5 strongest teams in IPL 2022
IPL 2022 is set to kickstart with the opening match between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26. This time, it will be 10 teams, with 2 extra teams in Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. An auction was held to distribute the players among the 10 teams. So, which are the 5 strongest teams in IPL 2022?
CSK
The defending champion has retained core players in MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, and Ruturaj Gaikwad. They were also able to buy back Deepak Chahar, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo who had served them in the previous seasons.
CSK has only left out Faf du Plessis. But with the core of their squad back, CSK is a strong contender for the title again. They have also bought a few exciting foreign players in Devon Conway, Adam Milne, and Chris Jordan.
They also have invested in young Indian talents such as Shivam Dube. Once again, they are betting on experience to take them through the finish line. And there is no substitute for experience in cricket.
Complete squad of CSK and the player’s price tag
| MS Dhoni (India) – captain | INR 12 crores (retained) |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad (India) | INR 6 crores (retained) |
| Robin Uthappa (India) | INR 2 crores |
| Ambati Rayudu (India) | INR 6.75 crores |
| Devon Conway (NZ) | INR 1 crores |
| Subhranshu Senapati (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Hari Nishaanth (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| N Jagadeesan (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Deepak Chahar (India) | INR 14 crores |
| KM Asif (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Tushar Deshpande (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Maheesh Theekshana (SL) | INR 70 Lakhs |
| Simranjeet Singh (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Adam Milne (NZ) | INR 1.90 crores |
| Mukesh Choudhary (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Prashant Solanki (India) | INR 1.20 crores |
| Mitchell Santner (NZ) | INR 1.90 crores |
| Rajvardhan Hangargekar (India) | INR 1.50 crores |
| Ravindra Jadeja (India) | INR 16 crores (retained) |
| Moeen Ali (Eng) | INR 8 crores (retained) |
| Dwayne Bravo (WI) | INR 4.40 crores |
| Shivam Dube (India) | INR 4 crores |
| Dwaine Pretorius (SA) | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Bhagath Varma (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Chris Jordan (Eng) | INR 3.60 crores |
MI
Mumbai too like CSK retained core players in Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, and Jasprit Bumrah. They also bought back Ishan Kishan for a record price of Rs 15.25 crore. They have also gambled on Jofra Archer who would not be fit to play this season.
They fell short to buy some important key players, and that may come to haunt them later in the season. Nevertheless, Mumbai has a strong core but is slightly heavily dependent on Rohit, SKY, and Bumrah to fire in unison for the team to clinch their sixth title. Just because of their proven track record where they have fought heavy odds to win five titles, MI once again is a strong contender in IPL 2022.
Complete squad of MI and the player’s price tag
| Rohit Sharma (India) – captain | INR 16 crores (retained) |
| Suryakumar Yadav (India) | INR 8 crores (retained) |
| Tilak Varma (India) | INR 1.70 crores |
| Ramandeep Singh (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Rahul Buddhi (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Anmolpreet Singh (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Dewald Brevis (India) | INR 3 crores |
| Aryan Juyal (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Ishan Kishan (India) | INR 15.25 crores |
| Jasprit Bumrah (India) | INR 12 crores (retained) |
| Mohammad Arshad Khan (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Jaydev Unadkat (India) | INR 1.30 crores |
| Mayank Markande (India) | INR 65 Lakhs |
| Jofra Archer (Eng) | INR 8 crores |
| Tymal Mills (Eng) | INR 1.50 crores |
| Riley Meredith (Aust) | INR 1 crores |
| Murugan Ashwin (India) | INR 1.60 crores |
| Basil Thampi (India) | INR 30 Lakhs |
| Kieron Pollard (WI) | INR 6 crores (retained) |
| Hrithik Shokeen (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Arjun Tendulkar (India) | INR 30 Lakhs |
| Sanjay Yadav (India) | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Daniel Sams (Aust) | INR 2.60 Crores |
| Tim David (Singapore) | INR 8.25 Crores |
| Fabian Allen (WI) | INR 75 Lakhs |
Delhi Capitals
Capitals too had made some smart buys, with the best being Mitchell Marsh who was the hero of Australia’s 2021 World T20 win. With Rishabh Pant at the helm, DC will hope their captain will fire with the bat to take them across the finish line.
They also have David Warner who is back among the runs post the snub he received from SRH last season. Warner and Prithvi Shaw will make the most destructive opening pair in IPL 2022. They also have U-19 2022 World Cup-winning Indian captain Yash Dhull. The bowling will be led by Anrich Nortje and Axar Patel who were both retained before the auctions. Overall, it could be DC season this time.
