Who will win IPL 2020? Your Definite Guide To All IPL 2020 Teams

With the Caribbean Premier League coming to a close and Afghanistan’s Shpageeza League over, the attention of the cricketing world now turns to the most-viewed cricket tournament, the IPL. Each year, hundreds of millions of people watch or follow the IPL, and almost all of them have conjectures about who will take the crown that year. The air is full of IPL 2020 predictions, with the question of who will win IPL 2020 on everyone’s mind. Will it be four-time champions Mumbai Indians grabbing that milestone fifth? Or will it be their closest competitors Chennai Super Kings equalling their record? Maybe RCB’s agonizing runner-up performances will finally end to give way for success? Or Kings XI Punjab will finally have their day of glory? Whatever the ultimate result will be, the days leading up to the IPL and its first few weeks are abuzz with speculation and guesswork. That’s why we bring you a compact but comprehensive preview of each of the IPL teams, along with what position we think they will be at when the season ends.

Now, this is by no means a list of absolute certainty - cricket is an extremely unpredictable game and T20 is its most unpredictable format. But we can tell you with confidence that a lot of research and thought went into its creation. So if you are someone who’s busy with life or don’t like doing research, but want to gain insight into IPL teams because of your passion for the sport and/or the tournament, you’ve come to the right place! So without further ado, let’s take a look at the participants.

Who can win IPL 2020? Meet The Teams

#1 Mumbai Indians (MI)

Coach: Mahela Jayawardene

Batting Coach: Robin Singh

Bowling Coach: Shane Bond

Fielding Coach: James Pamment

Starting off our list are the super strong Mumbai Indians. With a long list of stars in every category, the team not only looks formidable in theory, but, as they have shown again and again, very much can be in practice. As defending champions, one would expect them to put in their level best anyway, and considering the fact that their erstwhile most worthy opponents Chennai Super Kings have lost two stalwarts in Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, Mumbai are better positioned to retain their title than ever - with the potential to become only the second team in IPL history to succeed in doing so (the first being CSK in 2010-2011).

The Indians batting department looks especially robust with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, and Quinton de Kock, and they have plenty of batting strength within their all-rounders with the likes of the veteran Kieron Pollard and brothers Krunal and Hardik Pandya. Pollard is in especially destructive form after spearheading his side Trinbago Knight Riders to a flawless victory in the Caribbean Premier League. On top of this, their batsmen will be mentored by the one and only Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. As far as bowling is concerned, Mumbai are exceptionally strong in the fast bowling department, with IPL’s highest ever wicket-taker Lasith Malinga being joined by Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Mitchell McClenaghan. Their spin bowling depends heavily on Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya, and could just about be their only weakness should either of these two face an injury.

#2 Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Head Coach: Stephen Fleming

Batting Coach: Michael Hussey

Bowling Coach: Lakshmipathy Balaji

Fielding Coach: Rajiv Kumar

The most consistent team in the IPL will most likely take the silver this season just like the last. Despite losing two veterans as mentioned before, they are still extremely strong and, of course, led by one of the greatest captains ever to grace the game in Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In any other year, this team could have become the champions, but this year’s Mumbai squad is just ridiculously overpowered. Nevertheless, T20 is a game of uncertainties, and CSK will definitely have their shot. Their greatest advantage is of course their well-known consistency as well as the fact that high-pressure games are their bread and butter after 10 seasons of playoffs.

CSK don’t exactly have a lot of pure batsmen, despite featuring experienced hands like Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, and MS Dhoni. Instead, they chose to have no fewer than eight all-rounders in the squad, of whom Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shane Watson are more than capable with the bat. Although the team will sorely miss Harbhajan’s bowling, they still have the likes of Imran Tahir, Piyush Chawla, and the promising youngster Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore on spin, and Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Santner on pace. Of course, the latter will be compounded by Dwayne Bravo’s teasing medium pace and Shane Watson’s fast medium.

• READ: IPL 2020 Match 1: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Prediction

#3 Delhi Capitals (DC)

Head Coach: Ricky Ponting

Batting Coach: N/A

Bowling Coach: Samuel Badree (Spin), Ryan Harris (Fast)

Fielding Coach: N/A

With a cast of characters that would make Game of Thrones jealous, Delhi Capitals have a well-balanced squad full of both skill and experience. They would definitely have made a higher rank had it not been their historically terrible playoff performance. Coming third last year, they will most likely achieve the same position again after being beaten by one of the more consistent knockout phase teams. If multiple players from their squad manage to light up at the right time, though, few things can stop them from overcoming their jinxed luck and finally reaching a final.

With the likes of Sreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Roy, Alex Carey, Rishabh Pant, and Marcus Stoinis, Delhi have a batting lineup to rival that of Mumbai themselves. On top of that, they also have Chris Woakes as a fantastic utility player. A little light on pace, the only big name pacers they have are the aforementioned Chris Woakes, Ishant Sharma, and Kagiso Rabada. However, they more than make up for this with an unparalleled selection of spinners: Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Amit Mishra.

#4 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Head Coach: Brendon McCullum

Batting Coach: N/A

Bowling Coach: Carl Crowe (Spin), Kyle Mills (Fast)

Fielding Coach: James Foster

Quite possibly moving one rank up from last year is Kolkata Knight Riders. A quick glance at their player list can tell you why. The lineup has only 3 top-tier bowlers, and only a few truly reliable part-timers. As you look at the batsmen, you realize that the situation there is no different. Nevertheless, Kolkata has always been an entertaining side to watch, and they will most definitely make things interesting because they have some incredible utility players. However, as a team that excels to chants of ‘Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo re’ and the like, playing at a neutral venue might affect that spirit, landing them in the fourth spot.

