IPL 2018: Each franchise's key battles for a spot in the starting XI

With every franchise having a squad ranging from 19 up to 25 players, choosing a starting 11 could prove to be tricky. There will be talented players vying for the same spot in the playing 11 and sometimes popular names have to, unfortunately, miss out.

IPL veterans like Chris Gayle and Harbhajan Singh found themselves battling it out with younger cricketers for a spot in the playing 11 in the 2017 edition.

Let us look at some of the top likely battles between familiar stars in every single franchise:

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Chennai Super Kings

Harbhajan Singh vs. Karn Sharma

Harbhajan Singh is one of three people to have represented the same franchise for the first 10 years. The Mumbai Indians veteran lost his place in the starting 11 on a few occasions to fellow spinner, Karn Sharma. Karn Sharma was instrumental in the Mumbai Indians' title claim last season. Though they played in tandem too, Bhajji lost his place to Karn towards the end of the season, and even missed the final.

The pair were bought by the team from the other coast of India, the Chennai Super Kings. With Ravindra Jadeja a certainty in the starting 11, and two good part-time spinning options in Suresh Raina and Kedar Jadhav, it looks like there is space for just one more spinner in their starting 11. This leaves Bhajji and Karn battling it out again for a chance to play.

The Super Kings do have another option in the form of South African ace spinner Imran Tahir, albeit the final foreign slot is likely to be filled by Mark Wood or Lungi Ngidi owing to the Super Kings' dearth of fast bowling options.

Delhi Daredevils

Colin Munro's form might see him edge Jason Roy out

Jason Roy vs. Colin Munro

The Delhi Daredevils have one of their opening slots occupied by captain Gautam Gambhir. The other opening slot is likely to be taken by either Jason Roy or Colin Munro. They do have an option in the form of recently Under-19 world cup winning captain Prithvi Shaw. However, with Gambhir at one end, the Daredevils will want someone as explosive on the other end as Roy and Munro both are.

In the past year or so, Colin Munro has proven to be one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. He is a consistent top-order batsman for the team, with a batting average of 30 in the shortest format of the game. His ability was on display when he became the first man ever to score three centuries in Twenty20 International history.

Jason Roy is an opener of dashing disposition in international cricket. Though he has seen a slump in form of late, his stroke play and style of batting is meant for the Indian Premier League. He got to play just 3 games for the Gujarat Lions last year and will be hoping to showcase his talent in the IPL this year at the expense of Colin Munro, who is favourite to open proceedings for the Daredevils.

Kings XI Punjab

Will this Karnataka duo edge veteran Yuvraj Singh out of the starting eleven?

Mayank Agarwal vs. Karun Nair

The Kings XI Punjab splurged INR 11 crores on KL Rahul and not playing him will be a sin. They also have terrific overseas batsmen such as David Miller, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis in their squad. With Andrew Tye likely to spearhead their bowling, it looks like out of flavour Chris Gayle will not make it to the starting eleven.

The Kings XI Punjab have a couple of batting slots left and three worthy options to chose from. After the auctions it seemed like Karun Nair and Yuvraj Singh would be the obvious picks. However, they are going to find it hard to ignore recently hitched Mayank Agarwal. Mayank has smashed Indian domestic records this season. He scored 723 runs across the Viraj Hazare tournament and scored 2,141 runs across all formats, the highest total by any batsman in an Indian domestic season. At INR 1 crore, he could turn out to be one of the steals of the season.

In the end, it might just come down to the two Karnataka players battling it out for a spot in the Punjab team.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Young Shubman Gill will be hoping to feature in the playing eleven for the Knight Riders

Nitish Rana vs. Shubman Gill

The Kolkata Knight Riders bought only 19 players in the auction and don't have many options to play with. To add to their worries, their stars Andre Russell, Chris Lynn and Mitchell Johnson are suffering from injuries and Sunil Narine has been reported for his bowling action yet again.

Their main battle for a berth in the starting 11 is between Indian youngsters Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill. Nitish Rana, who was a replacement for injured Ambati Rayudu in Mumbai's starting XI, started last year's IPL off with a bang. He scored 333 runs last season at an average of over 30 and even managed to keep veteran Rayudu out of the squad for a while. However, he lost his way in the latter half of the season and gradually lost his place in the starting 11. He made up for this in the domestic season, impressing the Knight Riders camp enough for them to purchase him at a sweet INR 3.4 crores.

Though Rana is expected to feature in the Knight Riders' middle order, he will face stiff competition from India's under-19 World Cup star Shubman Gill. He was the vice-captain of India's world cup winning squad and was even named the Player of the Tournament owing to him amassing 372 runs. Some have even touted the 18-year old to be the next Virat Kohli!

Mumbai Indians

JP Duminy is back with the Mumbai Indians this season

JP Duminy vs. Ben Cutting vs. Mustafizur Rahman

Three out of four foreign slots for the Mumbai Indians are sure to be occupied by Evin Lewis, Kieron Pollard and Pat Cummins. This leaves just one foreigner slot open and the Mumbai Indians have three terrific options to chose from.

It looks like they will take a 'horses for courses' approach and select a player based on the conditions of play. JP Duminy is the favourite to make the starting eleven owing to a variety of reasons. He is an IPL veteran and has showcased his ability with the bat on numerous occasions. Another major reason for him finding a spot in the team would be his spinning abilities. The Mumbai Indians have a lack of options in the spinning department and JP Duminy can be picked to fill that role.

Another excellent all-rounder who will help the Mumbai Indians in their title defence is the IPL 2016 final Man of the Match, Ben Cutting. Cutting is a very explosive batsman in the middle order and has a knack of picking up wickets with his fast-medium bowling.

