3 stats heavy blogs later, I guess it's time to ask the only question that really matters, who is going to win IPL 2025?

The below is based on the cumulative rankings from those 3 prior blogs so I guess we'll see whether the numbers that these players have put over over the past 3 years in T20 cricket are a good indicator of success in the coming IPL season.

AI generated image using Chat GPT

As always though, there is very little to choose between the sides, all of whom have multiple match winners in their ranks.

As we've seen since the IPL began the ability for a couple of those global superstars to have truly exceptional seasons can often be a defining factor in the outcome of games.

However, so too is the perform of the domestic Indian players. Lets be honest, we're not talking about 'lesser' players here, India's pool of talent is so deep that there are a few high quality players out there who can't even get into the 10 squads let alone on the pitch! That being said, if the global superstars on each side generally cancel each other out then the true differentials often come from those domestic players including some that we won't have seen much of, if at all, in previous campaigns.

Since moving to a 10 team league, we've generally seen situations were a couple of sides have strong starts and edge away from the pack, while at the other end, a couple of sides struggle and soon find themselves cut adrift. It leaves that middle zone of half a dozen sides competing for 2 playoff spots the area to really watch with ultimate league standings often coming down to the finest of margins.

In that regard, the only 2 sides that I'd totally right off are LSG and RCB. While they do have some very good players and areas of strength, there weaknesses are ultimately too great for those individuals to overcome single handedly.

At the same time, the top 4 below are significantly better equipped across all aspects of the game than the other 6 sides. Form and fitness will always be the defining factor but I can't imagine that the winner of IPL 2025 will come from outside the group of MI, GT, RR and SRH.

Mumbai Indians (1st)

Best XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, Tilak Varma, Sky, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

There are several big caveats to MI's position as favourites. Firstly, is the fitness of Bumrah who looks unlikely to play in MI's first 3 games at least and that absence could be extended should the BCCI decide to protect their prize possession with a tour of England to come in the summer.

Can MI manage without Bumrah? Well, they never start well anyway so if it is just the first 3 games then I think they'll be ok but much beyond that and their bowling suddenly starts to look a bit weaker, especially at the death.

Hardik is due to miss the opening game too due to a suspension for a slow over rate. The BCCI has just changed that rule but not soon enough to stop Hardik's ban meaning that MI have to start the campaign without their skipper.

However, the real question is whether this MI side can actually function as a team! On paper they have a frightening XI and some more than useful back-ups waiting in the wings but there was clearly some unrest at the change of leadership last year which impacted the morale of the team. Publicly, senior players have been quick to say that there are no such issues this year and everyone is raring to go.

If that's true and they can keep their key players fit and firing for the season to come then there is no reason to think that they can't add to their 5 IPL titles in 2025.

Gujarat Titans (2nd)

Best XI: Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Sai Sudharsan, Glenn Phillips, Mahipal Lomror, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

The key for GT is likely to be their top 3. If at least 2 out 3 of them deliver significant seasons then they have the finishers to accelerate them towards big scores and the bowlers to defend those totals. Both Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler have produced 800+ run seasons in the IPL over the last 3 years so we know they have it in their locker.

Lat year, the bowling attack missed the penetration that Mohammed Shami had given them during the powerplay in previous seasons. The inclusion of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, all bowlers who, like Shami, are probably best suited to the red ball format suggests they've got the resources to remove that issue in 2025.

There is a nice depth to the GT squad as well with the XI above probably best suited to playing on the bouncier surfaces of Ahmedabad. However, they have slow bowling options to come in and do a job on the slower surfaces they'll undoubtedly come across at certain times in the tournament.

A solid backroom/coaching staff of Ashish Nehra, Gary Kirsten and Vikram Solanki have a clear view of how the team want to play and they generally pick the right players to deliver on that vision.

Rajasthan Royals (3rd)

Best XI: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Madhwal, Sandeep Sharma

Another team who will rely heavily on their opening pair. There's a reasonable argument to make that Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the best openers in the tournament, certainly when they are on song they'll be the best to watch.

