Team-by-team guides, histories and predictions for the IPL

With a stellar cast expected to shine under the bright lights of India over the next month, here’s a team-by-team guide to one of the most popular T20 tournaments in the world.

MUMBAI INDIANS

In the absence of suspended Chennai Super Kings, MI are the most successful team in the league. They started off poorly finishing fifth and seventh in the first two editions but since then have made it to the playoffs every time. It includes two title runs in 2013 and 2015 and a runners-up position in 2010. They derive their strength from their core group comprising captain Rohit Sharma, opener Lendl Simmons, allrounder Kieron Pollard, spinner Harbhajan Singh and pacer Lasith Malinga.

Key players: Simmons Sharma, Pollard, Anderson, Harbhajan, Bumrah

Big buys: Buttler ($380,000), Southee ($373,000), Krunal Pandya ($298,000)

IPL record: Matches: 126, Won: 73, Lost: 53, Win percentage: 57.93

SQUAD composition

Openers: Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel

Middle-order batsmen: Rohit Sharma (captain, pictured), Ambati Rayudu, Unmukt Chand, Nitish Rana

All-rounders: Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shreyas Gopal, Siddhesh Lad

Wicketkeepers: Jos Buttler, Jitesh Sharma

Pacers: Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Marchant de Lange, Tim Southee, Vinay Kumar, Deepak Punia, Nathu Singh

Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kishore Kamath, Akshay Wakhare

Coach: Ricky Ponting

Sport360 view: The favourites. The addition of Buttler gives them additional firepower and it should not be a surprise if they retain their hold on the trophy.

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Although they took time to rise from the bottom rung, the Knight Riders have been a force to reckon with since 2011. Like Mumbai they too have won the league twice, in 2012 and 2014, but they have lacked in consistency finishing seventh in 2013 and fifth last year. In Gautam Gambhir they have a gutsy leader with opener Robin Uthappa, middle-order batsman Manish Pandey, allrounders Shakib Al Hasan and Andre Russell and pacer Umesh Yadav lending solidity.

Key players: Gambhir, Pandey, Munro, Russell, Shakib

Big buys: Unadkat ($238,000), Rajpoot ($223,000), Hastings ($194,000)

IPL record: Matches: 117, Won: 60, Lost: 55, Tied: 2; Win percentage: 51.28

SQUAD composition

Openers: Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir (captain, pictured)

Middle-order batsmen: Manish Pandey, Colin Munro, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn

All-rounders: Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, John Hastings, Rajagopal Sathish

Wicketkeeper: Sheldon Jackson

Pacers: Umesh Yadav, Jayadev Unadkat, Morne Morkel, Ankit Rajpoot

Spinners: Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Brad Hogg, Kuldeep Yadav, Manan Sharma

Coach: Jacques Kallis

Sport360 view: The contenders. They have made some smart buys this season by roping in Kiwi big hitter Munro and left-arm pacer Unadkat, who enters the league on the back of an amazing domestic season. They also have a well-balanced squad that can mount a serious bid for the title.

DELHI DAREDEVILS

They have been the perennial bridesmaids despite topping the league twice in 2009 and 2012. But the last three years have been miserable as they either finished last or a rung above. Too many changes in recent times has meant that the squad always lacked a core group to drive them forward. Yet, the experience of JP Duminy, captain Zaheer Khan and legpsinner Imran Tahir, who have been around for two years, should stand them in good stead.

Key players: de Kock, Iyer, Duminy, Brathwaite, Tahir

Big buys: Negi ($1.27m), Morris ($1.04m), Brathwaite, Samson ($626,000 each)

IPL record: Matches played: 119, Won: 49, Lost: 67, Tied: 1, No result: 2; Win percentage: 42.30

SQUAD composition

Openers: Mayank Agarwal, Quinton de Kock, Akhil Herwadkar

Middle-order batsmen: Shreyas Iyer, Jean- Paul Duminy, Karun Nair,

All-rounders: Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Morris, Pawan Negi, Mahipal Lomror, Jayant Yadav

Wicketkeepers: Sanju Samson, Sam Billings, Rishabh Pant

Pacers: Zaheer Khan (captain, pictured), Mohammad Shami, Joel Paris, Nathan-Coulter Nile, Gurinder Sandhu, Khaleel Ahmed, Pawan Suyal, Chama Milind

Spinners: Imran Tahir, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem,

Coach: Paddy Upton

Sport360 view: The dark horses. They finally appear to have the right combination with 14 new players. Presence of Rahul Dravid as mentor will also be key.

RISING PUNE SUPERGIANTS

The quality this new team packs can rival the best in the competition. Captain MS Dhoni, batting star Ajinkya Rahane, and off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin are a formidable Indian trio and the foreign hands are also very strong with Faf du Plessis, Steven Smith, Kevin Pietersen and Mitchell Marsh in the mix. The challenge for Dhoni will be to hit the ground running with a new bunch for the first time after a storied eight year tenure with Chennai Super Kings.

Key players: Dhoni, Rahane, Ashwin, Pietersen, Smith, Marsh

Big buys: Dhoni ($1.86m), Rahane ($1.42m), Ashwin ($1.12), Smith ($820,000), du Plessis ($600,000)

IPL record: Yet to play in the tournament

SQUAD composition

Openers: Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis

Middle-order batsmen: Kevin Pietersen, Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, Saurabh Tiwary

All-rounders: Mitchell Marsh, Thisara Perera, Irfan Pathan, Rajat Bhatia, Albie Morkel, Baba Aparajith

Wicketkeepers: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ankush Bains

Pacers: Ishant Sharma, Scott Boland, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Ishwar Pandey, Deepak Chahar, Jaskaran Singh

Spinners: Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Murugan Ashwin, Ankit Sharma.

Coach: Stephen Fleming.