The third option was granted the laurel of being the Emerging player of the 2016 season. Mustafizur Rahman is a southpaw speedster who has made the news for his fine bowling on many an occasion. Considering that the Mumbai Indians have plenty of batting options, it might make sense for them to pick Rahman as their fourth foreigner in order to bolster their bowling attack. Bumrah, Cummins and Rahman could form a dream bowling attack for the Mumbai Indians.

Rajasthan Royals

D'arcy Short will be hoping his impeccable form earns him a starting spot in the Rajasthan lineup

D'arcy Short vs. Jos Buttler

Having spent extravagantly on Steve Smith, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, these three are almost a certainty in the Rajasthan Royals' starting 11. This leaves D'arcy Short and Jos Buttler battling it out for the final foreigner slot. This is going to be a tough choice for the Rajasthan Royals management.

On one hand, there is D'arcy Short who is in the form of his life. He was by far the best player of the tournament in the Big Bash League and was the league's highest run-scorer by miles. He scored back-to-back nineties and immediately followed it up with a spectacular century. He scored 572 runs in 11 games at an average of 57.2. He did this at a strike rate of close to 150 too! He then continued his spectacular form for Australia, scoring some fine knocks for his country. Short is yet to make his IPL debut and it will be interesting to see how D'arcy Short will adapt to Indian conditions.

On the other hand, Jos Buttler has IPL experience under his belt and has shown how lethal he can be. He has amassed 527 runs in his 24 games at an impressive strike rate of 145.98. He is flexible with batting positions too, as he can bat right on top of the order or come pack a punch late down the batting order too. He is one of the most destructive batsmen in the shortest format of the game with a wide variety of strokes in his playbook. It will be hard to keep the English wicket-keeping batsman out of the playing 11, and the Rajasthan Royals have a difficult decision to make on their hands.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The IPL veteran, Brendon McCullum, could lose out on a starting spot to promising opener Quinton de Kock

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have an amazing squad depth with many options for every player role. This leads to them being spoilt for choice and there are many battles for a place in the starting 11, with the most notable ones being:

Quinton de Kock vs. Brendon McCullum

The first and most unpredictable battle is between the overseas openers, Quinton de Kock and Brendon McCullum. Quinton has time and again demonstrated that he is one for the future. In IPL 2016, he amassed 445 runs for the Delhi Daredevils at an average of 37.08 which included a surreal knock of 108. He didn't feature in IPL 2017 but is back for the 2018 season in Royal Challengers Bangalore colours.

The other option the Bangalore side have is a fine one - Brendon McCullum. Most RCB fans will remember his monstrous 158 in the Chinnaswamy in the very first game in IPL history. "Baz" is extremely explosive and he could be a great addition to the impressive Bangalore batting lineup.

Manan Vohra vs. Parthiv Patel

Both Manan Vohra and Parthiv Patel are underrated batsmen. Parthiv was spectacular for the Mumbai Indians last season and was an unsung hero in their title win. He accumulated an impressive 395 runs last season. He notches up the thirties regularly at a brisk rate, which is ideal for an opener. He also has an added plus point of being brilliant behind the stumps.

Manan Vohra is an explosive opener who has done well for the Kings XI Punjab. Last year, Vohra amassed 229 in 11 games, including a stunning innings of 95. He opened with Virender Sehwag on many occasions and displayed his aggression as he would be the more attacking batsman of the two.

Colin de Grandhomme vs. Nathan Coulter-Nile vs. Moeen Ali

With AB de Villiers, Chris Woakes and Brendon McCullum/Quinton de Kock occupying three of the four overseas slots, the all-rounders will be vying for the last one. Colin de Grandhomme is an explosive lower middle order batsman who can pitch in as an extra bowler with his medium pacers. His ability to turn a match on its head is his greatest ability. He doesn't have much IPL experience though, having featured in just the 2017 season.

Nathan Coulter-Nile is a bowling all-rounder whose fast bowling is effective in the abbreviated format of the game. He is more than handy as a batsman lower down the order. However, he has played scarcely in the recent past owing to his injuries.

The third option is Englishman Moeen Ali. He is a great batsman to have in the middle order as he can pace his innings as per the scenario. His spin bowling is effective and could be effective if the Chinnaswamy is as slow as it was last year. However, with plenty of Indian spinners in their ranks, Moeen Ali's bowling abilities may not be needed.

It will be interesting to see if the Royal Challengers try and stick with the same starting lineup or go with the horses for courses approach.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Basil Thampi was one of the finds of IPL 2017

Siddarth Kaul vs Basil Thampi

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have a problem of plenty with their Indian bowlers. Two-time purple cap winner Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be leading the pack along with IPL sensation Sandeep Sharma. They are likely to field one more pacer in their starting 11, and there are two candidates vying for the role.

Siddarth Kaul was phenomenal for the Sunrisers last season, having bagged 16 wickets in just 10 games. He is a natural wicket taker, and the fact that the Sunrisers shelled out nearly INR 4 crores for the medium pacer shows their faith in him.

The winner of the 'Emerging player' laurel in IPL 2017, Basil Thampi will look to give stiff competition to Kaul for a place in the final XI. Thampi featured regularly for the Lions and bagged 11 scalps in his 12 games. He continued his form in the Duleep trophy as well and even got the opportunity of playing two games for India-A. He bagged three wickets in four balls for India-A against New Zealand, which triggered a Kiwi collapse. In the recently concluded Ranji trophy, Thampi bowled magnificently to help Kerala reach the quarter-finals. His consistent performances saw him get an India call-up in the recently foregone Sri Lanka T20 series.

It will certainly be unfortunate for any of these two to not make it to the playing XI!