Indian Premier League Team-By-Team Guide: Chennai and Mumbai the favourites

• CSK and Mubai India joint-favourites

• But KKR the champs are a major drifter in the betting

• Our cricket beting expert on the strengths and weaknesses of every team

• Best ways to bet each IPL franchise

• Player win-rates on min 20 games (unless stated)

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IPL Saturday Superboost

Betfair are offering punters a brilliant superboost for Kolkata Knight Riders v RC Bengaluru - the first match of the Indian Premier League 2025 - and the focus is on a legend of the game.

Virat Kholi hit 38 sixes in IPL 2024, on the way to becoming the season's top run-scorer, so the chance to back Kohli to hit a six at 6/42.50 boosted from 4/61.67 in this year's curtain-raiser is not one to miss. 

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Listen to Cricket...Only Bettor IPL Preview Part 1: the contenders

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Chennai Super Kings

To win title: 9/25.50
To reach final 5/23.50

B2024 finish: 5
Batting rank: 6
Bowling rank: 1
Top bat % last 2 years: Gaikwad 31
Top bowler % last 2 years: Pathirana 38 (18 matches)

Squad - Batters: Ruturaj Gaikwad (retained), Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Deepak Hooda, Andre Siddarth
Wicketkeepers: Devon Conway, MS Dhoni (retained), Vansh Bedi
Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja (spin; retained), Shivam Dube (pace; retained), R Ashwin (spin), Sam Curran (pace), Rachin Ravindra (spin; RTM), Vijay Shankar (pace), Anshul Kamboj (pace), Jamie Overton (pace), Ramakrishna Ghosh (pace)
Spinners: Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal
Fast bowlers: Matheesha Pathirana (retained), Khaleel Ahmed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis

Possible XI: Gaikwad, Conway, Ravindra, Dube, Tripathi, S Curran, Jadeja, Dhoni, Ashwin, Khaleel, Pathirana

Analysis: If you're wondering how CSK failed to even make the play-offs with the best bowling economy, you're close to uncovering their weakness. It's the batting, which didn't boast enough power. Have they solved that? No. Sure Devon Conway is fit again and Rachin Ravindra excites but the signings of Rahul Tripathi and Vijay Shankar, two hitters who have often flattered to deceive, are uninspiring.

They have also lost the wicket-taking ability of Tushar Deshpande. They will be dangerous at home with this spin line-up but otherwise the gamble on them to joint-favourite status doesn't make sense.

Best play: CSK have a 66% win rate at home and play three of their first four at the Chepauk. So they could well be a back-to-lay on the Betfair Exchange where they are as big as 6.4011/2

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Mumbai Indians

To win title: 9/25.50
To reach final 15/82.88

2024 finish: 10th
Batting rank: 5
Bowling rank: 8
Top bat % last 2 years: Yadav 25
Top bowler % last 2 years: Bumrah 30 (14 matches)

Squad - Batters: Suryakumar Yadav (retained), Rohit Sharma (retained), Tilak Varma (retained), Bevan-John Jacobs
Wicketkeepers: Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Krishnan Shrijith
Allrounders: Hardik Pandya (pace; retained), Naman Dhir (spin; RTM), Will Jacks (spin), Raj Angad Bawa (pace), Vignesh Puthur (spin)
Spinners: Mujeeb ur Rahman, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner
Fast bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah (retained), Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar, Corbin Bosch

Possible XI: Rohit, Jacks, Tilak, Sky, Rickleton, Dhir, Hardik, Santner, Deepak, Boult, Bumrah

Analysis: The odds are impacted by the fact MI have won five titles and boast billboard players. But forget all that for a minute. They've finished bottom in two of the last four, fifth and made one play-off. Throw in increasing worries about Jasprit Bumrah's fitness and it is a squad with plenty of holes.

Bumrah appears to be an increasing doubt to be ready for the start of the tournament. They don't boast an adequate Indian replacement, meaning they would have to use an overseas spot for either Reece Topley or Corbin Bosch. Thet would probably mean Ryan Rickleton loses his spot with the gloves going to untested Krishnan Srijith.