They've lost the experience of Buttler but there's still plenty of leadership in this team. Parag has taken the captaincy for the first 3 matches with Sanju Samson likely to play as an impact sub due to a finger injury, Nitish Rana has lead domestically while there is enough experience amongst the bowlers to back up that think tank.

The top 6 batsmen pretty pick themselves but it'll be interesting to see what order then come in. The above is my best guess.

With the bowling, the above is probably the most balanced line-up but as we've seen in recent years, RR aren't scared of chucking in 3 specialist spinners if they think conditions will suit them and they certainly maintain the resources to do that when necessary.

The biggest issue for the Royals in recent seasons has been that they've started like a train and finished like a tuk-tuk. Rahul Dravid, a man who has guided India to a T20 World Cup, will be keen to keep things going longer and peak when it matters most.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (4th)

Best XI: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Nitesh Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klassen, Abhinav Manohar, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa

9 of the the best XI players listed above are very strong picks indeed but I'm not convinced by the SRH engine room at 6 and 7. It could yet be that they unearth a genuine talent in the likes of Atharva Taide to fill one of those slots but we wait and see.

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma will certainly enter the new season as the most feared opening pair. Of course, with that reputation comes increased scrutiny so it'll be interesting to see what opposition captains and coaches have come up with to try and stem the flow of runs from the Sunrisers' 2 left-handers.

Similar to the batting, the bowling looks strong for 16 overs, it's that 5th and 6th bowler which appear to be a weak spot that opposition sides can attack.

After years of upheaval in the dugout and with the captaincy, SRH can finally come into an IPL tournament with some consistency. Dan Vettori and Pat Cummins are both highly experienced and highly regarded leaders on and off the pitch who will be keen to take this side one step further in 2025.

Punjab Kings (5th)

Best XI: Shreyas Iyer, Prabhsimran Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen

Of course they're not finishing in the top 4! However, maybe PBKS will surprise a few people this season by at least being in the mix.

A lot will depend on their star Indian players in Shreyas Iyer, Chahal and Arshdeep Singh. If they can have big seasons and bring a few along with them then this PBKS side could be tough opponents.

Iyer in particular seems to feel he has a bit of a point to prove after leading KKR to a title last season and then being ditched the next. His record as a captain is incredibly strong and leadership has been an area that Punjab have struggled with in recent seasons.

However, Iyer isn't the only one. The likes of Wadhera, Jansen, Sen and a few others have had opportunities in the IPL and shown that they are up to the level without really being able to cement that first team place at previous franchises. We'll soon learn if that was the right call or whether given a sustained run in the starting XI, they can become household names.

Delhi Capitals (6th)

Best XI: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abhishek Porel, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Mitch Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar

After a really strong finish to the 2024 season during which DC unearthed a few players who you felt they could build a team around for the forseeable future, I'm pretty disappointed with the picks they made in the auction.

Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul and Mitch Starc are safe enough selections but are they the players to take DC to the next level?

We'll also have to wait and see if Fraser-McGurk and Abhishek Porel can rediscover the form that they showed last year. Going from exciting young thing to established star is a tough step. Every opposition coach and captain has now had time to study your game and come up with tactics to limit your scoring. Cricket at this level is therefore an arms race so both those young strikers will need to adapt their own game in response.

Kuldeep Yadav's 4 overs will be crucial but others will need to step up to ensure that opposition sides don't just have the luxury of playing him out.

With a new Coach, new Director of Cricket and a new Captain there are a lot of uncertainties around how DC will shape up and indeed the tactics that they play. A lot seems to be resting on the shoulders of Axar Patel who has been very consistent for DC for several years at times when other bigger names have gone missing.

Chennai Super Kings (7th)

Best XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni, Khaleel Ahmed, Nathan Ellis, Matheesha Pathirana

Is it wrong to right off a CSK side that has 5 titles to its name? Maybe.