Complete squad of DC and the player’s price tag
| Rishabh Pant (India) – captain | INR 16 crores (retained) |
| Prithvi Shaw (India) | INR 7.50 crores (retained) |
| David Warner (Aust) | INR 6.25 Crores |
| Ashwin Hebbar (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Sarfaraz Khan (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| KS Bharat (India) | INR 2 crores |
| Yash Dhull (India) | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Mandeep Singh (India) | INR 1.10 crores |
| Rovman Powell (WI) | INR 2.80 crores |
| Tim Seifert (NZ) | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Anrich Nortje (SA) | INR 6.50 crores (retained) |
| Shardul Thakur (India) | INR 10.75 crores |
| Kamlesh Nagarkoti (India) | INR 1.10 crores |
| Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) | INR 2 crores |
| Lungi Ngidi (SA) | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Khaleel Ahmed (India) | INR 5.25 crores |
| Chetan Sakariya (India) | INR 4.20 crores |
| Praveen Dubey (India) | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Kuldeep Yadav (India) | INR 2 crores |
| Axar Patel (India) | INR 9 crores (retained) |
| Mitchell Marsh (Aust) | INR 6.50 Crores |
| Lalit Yadav (India) | INR 65 Lakhs |
| Ripal Patel (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Vicky Ostwal (India) | INR 20 Lakh |
KKR
KKR let go its last season’s captain Eoin Morgan but got a good bargain in Shreyas Iyer as skipper for Rs 12.25 crore. With the kind of form Shreyas is now, it looks KKR has hit a jackpot. With core players retained in Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Varun Chakravarty, and new sensation Venkatesh Iyer, KKR looks like one of the strongest teams in the new season.
They were also able to buy back Pat Cummins for Rs 7.25 crore, Shivam Mavi for Rs 7.25 crore, and Nitish Rana for Rs 8 crore, KKR almost had the same look that went into the final last season.
Complete squad of KKR and the player’s price tag
| Shreyas Iyer (India) – captain | INR 12.25 crores |
| Nitish Rana (India) | INR 8 crores |
| Ajinkya Rahane (India) | INR 1 crores |
| Rinku Singh (India) | INR 55 Lakhs |
| Abhijeet Tomar (India) | INR 40 Lakhs |
| Pratham Singh (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Alex Hales (Eng) | INR 1.5 crores |
| Ramesh Kumar (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Sheldon Jackson (India) | INR 60 Lakhs |
| Sam Billings (Eng) | INR 2 crores |
| Baba Indrajith (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Varun Chakravarty (India) | INR 8 crore (retained) |
| Pat Cummins (Aust) | INR 7.25 crores |
| Rasikh Dar (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Ashok Sharma (India) | INR 55 Lakhs |
| Tim Southee (NZ) | INR 1.5 crores |
| Umesh Yadav (India) | INR 2 crores |
| Chamika Karunaratne (SL) | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Shivam Mavi (India) | INR 7.25 Crores |
| Andre Russell (WI) | INR 12 crores (retained) |
| Venkatesh Iyer (India) | INR 8 crores (retained) |
| Sunil Narine (WI) | INR 6 crores (retained) |
| Anukul Roy (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Nitish Rana (India) | INR 8 crores |
| Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan) | INR 1 crores |
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan has made the best use of the IPL auction, getting the cream of the cricketing world. They retained their top three players in Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, and Yashashvi Jaiswal. But they also made a few smart buys in Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Trent Boult and Ravichandran Ashwin. All of them had a good season last time and would be itching to prove their former teams wrong by letting them go. Overall, RR looks like the most balanced team this season. If they play to their potential, they could seriously lay their hands on the trophy.
Complete squad of RR and the player’s price tag
| Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) | INR 4 crores (retained) |
| Karun Nair (India) | INR 1.40 Crores |
| Rassie van der Dussen (SA) | INR 1 Crore |
| Devdutt Padikkal (India) | INR 7.75 Crores |
| Shimron Hetmyer (WI) | INR 8.50 Crores |
| Sanju Samson (India) – captain | INR 14 crores (retained) |
| Jos Buttler (Eng) | INR 10 crores (retained) |
| Dhruv Jurel (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Shubham Garhwal (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Kuldip Yadav (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Nathan Coulter-Nile (Aust) | INR 2 Crores |
| Navdeep Saini (India) | INR 2.60 Crores |
| Kuldeep Sen (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Obed McCoy (WI) | INR 75 Lakhs |
| Tejas Baroka (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| KC Kariappa (India) | INR 30 Lakhs |
| Yuzvendra Chahal (India) | INR 6.50 Crores |
| Prasidh Krishna (India) | INR 10 Crores |
| Trent Boult (NZ) | INR 8 Crores |
| Anunay Singh (India) | INR 20 Lakhs |
| James Neesham (NZ) | INR 1.50 Crores |
| Daryl Mitchell (NZ) | INR 75 Lakhs |
| Riyan Parag (India) | INR 3.80 Crores |
| Ravichandran Ashwin (India) | INR 5 Crores |