IPL Preview - Best XI, Strengths, Weaknesses, Star Players & X-Factors and lots more of Each Team

After what was billed as the super auction, IPL 2018 gets underway soon.

Have the Daredevils truly improved? Will the King's XI make another run to the final? And how will the two returning teams fare? These are some of the questions that every IPL fan has right now.

The shortest format of the game is hard to predict and a good over for the bowling or the batting unit is sometimes all it takes for the game to turn on its head and for reputations and form to be thrown out of the window.

Therefore the task of predicting the teams' fortunes during the IPL is a tough task. However, here is a look ahead to the tournament and the break down of the strengths and weaknesses of each team, while also looking at who the star players and X-factors are potentially going to be for each squad.

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Chennai Super Kings

Squad

MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson, M Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Billings, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Mark Wood, Jagadeesan Narayan, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Monu Kumar, Kanishk Seth, Asif KM

Fan-favorite side CSK will make their returns to the IPL following a ban and the squad seems promising.

Best XI

Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Faf Du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar

Strengths

The team is overflowing with match winners. In addition to that, the all-round talents in this team will make any team jealous. Watson and Bravo are more than capable of bowling their full quota overs which will give Dhoni the luxury of being very flexible with his combination. Expect Kedar Jadhav to also chip in with plenty of overs during the tournament.

Weaknesses

If there is such a thing, then CSK have the issue to who to leave out. With such a huge influx of talent at their disposal, CSK will have to get the combination absolutely right. There is a very likely scenario that stars like Harbhajan, Mark Wood, Sam Billings etc, don't even get in the XI. Keeping them happy on the bench will also be a challenge.

However, this is all just clutching at straws. CSK don't seem to have any real weaknesses and did their job very well at the auction.

Prediction: Potential finalists at the very least.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli will look to end his and RCB's IPL trophy drought this season

Squad

Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Tim Southee, Chris Woakes, Parthiv Patel, Umesh Yadav, Quinton de Kock, Manan Vohra, Moeen Ali, Sarfaraz Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mandeep Singh, Aniruddha Joshi, Pavan Deshpande, Yuzvendra Chahal, Aniket Choudhary, Murugan Ashwin, Pawan Negi, Colin de Grandhomme, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj

Best XI

Virat Kohli, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Manan Vohra, Moeen Ali, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Woakes, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Strengths

RCB really pack a punch at the top of the order. Most teams will be envious of the firepower that Kohli, de Kock, and ABD bring to the table. Those three are capable of winning any game on their own. In addition to this, the two English all-rounders Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes along with Washington Sundar make RCB's batting really deep that would come in handy for chasing down big totals in Bengaluru. Then there is the wrist spin of Chahal which has proven to be a tough nut to crack for the opposition.

Weaknesses

The batting quality really takes a dip once you beyond ABD and into the middle order. If the opposition picks up early wickets then RCB could struggle. Additionally, Umesh Yadav and M Siraj don't really have the greatest record in the shortest version of the game and could prove expensive, especially in Bengaluru where the ground is not exactly the biggest in the world.

Prediction: Potential knockout place, but barring some exceptional magic from someone, that is where their journey in this years IPL will end.

Kolkata Knight Riders

DK will have the tough job of filling Gambhir's boots as a skipper

Squad

Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Mitchell Johnson, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Tom Curran, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Javon Searles, Ishank Jaggi, Cameron Delport, Chris Lynn, Vinay Kumar, Apoorv Wankhade, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh

Best XI

Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitesh Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shubhman Gill, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkotti, Kuldeep Yadav, Tom Curran, Shivam Mavi

Strengths

Chris Lynn is a prove match winner at this level and his presence will be a big boost for KKR. Additionally, KKR have the guile of two top-class mystery spinners in Narine and Kuldeep Yadav at their disposal. The two possess the ability to run through most batting lineups.

Weaknesses

KKR were heavily relying on Mitchell Starc and his absence will have come as a big blow to them. Tom Curran is a fine replacement, but he is no Starc. Additionally, KKR will rely heavily on the stars from India's U19 World Cup win to deliver. There is no questioning their talent, but the lack of experience in the IPL could be KKR's undoing this season.

KKR will also miss Gautam Gambhir the skipper, who was instrumental in KKR's near rags to riches turnaround and led them to two IPL titles. Dinesh Karthik is a relative newcomer to a captaincy in the IPL and it remains to be seen how well he leads the players. Lastly, there are issues regarding the fitness of star batsman Chris Lynn. Lynn is a star, but whether he will be fit for the whole duration of the tournament remains to be seen.

Prediction: Could potentially push for the playoffs, but likely to narrowly fall short.

Delhi Daredevils

Ponting will bring a winning mentality to DD

Squad

Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Shami, Prithvi Shaw, Trent Boult, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Naman Ojha, Abhishek Sharma, Manjot Kalra, Colin Munro, Harshal Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Daniel Christian, Gurkeerat Singh, Avesh Khan, Sayan Ghosh, Sandeep Lamichhane, Chris Morris, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant

Best XI

Colin Munro, Rishabh Pant, Gautam Gambhir, Glenn Maxwell, Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris, Vijay Shankar, Amit Mishra, Md. Shami, Trent Boult, Shahbaz Nadeem

Strengths

This is the strongest Delhi Daredevil squad for a long while, but having said that the bar in this regard wasn't particularly high, to begin with. That being said Delhi's batting does seem rather solid compared to previous years. Ricky Ponting is a true winner and his appointment as a coach will send a clear message that what happened in the previous IPLs will not do. Gambhir proved to be a talisman for KKR and Daredevils will expect a similar impact from their skipper. In Morris and Munro, they have world-class options.

