IPL 2021: Team-wise one weakness in the tournament

The fourteenth edition of the Indian Premier League is off to a great start. After nearly two weeks of competition, the fans have seen the weakness and strengths of their favorite franchises. This time, there is a different flavor to the game as the Royal Challengers Bangalore are now the table-toppers after three games. Well, to make it to the top four, they just have to be consistent.

Currently, the Chennai Super Kings have made a good comeback into the season after their loss against the Delhi Capitals. For them, the standout performer has been Moeen Ali. SRH is having a horrible time because they aren’t able to put up some consistent show. The same goes for the Rajasthan Royals, who are struggling because Samson looks out of touch now. 

The Punjab Kings have lost their last two games, and their batting looks a bit bleak. Maybe, they could try out Chris Gayle as their opener. Adding on, the Delhi Capitals have lost only one match. However, the Mumbai Indians have lost one game, but they are looking strong too. In the same reference, let’s take a look at-

 Team-wise weakness in the current edition of the IPL

8. Mumbai Indians: Struggle with fourth overseas option

The current Mumbai Indians squad is the strongest one in the tournament. With a plethora of talent on the bench, it is really difficult to make it to the playing eleven. The five-time champions have performed exceedingly well. However, they have one minor issue to address. 

In their current lineup, they have de Kock, Pollard, Boult as their regular members of the playing eleven. But, they are unable to find a permanent fourth overseas player so far. They have tried their hands on Marco Jansen and Adam Milne. But, both of them have not been up to the mark as Boult. 

Here comes the problem for Mumbai. This is mainly because they can not opt for Lynn at the top order. And they do not have a proper all-rounder like Pollard. But, as we have stated earlier, the team is so strong that this weakness is just a minor one. 

7. Royal Challengers Bangalore: Lack of batting options after Maxwell and AB de Villiers

The Royal Challengers Bangalore has been the most impressive team so far. For the first time in the history of the tournament, they have managed to win their first three games of the tournament. And the best thing about those victories is that there are three different man-of-the-match winners. Well, it looks like Virat Kohli is focused on winning the title this time. 

However, the only issue with the current lineup is the lack of batting options after Maxwell and AB de Villiers. Post this duo, the only power hitter available to them is Kyle Jamieson. But, he is not a power hitter like ABD or Maxwell. He is more of a bowling all-rounder. 

RCB does have an option to choose Dan Christian because he failed in the inaugural match, and they have dropped him. Till now, they have not suffered because of this minor weakness. But, if Harshal Patel develops a habit of clearing the ropes easily, then RCB could become a powerful team in the tournament. Apart from Christian, they could go for Finn Allen. 

6. Kolkata Knight Riders: Weak middle order

This year, the KKR management has opted for Nitish Rana as their opener. He has done a decent job so far in the tournament. Being one of the prime contenders for the Orange Cap, he has been up to the mark. But, the promotion of Rana at the top of the order does create a huge void in the middle order. 

Even though KKR has quality players like Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, and Andre Russell in the middle order, they have performed poorly. Shakib Al Hasan has been unable to compliment them. Recently, they lost an easy game against the Mumbai Indians. This issue has been troubling them for quite some time now. 

Their bowling has been up to the mark. But given the fact that they look up to Russell to save them in every situation is not justified. Maybe, they have to strengthen their middle order by promoting Rahul Tripathi as their opener. This will ensure that Rana comes in at number three. 

5. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Weak middle order

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the most consistent teams in the IPL. On most occasions, they manage to get into the playoffs. Last year too, after a horrible start, they finished third. But, this year, they have just won one match out of their total played.

Since the last three games, Manish Pandey has been playing some silly cricket. And this has affected the team’s chances. The current situation of SRH is similar to that of Punjab’s last year. In the end, they might regret playing some mediocre cricket during the initial phase of the tournament. 

Their middle order has a lack of experience. And Vijay Shankar eats up too many balls to settle in. This results in extra pressure on someone like Abdul Samad. Apart from that, Jason Holder has no partners from the other end. This all ends up as a disappointment for the fans. With Williamson now being available, hopefully, SRH sort their middle-order woes soon.

4. Punjab Kings: Absence of economical overseas pacer

The Punjab Kings have had a below-average start to another edition of the IPL. Even after having a power-packed lineup, they have failed to make an impact after their victory in the first match. During the second game, there was a batting collapse. But in the third game, K.L. Rahul was too slow to be managed. 

Given the fact that they have been choosing Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson over and over again is questionable. Richardson was bought for INR 14 crore and Meredith for INR 8 crore. But, at the end of the day, it is Arshdeep Singh who has been saving the team. Well, till now, it looks like it was a complete waste of money.

In three games, Richardson bowled at an economy rate of 10.64. Talking about Meredith, it is 10.5. Well, K.L. Rahul has to find a good replacement for them as soon as possible. Adding on, they have not used Ravi Bishnoi so far. Well, in a long tournament like IPL, a team needs a proper spinner to rely upon. 

3. Rajasthan Royals: Limited full-time spinners

The Rajasthan Royals are in a crucial phase of their road to playoffs this season. Yes, even after three games, they have managed to win just a single game. It would have been two if Samson had cleared the ropes at Mumbai. But, it is time for the Royals to strengthen their bowling. 

Currently, they have four pacers in their lineup. With Mustafizur, Chetan, Jaydev, and Morris, there is no place for a full-time spinner. Spinners are a crucial part of any bowling unit. And here is where Sanju Samson is missing the trick. Teams like Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai have managed to win more games because of their spin department. 

The Royals have to find a way to include a proper spinner in their squad. It is quite obvious that Samson can not opt for Tewatia and Parag to bowl in four overs every time. With the tournament entering into the next phase, the Royals need to include a leg-spinner who can pick wickets. If a particular bowler can pick wickets, then the run flow will automatically stop. 

2. Delhi Capitals: No successful replacement for Shreyas Iyer

The Delhi Capitals have managed to win three of their four games in this edition of the IPL so far. They have a strong batting lineup and an even more intimidating bowling lineup. Their captain Rishabh Pant has been up to the mark so far. But, the only issue they face is the replacement of Iyer. 

Their regular captain has been ruled out of the IPL this year. To cover up for him, they have some big names like Steve Smith and Ajinkya Rahane. Both of them are Test match specialists. But, till now, they have not been able to find form in this edition of the IPL.

However, this is just a minor weakness. Both of them are world-class players who can rotate the strike and play big innings. Last year. Smith was in top form during the initial phase of the tournament. But, as he tried to smash every ball out of the park, he lost his rhythm. 

1. Chennai Super Kings: Absence of a front-line pacer in the playing XI

Pace bowling is a unique quality to possess. And over the years, M.S. Dhoni has been more comfortable operating spin bowling rather than pace bowling. Currently, the CSK squad has Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur as their frontline bowlers. But, they are not as quick as Rabada or Boult. So if they try to bowl bouncers, the batsman has enough time to loft the ball over the fence. 

With a strong batting lineup, CSK also has spin bowling options. The likes of Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja can bowl tight lines during the middle phases. But, with Bravo bowling slower deliveries, he becomes quite predictable. Therefore, it might be time to bring someone like Lungi Ngidi. 

Ngidi has pace and can bowl quick bouncers to unsettle the batsmen. Apart from that, his slower balls will be more effective than Bravo’s off-cutters. Ngidi showed up for CSK in the last game against KKR and made an impact too. If he can continue bowling like this, there might be no stopping for the three-time champions.