A team that has always relied on lesser known utility players alongside a small sprinkling of big-name superstars, KKR’s lineup this year is no different. With 2x IPL Player of the Series winner Andre Russell and 1x winner Sunil Narine, KKR’s game plan is pretty well-known. They also have the likes of Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, and Shubman Gill as far as batting goes, with Chris Green, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Ali Khan, and Kuldeep Yadav as pure bowlers. Nevertheless, injuries to their key players might see the team suffer greatly - as it has in the past.  

#5 Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

Head Coach: Trevor Bayliss

Batting Coach: N/A

Bowling Coach: Muttiah Muralitharan

Fielding Coach: Biju George

The comparative new kid on the block, Sunrisers Hyderabad are our pick for fifth place this year. Featuring a slew of young talent, the team has plenty of potential, but lacks the kind of knockout punch you would want to see in a team that, well, makes it to the knockout stages. Sure, it has some excellent players, but the lack of high-profile fast bowlers is quite stark. Only Bhuvaneshwar Kumar stands out, and he’s only fast-medium. Nevertheless, the team has plenty of potential and can definitely cause some upsets here and there.

David Warner, Kane Williamson, and Jonny Bairstow are names that stand out immediately as far as batting prowess goes. In the all-rounder department, SRH has the explosive trio of Mitchell Marsh, Fabian Allen, and Mohammad Nabi. As for bowlers, other than world number one T20 bowler Rashid Khan and the aforementioned Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, there aren’t any big names in the squad. That being said, there’s plenty of local talent that’s ripe for action.

#6 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Head Coach: Simon Katich

Batting Coach: Sridharan Singh

Bowling Coach: Sridharan Singh (Spin), Adam Griffith (Fast) 

Fielding Coach: N/A

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in identical fashion to their CPL counterparts Guyana Amazon Warriors, have always graced the tournament with incredible performances without ever having won it. Probably the most expensive squad in the tournament, the team will definitely want to see better results after a horrible last-place finish last year. It seems almost unfair that a side that has such players would ever struggle, but clicking on the field is a different story - one that hasn’t had a happy ending for the Royal Challengers so far. This year, they will most likely be 6th.

Right off the bat, we have legends Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers joined by the talented Aaron Finch. They are followed by a bunch of capable batsmen who double as all-rounders, such as Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Isuru Udana, and Chris Morris. RCB’s bowling features a number of great budding stars: Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Washington Sundar, alongside international stars Dale Steyn and Kane Richardson. 

#7 Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Head Coach: Andrew McDonald

Batting Coach: Amol Muzumdar

Bowling Coach: Sairaj Bahutule (Spin), Rob Cassell (Fast)

Fielding Coach: Dishant Yagnik

In second-to-last place, we predict the Rajasthan Royals. Although they have IPL 2017 Player of the Series Ben Stokes, the list of top-tier players only contains 3-4 more names depending on who you ask. Littered with perhaps more than their fair share of new or upcoming players, a plus point for the team is that it has a very big roster to choose from. This, however, could prove to be a double-edged sword. In any case, the team just doesn’t seem to work even in the wildest of theories, and will most likely not work too well in practice either.

Steve Smith sticks out like a sore thumb in the list of batsmen, supported somewhat by Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, and perhaps Robin Uthappa if he has a good season. Next come the allrounders, obviously led by Ben Stokes. There isn’t much to lead, however, with only Tom Curran being a renowned name, with some hope for Yashasvi Jaiswal to excel. The bowling department seems even weaker, with Jofra Archer being the only big name, with Jaydev Unadkat a distant second. If the Double Rs are to achieve anything this year, those standout names will have to perform their hearts out.

#8 Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

Head coach: Anil Kumble

Batting Coach: Wasim Jaffer

Bowling Coach: Charl Langeveldt

Fielding Coach: Jonty Rhodes

Probably the least expensive squad in the tournament, Kings XI Punjab only have three players that can be called ‘stars’. What’s more worrying is that they don’t seem to have a great experienced leader, with Glenn Maxwell having famously bombed during his captaincy in 2017. Punjab have notoriously qualified for the playoffs the least out of all IPL teams, and given this year’s squad and the team’s overall disposition, it doesn’t look like that will change. We predict that they will take last place.

Punjab has a lot of Indian talent, with Karun Nair, Gowtham Krishnappa and KL Rahul leading the way. They are joined by Nicholas Pooran and the aging but potentially deadly Chris Gayle. Among all-rounders, they feature Glenn Maxwell, Chris Jordan, and James Neesham, while among bowlers, the names that stand out are Mohammad Shami, Sheldon Cottrell, and… no, that’s it. This is why Punjab will most likely be last.

Wrapping up

While this is in no way a Bible for prediction, it’s been written from experience gained from decades of watching, reading about, listening about, talking about, and of course playing, cricket. At the end of the day, cricket is a mad game and that’s part of its beauty. For all we know, the IPL 2020 winner prediction list might end up being inverted (you’re welcome, Punjab). Until then, though, we’ll wait with baited breath and wondrous eyes, glued to our TVs each evening (and weekend afternoons) to watch IPL 2020.