It's a big ask to come from bottom to win it and, given the uncertainty, there is no justification for the odds. 

Best play: Overs on sixes, par lines at the Wankhede. back them for highest opening partnership with Boult brilliant for early wickets

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Listen to Cricket...Only Bettor IPL Preview Part II: the bottom 5

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Sunrisers Hyderabad

To win title: 5/16.00
To reach final 10/34.33

2024 finish: Runners-up
Batting rank: 3
Bowling rank: 9
Top bat % last 2 years: Abhishek 22
Top bowler % last 2 years: Shami 29 917 matches)

Squad - Batters: Travis Head (retained), Abhinav Manohar, Aniket Verma, Sachin Baby
Wicketkeepers: Heinrich Klaasen (retained), Ishan Kishan, Atharva Taide
Allrounders: Abhishek Sharma (spin; retained), Nitish Kumar Reddy (pace; retained), Kamindu Mendis (spin)
Spinners: Adam Zampa, Rahul Chahar, Zeeshan Ansari
Fast bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins (retained), Harshal Patel, Simarjeet Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga

Possible XI: Head, Abhishek, Kishan, Reddy, Klaasen, Taide/Manohar, Cummins, Harshal, Shami, Simarjeet, Zampa

Analysis: Given their bowling economy it would be fair to reckon that if they improve in that area, last year's runners-up win the thing. But to be frank, their batting collapsed horribly in the final so pinning it on the bowlers isn't quite right.

They have addressed it, though. Mohammad Shami is an outstanding signing and Harshal Patel comes with a wealth of experience and nous. It was probably time they moved on from Bhuv Kumar and T Natarajan. If Pat Cummins can get them to be tighter in the field, the 5/16.00 is probably a little toppy for glory. The top five is superb.

Best play: Cummins is good for at least one win on the top bats at big prices but wait for a dung heap. Otherwise back big runs at home. 

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Kolkata Knight Riders

To win title: 13/27.50
To reach final 13/53.60

2024 finish: Winners
Batting rank: 1
Bowling rank: 3
Top bat % last 2 years: Venkatesh 32
Top bowler % last 2 years: Varun 25

Squad - Batters: Rinku Singh (retained), Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane
Wicketkeepers: Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Allrounders: Venkatesh Iyer (pace), Andre Russell (pace; retained), Sunil Narine (spin; retained), Ramandeep Singh (pace; retained), Anukul Roy (spin), Moeen Ali (spin)
Spinners: Varun Chakravarthy (retained), Mayank Markande
Fast bowlers: Harshit Rana (retained), Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Umran Malik

Possible XI: De Kock, Narine, Rahane, Venkatesh, Rinku, Ramandeep, Russell, Harshit, Johnson/Nortje, Markande/Arora, Varun

Analysis: KKR were 5/16.00 post auction but punters reacted with alarming venom to Ajinkya Rahane being made skipper as they drifted to 10s before coming back to 13/27.50. It's one of the most dramatic price moves before a ball has been bowled that I can recall.

KKR, the champs, have retained a super Indian core (Venkatesh, Rinku, Varun, Harshit) across the disciplines and it is hard to see how they don't make the top four. Rahane's inclusion will mean Raghuvanshi may be used as a baing sub. Mitchell Starc has been replaced by Spencer Johnson. They probably are light on overseas bowlers because Anrich Nortje is still injured. If you got 10s it's a great bet.

Best play: Eden Gardens for both teams to score 200

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru

To win title: 10/111.00
To reach final 10/34.33

2024 finish: 4th
Batting rank: 4
Bowling rank: 2
Top bat % last 2 years: Kohli 41
Top bowler % last 2 years: Kumar 23

Squad - Batters: Virat Kohli (retained), Rajat Patidar (retained), Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara
Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma
Allrounders: Liam Livingstone (spin), Krunal Pandya (spin), Swapnil Singh (spin), Romario Shepherd (pace), Jacob Bethell (spin), Mohit Rathee (spin)
Spinners: Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh
Fast bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal (retained), Rasikh Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi

Possible XI: Kohli, Salt, Patidar, Bethell/David, Livingstone, Jitesh, Krunal, Swapnil, Bhuv, Hazlewood, Dayal

Analysis: One of these years RCB are going to make all of us who love a good laugh at their attemt to build a balanced squad look foolish. Actually, that's unfair. They don't try to attempt to build a balanced squad. Yes, they still haven't addressed the bowling and may the Lord have mercy upon their soul if Josh Hazlewood were to get injured.