Sport360 view: Any team with Dhoni at the helm will always be in contention. But their progress will also depend on how quickly they settle in.

GUJARAT LIONS

The second new team to join the IPL, the Lions begins their two-year stint in the tournament with a distinct lack of ammunition.

Their key players like captain Raina, Finch, Faulkner, and Jadeja had poor outings at the World T20 and look off the boil. While the names look good on paper, recent form suggests the team will have to carry quite a few players. Their pace attack doesn’t inspire confidence. However, in McCullum and Bravo, they have players who can turn things around on their own.

Key players: Raina, McCullum, Bravo, Jadeja, Finch

Big buys: Suresh Raina ($1.86m), Ravindra Jadeja ($1.42m), Brendon McCullum ($1.12m), James Faulkner ($820,000), Dwayne Bravo ($600,000)

SQUAD composition

Openers: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum

Middle-order batsmen: Suresh Raina (captain), Aaron Finch, Akshdeep Nath, Paras Dogra, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Shah, Umang Sharma

All-rounders: Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner

Wicketkeepers: Dinesh Karthik, Eklavya Dwivedi

Pacers: Pradeep Sangwan, Dale Steyn, Andrew Tye, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Amit Mishra (2)

Spinners: Ravindra Jadeja, Pravin Tambe, Shadab Jakati, Shivil Kaushik, Sarabjit Ladda

Coach: Brad Hodge

Sport360 view: Have a good mix but recent form of big names is worrying and Lions could end up at the wrong end of the table.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

The Royal Challengers once again have a very strong squad and have an excellent mix of local and international players. And any team that has Chris Gayle in its line-up will fancy its chances in a T20 match. Virat Kohli has become a seasoned leader and should be able to control the game in a much more efficient manner. They have a fiery pace attack as well.

Key players: Kohli, Gayle, Watson, Badree, De Villiers

Big buys: Shane Watson ($1.41m), Kane Richardson, Stuart Binny ($298,000 each)

IPL record: Matches played: 124, Won: 60, Lost: 59, Tied: 2, No result: 3; Win percentage: 50.41

SQUAD composition

Openers: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (captain), Shane Watson

Middle-order batsmen: AB de Villiers, Travis Head, Sarfaraz Khan, Lokesh Rahul, Sachin Baby

All-rounders: Stuart Binny, David Wiese, Parveez Rasool, Mandeep Singh

Wicketkeeper: Kedar Jadhav

Pacers: Mitchell Starc, Varun Aaron, Abu Nechim, Sreenath Aravind, Kane Richardson, Adam Milne, Vikramjeet Malik, Harshal Patel, Vikas Tokas

Spinners: Samuel Badree, Praveen Dubey, Yuzvendra Chahal, Iqbal Abdulla, Akshay Karnewar

Coach: Daniel Vettori

Sport360 view: An excellent mix of youth and experience, Bangalore should fancy a top four finish and a spot in the qualifiers.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD 

For some reason, they bid big for Yuvraj Singh and given the all-rounder’s recent fitness and form, that doesn’t look like a good strategy. Hyderabad don’t have a lot of firepower with the bat and that is a worry. Yuvraj, Dhawan and Morgan are not in top form and can be a burden. Also, they lack a frontline spin option and that could leave them exposed. However, seamers Mustafizur Rahman and Ashish Nehra offer a lot of bite with the new ball. But overall, sport a weak look.

Key players: Warner, Yuvraj, Rahman, Williamson

Big buys: Yuvraj Singh ($1.04m), Ashish Nehra ($820,000), Deepak Hooda ($626,000)

IPL record: Matches played: 45, Won: 22, Lost: 22, Tied: 1, No result: 0; Win percentage: 50

SQUAD composition

Openers: David Warner (captain), Shikhar Dhawan

Middle-order batsmen: Ricky Bhui, Eoin Morgan, Yuvraj Singh, Kane Williamson, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Tirumalasetti Suman, Aditya Tare

All-rounders: Moises Henriques

Wicketkeeper: Naman Ojha

Pacers: Siddarth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra, Barinder Sran, Trent Boult, Ben Cutting, Ashish Reddy

Spinners: Karn Sharma, Bipul Sharma

Coach: Tom Moody

Sport360 view: Not many decent spinning options, poor form or fitness of key batsmen and a lack of power hitters means Hyderabad are one of the weakest teams in the tournament. Look unlikely to make the cut for the qualifiers.

KINGS XI PUNJAB

With veterans Virender Sehwag and George Bailey both out of the picture, captaincy has fallen on the shoulders of South African

David Miller (below). It will be a challenge but Punjab have decent resources. They have some excellent allrounders and their spin attack has enough variety. Plus their coach Sanjay Bangar has made a name for himself for getting the best out of the players. Their pace attack isn’t the greatest but can get the job done.

Key players: Vijay, Miller, Maxwell

Big buys: Mohit Sharma ($970,000), Kyle Abbott ($313,000), KC Cariappa ($119,000)

IPL record: Matches played: 120, Won: 57, Lost: 61, Tied: 2, No result: 0; Win percentage: 48.33

SQUAD composition

Openers: Murali Vijay, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis

Middle-order batsmen: David Miller (captain), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Armaan Jaffer, Nikhil Naik, Manan Vohra

All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Farhaan Behardien, Rishi Dhawan

Wicketkeeper: Wriddhiman Saha

Pacers: Mitchell Johnson, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, Kyle Abbott, Anureet Singh

Spinners: Axar Patel, KC Cariappa, Pardeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh

Coach: Sanjay Bangar

Sport360 view: Miller doesn’t have a lot of captaincy experience under his belt so the pressure could get to him. They have a strong batting line-up but the overall bowling lacks edge. Punjab likely to miss the qualifier bus.