IPL 2021: Ranking all 8 teams based on Indian players’ strength

On May 4, the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) got suspended abruptly after multiple players and staff members contracted the COVID-19 virus. Now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) faces the hefty task of conducting the remaining 31 games in a jam-packed cricket calendar.

Although the schedule and dates are yet to come, it is confirmed that the remainder of the competition will take place in the United Arab Emirates. As mentioned above, many important international fixtures are lined up this year, including the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

Hence, all the cricket boards would want their players to remain fit and not drain themselves in the IPL. On top of that, the travel and isolation protocols might also keep foreign stars out of marquee tournaments. These factors have put the participation of overseas cricketers in jeopardy when the tournament resumes.

Furthermore, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that the contracted England players will not feature in the remaining season. Australia’s Pat Cummins is another star who’ll give a miss to the tournament.

As the competition approaches, many more players are expected to pull out. Hence, the strength of the Indian contingent of all sides might determine the fate of the tournament.

So, here we rank all eight teams based on their Indian players’ strength for IPL 2021:

8. Rajasthan Royals

Now, if we remove England and South African players from the Rajasthan Royals squad, they’ll struggle to form a potent playing XI. While Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and Jos Buttler have been the mainstays of the side for the past few seasons, the South African duo Chris Morris and David Miller had impressive outings this year.

Hence, thriving without these players would be a daunting task for the Men in Pink. Speaking of their Indian contingent, skipper Sanju Samson is the only capped batsman in the squad. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Mahipal Lomror have shown their talent, but lack of experience can put them under the pump.

At the same time, there aren’t many big names in the bowling line-up. Although there’s an experienced face in Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi and Chetan Sakariya have played just a handful of matches. Hence, the unavailability of all foreign players would hit the inaugural champions hard. Meanwhile, they were fourth in the points table with three wins from seven games when the season got suspended.