We are currently on a third path to the 2025 Indian Premier League, so it seems like it’s a good time to assess and evaluate which teams look healthy and which teams need to come back.
It’s cliché that bowling wins the T20 trophy, but that’s true. Looking at the IPL table, all the early frontrunners have made major changes to their bowling attacks at auction.
The Gujarat Titans reached two finals in their first two years, with gun bowling attacks in both seasons.
In 2023 they had three best ticket gaters in the tournaments of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma.
Last year their bowling lost its cutting edge completely (and so did batting, but it didn’t help).
At auction they decide that improvements are needed, and their smart purchases are already beginning to pay off. Mohammed Siraj looked closest to his fiery, but Prashidi Krishna once again showed that when he was fit, he could become India’s real weapon in all forms.
Canny Sai Kishore is burdened with spin bowling to the extent that Rashid is not noticed to be completely ineffective. If he hits form too, they will appear in the playoffs.
The Delhi Capitals were the worst bowling side of last year’s tournament, and they had to issue a statement signing in the fast bowling division.
For some reason, the Kolkata Knight Riders let go of Mitchell Stark (a strange decision) and the capital swooped at auction.
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Highlights of Delhi Capitals’ six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League
In four games, he already made a big difference, picking up early wickets and earning Delhi before the game. With Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel still one of the best spin duos, they are now under bowling attacks where they can compete against the best batting lineup.
His Australian newspaper partner Josh Hazlewood had a similar impact in Royal Challengers’ Bengaluru. Neither he nor Stark plays that many IPL crickets.
In fact, Hazlewood has only played 33 games. The main reason is that they prioritize international cricket over IPL.
We are now seeing what IPL has missed over the past few years.
Gujarat, Delhi and Bangalore are struggling with batting
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Archer bowls the 91mph delivery and takes Gill’s ticket gate.
So Gujarat, Delhi and the royal challengers have all improved their bowling attacks, and as a result, they have seen rude health conditions. The three teams at the bottom of the table are primarily because their batting has not been fired.
Chennai’s Super Kings is the most obvious example of this. They all chase and lose four in a row, and each time they lack firepower in the medium order, it’s as clear as the day.
They rely heavily on Shivam Dube in the second half of the innings, and Rabindra Jadeha and Vijay Shankar need to score very quickly from the ball one.
The elephant in the room is Ms Dhoni. His strike rates over the past two seasons have been very good, but due to his chronic knee issues, CSK is reluctant to take him to the final five overs or sometimes late.
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Highlights from the IPL match between the Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings when Priyansh Arya hit in the second century of the season
But by this point it was often too late and the game was lost.
Head coach Stephen Fleming said, “Dhoni can’t hit 10 overs with a full stick,” but I think he can still bring in a bit earlier to give him time to influence the game against the bat. If CSK isn’t, it could be too late for the playoff chances too.
A big shock of the season so far is realizing that the Sunriser is holding the table.
After dominating the Royals in their first game, they looked to be taken from where they left off last season, but their batting suddenly malfunctioned in a major way. Their problem is not lack of power – if any, it is the opposite.
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Phil Salt created an astonishing fielding at the boundary to set the catch for Royal Challenger Bangalore in IPL
With the exception of the Nitish Kumar Reddy, the mantra for the entire top 6 is to make all the guns burn, but if this doesn’t work, it looks like there’s no plan B.
Two of the next three games are against Mumbai, and it may be helpful as they started poorly again. On paper, they have a strong batting lineup, but appear to be lacking in tight run chases. This is not the habit you want to fall into.
The spin bowling depth also looks light. This can become a problem as the tournament wears.
With a long way to go, I hope the tables will change, but so far it seems like the mega auction is shaking things.
Check out all the matches on 2025 IPL Live On Sky Sports CricketUntil the final on Sunday, May 25th.