My feeling is that if we see the big totals that we did in IPL 2024 including at grounds like the Chepauk where CSK have been so efficient in previous seasons at winning in lower scoring games then yes, this Super Kings side looks like it'll be outgunned once again.

However, if there are a few more slower and lower pitches this year then this CSK side is once again well equipped to grind out victories and get themselves into the playoffs.

What I would say is that I'm far less certain about a few of the players in the XI above than I am for many other franchises. CSK do have some serious bench depth and a leadership group who has proved effective at picking the right horses for the right courses in the past.

As always seems to be the case, CSK have banked on experience whether within the core group of players they retained or those that they picked up during the auction. The 'Dad's Army' approach has worked for them in the past will it work again in 2025?

Kolkata Knight Riders (8th)

Best XI: Sunil Narine, QdK, Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Spencer Johnson

From Champions to 8th. It's a pretty bold prediction!

Defending IPL titles is notoriously difficult and I don't think that KKR come into this season looking particularly better than they finished last.

There are big question marks about whether Narine can deliver the kind of starts that he managed last year while his likely opening partner in QdK has had a pretty lean time of it in recent years.

Rahane at number 3 for CSK proved a few doubters wrong but he was given the luxury of playing a very specific role in Chennai whereas here at Kolkata and wearing the captains armband, he might need to bat a little deeper into the innings.

We also wait to see what the impact of a massive price tag will have on Venkatesh Iyer. Is he really worth all that money? I know it's only T20 cricket and results win out over anything else but I purposefully tell both my kids (also left-handers) not to watch how he bats - horrible, horrible technique.

Lower order hitting and bowling look to be KKR's primary strengths so perhaps when all is said and done they just need an average season from their top order to allow those guys a platform to win matches.

Andre Russell's fitness is, as ever, a concern for KKR. At his physical best he offers the Knight Riders great balance and depth but doesn't come into this season with a huge amount of cricket under his XXL size belt.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (9th)

Best XI: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvi Kumar, Yash Dayal

The top 3 looks good but thereafter I have serious doubts about this RCB teams ability to score big runs against quality bowling attacks and in all conditions.

Virat Kohli will once again be tasked with carrying the batting and its a job he always relishes but often at the expense of the team itself. Rajat Patidar becomes the latest man to attempt to lead this RCB side while standing in Kohli's shadow, lets see if he fairs better than those who have come before.

The middle order looks like it'd be effective against RCBs own attack i.e. not much in the way of spin or quality in that middle over and death period. Unfortunately for RCB there are far bowling units out there who I think can expose the make up of the team. We might find that out as early as this afternoon with RCB's opening match against a KKR side that includes Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy.

They have an experienced and potentially potent new ball attack. However, Bhuvi hasn't had any real penetration in the IPL since the 2017 season and Hazlewood will need pitches where the ball does a little bit because on flat tracks at stadiums with short boundaries, I do see opposition batsmen targeting the big Aussie.

Lucknow Super Giants (10th)

Best XI: Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav

At least with many of the IPL franchises you see what they were trying to achieve with their auction picks. With LSG I have no idea!

Perhaps it's a genius move to buy up most the left-handed middle order players and as I've suggested in a previous blog, the middle orders of several sides above LSG do have David Miller/Rishahb Pant/Nicolas Pooran shaped holes in them.

Still, it feels like those 3 are going to have to have substantial seasons and if the pitches at the Ekana Stadium continue to be tricky to navigate then it might be difficult for any of them to get any real momentum with their scoring.

Meanwhile, the bowling looks a real concern. They don't have that 1 player who you look at and think 'yeah, you're getting 4 good overs there regardless of conditions or opposition'.

Balance also looks to be an issue for LSG team that in previous seasons have been stacked with allrounders. Mitch Marsh will play as a batter only, Aiden Markram can bowl a couple of handy overs here or there but I wouldn't want to bank on him across a season, while Shahbaz Ahmed has played 50 IPL games and isn't good enough in either discipline to make the starting XI of a side with genuine playoff hopes.

All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible at
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