The Indian Premier League season 16 is all set to kick start and all the franchises have already finalised their desired squads. The time has come when players are joining the camp and preparing themselves for the most elite cricket league in the world.
IPL 2023 was another successful season of the league where Chennai Super Kings came out as the winners and lifted the trophy of the 15th edition. They started the season with a loss against Gujarat Titans but bounced back in the next fixture and defeated Lucknow Super Giants.
Overall, the league stage of Chennai Super Kings was a roller coaster ride where MS Dhoni and his boys witnessed 5 losses and scored 8 wins. They were in a close contest with Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians but Chennai kept their focus on the trophy and in a last-ball thriller scored a win for the Titans.
This year, the defending champions will be eyeing the trophy again and gain supremacy in the history of the league. However, after the IPL 2024 auctions, there has been a major shift in terms of the quality of players and the strength of the respective teams.
According to the trend of IPL, every year we witness a sudden rise in the quality of the league. Players from across the globe – who have performed exceptionally well in the past year, become part of the league and hence the league becomes fascinating and engaging for cricket lovers from across the globe.
In this article, we bring you a list of the three IPL teams who have the required strength to be the potential winners of the 16th edition and lift the trophy.
1) Sunrisers Hyderabad
Hyderabad has been through some of the worst times in IPl 2024. They finished last in the previous edition and had to witness the nightmare throughout the season.
This year, the Hyderabad management has taken a step towards reforming the performance of the team by hiring the services of the ODI World Cup winner Pat Cummins. The change in leadership will bring in some positive effects on the teamβs morale.
Hyderabad also has Australiaβs match-winner Travis Head, former skipper Aiden Markram & wicket-keeper Heinrich Klaasen in the team who have done well in the recent international cricket bouts. Sri Lankan skipper Wanindu Hasaranga and Kiwisβ Glenn Phillips will be the major attractions in the team.
2) Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants will be playing their 3rd season this year and in the last 2 years, they did well enough for themselves. In the last 2 editions, KL Rahulβs Lucknow Super Giants have finished at the 3rd spot in the league and this year they will be eyeing to reach new heights.
The team has shown promising signs in the last 2 editions by reaching the playoffs. It is for the same reason, that Lucknow management has shown trust in their veterans Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers, Devdutt Paddikal, Ayush Badoni, Amit Mishra, Ravi Bishnoi, and Krunal Pandya.
They also have Marcus Stoinis and David Willey in the allrounder section will give them depth in the death overs.
3) Mumbai Indians
Since the end of 2023, Mumbai Indians have been in the headlines because of their unprecedented purchase of Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans and making him the new captain of the team.
For the first time in the history of IPL, Rohit Sharma, who helped Mumbai to win 5 trophies wonβt be leading the team. This paramount shift will also shift the team equation and looking at Hardikβs previous captaincy records, it is going to be a good year for the Mumbai squad.
He led the Gujarat Titans to win the IPL trophy in their first season of the league and helped the team reach the final game of the previous edition. Hardik has the potential to end the three-year draught of IPL trophy.