Weaknesses

The bowling unit really seems weak and barring Boult, the Daredevils really seem lightweight in this department. This could be their big undoing in the tournament. DD don't really have a specialist end overs bowler which is a huge negative. Rabada pulling out of the IPL will hurt DD a lot.

Prediction: DD have improved their squad in comparison to previous IPLs, but there is still a long way to go. They still seem some way off the other top teams, especially in their bowling and are unlikely to make a real push for the playoffs.

Mumbai Indians

Will Evin Lewis be the latest IPL star from the Caribbean?

Squad

Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, JP Duminy, Krunal Pandya, Pat Cummins, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Roy, Tajinder Singh, Mayank Markande, Mohsin Khan, Ben Cutting, Jason Behrendorff, Pradeep Sangwan, Mustafizur Rahman, Aditya Tare, Saurabh Tiwary, Siddhesh Lad, Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Akila Dananjaya, Ishan Kishan, Sharad Lumba, MD Nidheesh

Best XI

Evin Lewis, Ishaan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Surya Kr Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rehman, Jasprit Bumrah

Strengths

MI have a top quality squad as usual and seem to be strong contenders for the IPL title once again. Their biggest strength is their trio of all-rounders in the middle Pollard and the Pandya brothers, each of whom is capable of delivering wickets as well as runs and have a track record of doing exactly that in the past seasons. In addition, MI have a trio of proven world-class seamers in Cummins, Rahman and Bumrah, two of whom happen to be among the best end over bowlers going around.

Weaknesses

Both the likely MI openers, Evan Lewis and Ishaan Kishan are relatively unknown quantities. This is Lewis' first foray into the IPL while Ishaan Kishan, though talented, has still to fully cash in on that talent. MI also lack a proven wrist spinner which is likely to make their bowling attack a little one dimensional.

Prediction: MI should feature in the final along with CSK.

Rajasthan Royals

Rahane will be looking to ensure Steve Smith is not missed by RR

Squad

Ajinkya Rahane, Heinrich Klaasen, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Aryaman Birla, Midhun S, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni, Darcy Short, Ben Laughlin, Jatin Saxena, Shreyas Gopal, Anureet Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Sharma, Gowtham Krishnappa, Rahul Tripathi, Prashant Chopra, Dushmantha Chameera, Jofra Archer, Zahir Khan, Mahipal Lomror

Best XI

Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Darcy Short, Joffra Archer, Stuart Binny, Gowtham Krishanppa, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

Strengths

The squad ticks a lot of boxes, a solid opening partnership, a world-class allrounder in Stokes, one of the most explosive keeper-batsmen in the world in Buttler and the explosive X-factor of Joffra Archer.

Weaknesses

Losing out on Steve Smith was a big blow. Smith is one of the best batsmen in the world and it won't be easy replacing him. The bowling does seem light on end over specialists and the side does seem to be missing a quality spinner.

Prediction: The squad is not poor by any means, but there are better units out there. Royals could make a push for the playoffs, but expect them to fall a little short of that target.

Kings XI Punjab

Sehwag feels this is the strongest KXIP have ever been

Squad

Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, David Miller, Mayank Agarwal, Mujeeb Zadran, Manzoor Dar, Marcus Stoinis, Pardeep Sahu, Manoj Tiwary, Andrew Tye, Akshdeep Nath, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Dwarshuis, Mayank Dagar, Axar Patel

Best XI

Lokesh Rahul, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Andrew Tye

Strengths

The side has some proven match winners at this level, such as Finch and Miller. Additionally, KL Rahul seems set to make a big statement this IPL and that would be a big plus for the Punjab Franchise.

Weaknesses

The team seems very lightweight in their bowling department and Andrew Tye is the only bowler they have who comes close to being of international standards. KXIP once again are relying heavily on some of the players like Miller and Axar Patel who have let them down in the past and underdelivered. Also strangely KXIP don't really have a wicketkeeper in their side will have to make do with KL Rahul's makeshift keeping. However, if he were to get injured during the IPL then they don't have a backup keeper.

Prediction: Virender Sehwag stressed that this is the best Kings XI Punjab squad for a long while but its hard to see where his optimism is coming from. Kings XI Punjab just don't have the quality to make any real impact in this IPL. Expect them to finish near the bottom of the table this season.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Is this the season that Kane Williamson finally makes a big impact in IPL?

Squad

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Alex Hales, Kane Williamson, Wriddhiman Saha, Shikhar Dhawan, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Jordan, Manish Pandey, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Bipul Sharma, Sachin Baby, Sandeep Sharma, Carlos Brathwaite, Mehdi Hasan, Deepak Hooda, Billy Stanlake, Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, Tanmay Agarwal, Rashid Khan, Natarajan, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammad Nabi

Best XI

Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Siddhartha Kaul

Strengths

Sunrisers have one of the most complete teams in the IPL and come with explosive batting power packed to the hilt. The batting runs till no. 8 with Rashid Khan also capable of hitting the odd big hit every now and then. Its one of the deepest batting lineups in the IPL. In addition to that, they have the hottest leg-spinner going around in the world right now in Rashid Khan and the superstar of the team Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is capable of doing damage to the opposition in both the early overs as well as the end overs.

Weaknesses

David Warner was an inspirational leader and he will be missed. The pace department is a little weak as there is no one else to share the burden with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, and Siddhartha Kaul have not set the IPL alight in the past.

Prediction: Anything besides a playoff qualification will be seen as a big disappointment for the Orange Army.