They finished fourth last season and it could be argued the 10/111.00 is a little unfair particularly as they have made four of the last five play-offs. Do bear in mind, though, that they have lost Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Faf Du Plessis and Mohammad Siraj who had solid campaigns.

Best play: Lay them at skinny odds to defend a big score at home. RCB have had 16 different top bowler winners in two years, more than any other franchise.

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Gujarat Titans

To win title: 10/111.00
To reach final 4/15.00

2024 finish: 8
Batting rank: 10
Bowling rank: 5
Top bat % last 2 years: Sai 40
Top bowler % last 2 years: Rashid 24

Squad - Batters: Shubman Gill (retained), Sai Sudharsan (retained), Rahul Tewatia (retained), Sherfane Rutherford
Wicketkeepers: Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat
Allrounders: Rashid Khan (spin; retained), Washington Sundar (spin), M Shahrukh Khan (spin; retained), Mahipal Lomror (spin), Nishant Sindhu (spin), Arshad Khan (pace), Jayant Yadav (spin), Glenn Phillips (spin), Karim Janat (pace)
Spinners: Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore
Fast bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gerald Coetzee, Gurnoor Brar, Ishant Sharma, Kulwant Khejroliya

Possible XI: Gill, Buttler, Sai, Rutherford/Phillips, Tewatia, Shahrukh, Sundar, Rashid K, Rabada, Siraj, Krishna

Analysis: The GT has most definitely lost its fizz. Mohammad Shami is the latest to depart and although Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and Rashid Khan have the x-factor, the depth may not be enough to get them into the top four. Certainly a top-two finish looks beyond their grasp. Shahrukh Khan and Washington Sundar are two players likely to leave punters lukewarm in key positions. 

Best play: Sai is value for top Gt tourny bat and in individual innings. 

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Delhi Capitals

To win title: 10/111.00
To reach final 4/15.00

2024 finish: 6
Batting rank: 4
Bowling rank: 10
Top bat % last 2 years: Rahul 21
Top bowler % last 2 years: Mohit 28

Squad - Batters: Jake Fraser-McGurk (RTM), Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs (retained), Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair
Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul, Abishek Porel (retained), Donovan Ferreria
Allrounders: Axar Patel (spin; retained), Ashutosh Sharma (spin), Sameer Rizvi (spin), Darshan Nalkande (pace), Vipraj Nigam (spin), Ajay Mandal (spin), Manvanth Kumar (pace), Tripurana Vijay (spin), Madhav Tiwari (pace)
Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav (retained)
Fast bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera

Possible XI: Rahul, Fraser-McGurk, Du Plessis, Stubbs, Porel, Axar, Ashutosh, Starc, Kuldeep, Mohit, Natarajan

Analysis: Harry Brook's name is mud in Delhi after he pulled out at the 11th hour for the second consecutive year. They may sign a replacement but it leaves them short on batting power if Jake Fraser-McGurk doesn't rediscover his T20 form from a year ago. Mind you, we would much rather Donovan Ferreira make the XI.

Mitchell Starc brings title-winning experience from KKR and it does look an excellent bowling group. It is a good thing that Ricky Ponting is no longer coach, replaced by Hemang Badani. The ability is there to improve on a run of three play-off appearances in 12 years but it's a great shame Rishabh Pant has left.

Best play: Rahul is not a fast starter, Fraser-McGurk out of nick, so the opposition in a six-over match bet will appeal.

