IPL 2022: Top 5 matchups to look forward to – 204 players were sold and INR 551.70 crore were spent in the recently-concluded IPL 2022 auction, and we now have a fair idea of what every team’s preferred playing XI will look like. As in the norm in auctions, there is hardly any franchise that has been able to assemble their dream squad. While some have built world-class batting departments, others have invested heavily in bowlers. Follow InsideSport.IN for more info.
IPL 2022: Top 5 matchups to look forward to – Warner-Shaw vs Rahul-de Kock, Bumrah-Archer vs Nortje-Shardul and more
Let us check out which franchise holds the upper hand in which department and what are the matchups we can look forward to:
1. Openers – Delhi Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giant
Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants have arguably accumulated the two most intimidating opening pairs. For Lucknow, skipper KL Rahul will open alongside Quinton de Kock, giving the team a perfect left-right combination, while the exact same thing can also be said about Delhi Capitals, who will have David Warner and Prithvi Shaw opening the innings for them.
2. Middle-order – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals are two teams who have built formidable middle-orders that can smash any given bowling contingent on their day. Bangalore will have Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell playing for them, while for Rajasthan, we can expect to see the likes of Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag forming the middle-order.
IPL 2022: Top 5 matchups to look forward to – Warner-Shaw vs Rahul-de Kock, Bumrah-Archer vs Nortje-Shardul and more
3. All-rounders – Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans
When it comes to the all-rounders, it will be fair to say that Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have been the shrewdest at the auction. CSK had already retained Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali, but they further strengthened their squad by adding Dwayne Bravo and Shivam Dube. On the other hand, Gujarat Titans have the likes of Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia and Jayant Yadav in their all-rounders’ department.
4. Pacers – Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians remained quiet at the auction table for a day and a half to go all guns blazing on Jofra Archer. The English speedster is unlikely to be available for this season, but when he eventually returns, the pairing of Jasprit Bumrah and Archer will be the deadliest pace duo in IPL. Besides Mumbai, Delhi Capitals have also bought a few world-class pacers. They had already retained Anrich Nortje, and in the auction, they roped in Shardul Thakur, Chetan Sakariya and Khaleel Ahmed.
IPL 2022: Top 5 matchups to look forward to – Warner-Shaw vs Rahul-de Kock, Bumrah-Archer vs Nortje-Shardul and more
5. Spinners – Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals have previously struggled with their spin department but that is unlikely to be the case this time around as they have signed two of India’s frontline spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. Besides them, Gujarat Titans have also assembled a good spin department that features Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore and Rahul Tewatia.
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