lynn, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik, who are the only realistic options as of now

#5 Mumbai Indians- The spin department

The Mumbai Indians will be hoping their lack of quality spinners does not stop them from winning their fourth title

The Mumbai Indians managed to retain the core of their 2017 title winning team in the form of Rohit Sharma, the Pandya brothers, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard. They had an impressive auction, but they have an area of concern as their spin department is depleted.

Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar and JP Duminy are the only spinners in the ranks of the Mumbai Indians. Chahar is inexperienced, having played only 3 games in the IPL so far. Duminy is a part time bowler and may not even find a place in the squad considering the other heavyweight overseas players that the Mumbai Indians possess.

The Wankhede stadium isn’t a spinning track and this might have been an intentional move. However, they might have some issues in their away games, or in case of an injury.

#6 Rajasthan Royals- Specialist bowlers

Rajasthan Royals' bowling is heavily dependent on Jaydev Unadkat

With prime batsmen such as Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, D'arcy Short, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi in their ranks, the batting is not a concern for the Rajasthan Royals. The bowling could be a concern though, primarily owing to the lack of specialist bowlers in their squad.

The Royals spent a whopping INR 11.5 crores on pacer Jaydev Unadkat. They didn't spend as much on any other specialist bowlers though. The Royals bowling department will have to be handled by all-rounders like Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Krishnappa Gowtham, which can prove risky on occasions.

#7 Royal Challengers Bangalore- A weak lower middle order

Sarfaraz Khan will be hoping to justify his franchisee's faith in him

Having had stellar batsmen like Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in their squads for many years now, the top order has never really been an issue for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The lower middle order has however, over the years, turned out to be their biggest foe. Despite having spent heavily on superstars such as Yuvraj Singh and Shane Watson, destiny hasn't really favored the Royal Challengers to overcome their lower middle order problems.

The biggest shocker of the 2018 pre-auctions was the retention of Sarfaraz Khan. He is set to be a part of the middle order, along with a few players like Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Mandeep Singh, Moeen Ali and Nathan Coulter-Nile. None of these players but Mandeep have any significant IPL batting experience. Mandeep was poor last season, managing to accumulate 188 runs in 11 games at a strike rate of just above 100.

We can only wait and watch whether the middle order batsmen will rise up to the challenge.

#8 Sunrisers Hyderabad- The lower middle order

Dhawan and Warner will be hoping that the middle order batsmen take some pressure off them

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have retained their successful opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner. They shelled out INR 11 crores to secure the services of Manish Pandey. They also retained the services of ace Kiwi batsman, Kane Williamson. Their bowling department includes prime T20 bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan and they have excellent Indian youngsters such as Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi, Syed Ahmed and Siddarth Kaul.

Their only concern, if any, is their lower middle order. Shakib Al Hasan featured in just one game last year. He hasn't been very effective with the bat in the IPL, having notched up under 500 runs in its entirety. Wriddhiman Saha scored 234 runs in 14 games last season at an ordinary average of 125.13. Deepak Hooda didn't get too many opportunities to bat last season, and his highest score last season was just 19. Yusuf Pathan is a mere shadow of his former self and he could rack up just 143 runs last season in 15 games at a strike rate of under 125. Mohammad Nabi has done well for Afghanistan but is inexperienced in the IPL and Carlos Braithwaite has been underwhelming with the bat in the IPL.

If their lower middle order clicks, the Sunrisers will be the team to beat this IPL.