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Punjab Kings

To win title: 11/112.00
To reach final 9/25.50

2024 finish: 9th
Batting rank: 7
Bowling rank: 4
Top bat % last 2 years: Stoinis 27%
Top bowler % last 2 years: Chahal 27

Squad - Batters: Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh (retained), Nehal Wadhera, Harnoor Singh Pannu, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash
Wicketkeepers: Josh Inglis, Vishnu Vinod, Prabhsimran Singh (retained)
Allrounders: Glenn Maxwell (spin), Marcus Stoinis (pace), Marco Jansen (pace), Harpreet Brar (spin), Azmatullah Omarzai (pace), Aaron Hardie (pace), Musheer Khan (spin), Suryansh Shedge (pace)
Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal, Pravin Dubey
Fast bowlers: Arshdeep Singh (RTM), Lockie Ferguson, Yash Thakur, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Kuldeep Sen, Xavier Bartlett

Possible XI: Prab, Inglis, Shreyas, Maxwell, Shashank, Wadhera, Stoinis, Jansen, Arshdeep, Chahal, Yash Thakur

Analysis: Punjab have probably done the best work in the auction. But they needed to with Messrs Bairstow, Dhawan, Rossouw and Livingstone all goners. The capture of proven match-winners in Marcus Stoinis and Yuz Chahal suggests they mean business.

The Indian core is there with Shreays Iyer, the new skip, Arshdeep Singh, death bowler supreme, and th combos of Ashutosh and Nehal Wadhera, dangerous hitters both, giving cause for optimism. The question about Punjab sides has always been the same: are they going to knuckle down and do the hard yards?

Best play: They look set up for late runs. Adding 130-150 in the last 10 at big numbers on the runs market is an option.

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Rajasthan Royals

To win title: 14/115.00
To reach final 9/25.50

2024 finish: 3rd
Batting rank: 8
Bowling rank: 2
Top bat % last 2 years: Parag 28
Top bowler % last 2 years: Deshpande 24

Squad - Batters: Yashasvi Jaiswal (retained), Shimron Hetmyer (retained), Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Wicketkeepers: Sanju Samson (retained), Dhruv Jurel (retained), Kunal Singh Rathore
Allrounders: Riyan Parag (spin; retained), Nitish Rana (spin), Yudhvir Singh (pace)
Spinners: Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kumar Kartikeya
Fast bowlers: Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma (retained), Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma

Possible XI: Jaiswal, Samson, Rana, Parag, Jurel, Hetmyer, Dubey, Hasaranga, Theekshana, Archer, Sandeep, 

Analysis: The market is down on the Royals because they have lost Jos Buttler and Yuz Chahal. But that possible XI remains competitive. It is a great shame they've not leveraged the loss of two key men to improve on Shimron Hetmyer in the middle order. Once again they just don't appear to have the batting power in the engine room to get over the line in the play-offs. 

Best play: Tight bowling units can squeeze this middle-order. In-play options include shorting runs or backing the fieding side at odds-against when Royals are well set. Riyan Parag looks likely to be outstanding value on top bats.

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Lucknow Super Giants

To win title: 11/112.00
To reach final 4/15.00

2024 finish: 7th
Batting rank: 9
Bowling rank: 6
Top bat % last 2 years: Pooran 17.2
Top bowler % last 2 years: Avesh 29

Squad - Batters: Aiden Markram, David Miller, Ayush Badoni (retained), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran (retained), Aryan Juyal
Allrounders: Adbul Samad (spin), Mitchell Marsh (pace), Shahbaz Ahmed (spin), Yuvraj Chaudhary (spin), Rajvardhan Hangargekar (pace), Arshin Kulkarni (Pace)
Spinners: Ravi Bishnoi (retained), M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh
Fast bowlers: Mayank Yadav (retained), Mohsin Khan (retained), Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav

Possible XI: Breetzke, Badoni, Pooran, Pant, Markram, Miller, Shahbaz Ahmed, Bishnoi, Avesh, Deep, Mayank

Analysis: This season could be a struggle for LSG and much relies on the Pooran-Pant axis of improving run rate. One has to worry about whether their opening options can give them fast starts. The bowlers will keep them honest but it seems the odds are right about them winning the title. 

Best play: Mayank Yadav may not be fit for long but his potency for top bowler will catch the eye. 

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