Predicting the top 4 IPL teams at the end of the group stage

The IPL auction saw the eight teams get completely overhauled. While some teams ended up being well balanced, there were others who don't have enough depth in their squad. There were lots of surprises in the bag when players like Martin Guptill, Hashim Amla, Alex Hales and Joe Root went unsold.

One of the major shocks in the IPL auctions involved KKR who did not retain their captain Gautam Gambhir and RCB retaining Sarfaraz Khan over the experienced K.L. Rahul. With just around two weeks to go for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League, let us look at the teams that will most likely finish in the top-4 at the end of the group stages.

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#4 Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils

Unlike previous seasons where DD wasn't much of a serious title contender, this year Delhi has one of the most balanced squads and will be led by their new captain Gautam Gambhir. They had decided to retain the services of Rishabh Pant, who has shown time and again that he can win matches by himself, all-rounder Chris Morris and Shreyas Iyer before the auctions and have built their squad around these 3 players.

Delhi isn't short of explosive batsmen as they have the likes of Gambhir, Jason Roy, Colin Munro and Daniel Christian in their ranks. The spin department will be led by the experienced Amit Mishra along with Shahbaz Nadeem. The fast bowling unit includes Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammad Shami and Avesh Khan. Don't be surprised if DD outshines the other favorites to finally lift the trophy this season.

#3 Chennai Super Kings

Captain Cool will be leading the side

CSK is back after two years with the familiar sight of MS Dhoni leading them in their iconic yellow jersey. The squad boasts of some new names and even though the average age of the squad is almost 30 years, one should not forget that experience wins you matches.

The batting unit has some quality players, which includes Suresh Raina, Faf Du Plesis, Sam Billings and Dhoni himself. They have some exceptional all-rounders like Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, and Kedhar Jadhav, who are also big hitters of the ball.

The bowling unit includes Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir. Even though CSK is spin-heavy it will play to their advantage as the M. Chidhambaram Stadium has got slower over the years. CSK is the most experienced squad in the IPL and is one of the favourites to win the IPL this season.

#2 Sunrisers Hyderabad

The champions of 2016

Sunrisers Hyderabad have high-quality players in every department and their Indian contingent is the unarguably the strongest of the eight IPL squads. The team from Hyderabad will be led by David Warner who had led them to their first ever IPL trophy in 2016.

The batting unit includes the explosive Warner along with Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yusuf Pathan, Manish Pandey and Shakib Al Hasan. The bowling unit is balanced between pace and spin. They include the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is a phenomenal new ball and death over bowler, Rashid Khan, who is an amazing young talent, Billy Stanlake, Mohammad Nabi, Basil Thampi and Siddharth Kaul.

#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Two phenomenal players of the game

On numerous occasions it has been said that RCB is sure to lift the IPL trophy each season but it has never happened, unfortunately. RCB used to boast of a very strong batting lineup during previous seasons but had a weak bowling attack that had led to their downfall. RCB were well on their way to win in 2016 but a batting collapse saw them lose by 8 runs to SRH in the finals.

After a disastrous tenth season of the IPL, RCB will be hungrier than ever to prove themselves.The team will be led by their charismatic captain Virat Kohli. Even though there is no Chris Gayle in the squad, the team doesn't lack in firepower. The batting department boasts of the likes of Kohli, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock, Manan Vohra and Corey Anderson.

There is no shortage of all-rounders as well, with Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Colin de Grandehomme in the side. They have got an excellent bowling attack which includes Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar. With RCB out to prove themselves, they'll be a dangerous side and might go all the way to lift the IPL trophy after 10 seasons.