IPL 2023: Predicting the playing XI of all the Group A teams

We’re less than 48 hours away from the start of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). IPL 2023 will kick off with a clash between the defending champions Gujarat Titans and 4-time winners Chennai Super Kings on Friday, March 31, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The league moved to a ten-team format last season, with two new sides, the Gujarat Titans and the Lucknow Supergiants, entering the fray. However, a round-robin format with ten teams would lead to too many games, so they divided the teams into two groups, and fixtures were allotted accordingly.

Similarly, this season, MI, RR, KKR, DC, and LSG find themselves in Group A, while CSK, SRH, RCB, GT, and PBKS are in Group B.

The main goal for every team in the first few matches will be to identify their best playing XI and make sense of the new Impact Sub rule and how to use it the best. On that note, let’s look at the predicted playing XIs for the Group A teams.

Note: Short-term player injuries and unavailabilities aren’t considered, but long-term ones, like Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna’s injuries, have been.

IPL 2023: Predicted Playing XIs for Group A Teams

Mumbai Indians

Many MI fans had plenty of faith ahead of this season after a disastrous IPL 2022, believing that the signing of Jofra Archer and upcoming T20 stars in Dewald Brevis and Tim David would pay off.

However, injuries to Jasprit Bumrah and Jhye Richardson leave them reeling in the bowling department. Jofra Archer and the veteran Piyush Chawla are the only bowlers with any experience or success in the IPL.

With the addition of Cameron Green, MI adds more firepower to one of the best Top 6 in the league, but that bowling department leaves a lot to be desired and puts plenty of pressure on young Indians like Hrithik Shokeen, Arshad Khan, Shams Mulani, and Kumar Karthikeya to deliver.

They might drop Dewald Brevis to play an overseas pacer to shore up their bowling attack. With skipper Rohit Sharma’s workload likely to be managed, it’ll be interesting to see how MI fares, with the injury to Bumrah wrecking what was shaping up to be their comeback season.

Mumbai Indians’ Predicted XI: 

Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan(WK), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen/Arshad Khan, Jofra Archer, Kumar Karthikeya, and Jason Behrendorff.

Rajasthan Royals

RR’s team-building at the IPL 2022 Auction was top-notch, and the results were for all to see as they made the Finals, losing out narrowly to the Gujarat Titans. Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives to take away for Sanju Samson’s side, who have a pretty strong roster this season too.

However, one of their most crucial members last season, Prasidh Krishna, has been ruled out of IPL 2023, and while they have announced Sandeep Sharma as his replacement, how they’ll manage to make up for his absence could define how their season goes.

Their top five is rock solid and filled with plenty of firepower, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, a player to watch out for at the top, along with Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson.

Any team would love a finisher like Shimron Hetmyer, and the belligerent Caribbean batter will aim to replicate his IPL 2022 success.

Jason Holder is a clever signing to bolster both their batting and bowling, with Trent Boult and Kuldeep Sen alongside him in the pace bowling department. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Ashwin will give them eight overs of control and wickets, and the duo’s spin-bowling prowess is arguably their biggest strength.

Their main concerns heading into this season will be the death bowling and the form of Riyan Parag at No.6, who hasn’t delivered as much despite being backed by the team for a while now.

RR isn’t as strong a team as they were last season in Prasidh’s absence, but they’re still contenders to make the playoffs.

Rajasthan Royals’ Predicted XI: 

Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (C/WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Trent Boult, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kolkata Knight Riders

With new Head Coach Chandrakant Pandit at the helm, KKR fans would be hoping for a fresh start, but with Shreyas Iyer’s potential long-term injury and some questionable pre-auction trade signings, the signs don’t look positive for them on paper.

KKR bolstered their bowling unit with the trade window signings of Shardul Thakur and Lockie Ferguson for huge sums, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz also joining them from GT. That took a sizeable chunk of money out of their auction budget and rendered them unable to make any big-name signings.

Nitish Rana will captain the team when Shreyas Iyer is out, with Rinku Singh and Gurbaz set to occupy key roles in the top order. Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Lockie Ferguson have three overseas slots locked in, with the in-form Litton Das or his countrymate Shakib Al Hasan options to rotate with Gurbaz.

Their season could well depend on how Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, and Varun Chakravarthy perform, especially with their home ground being a very batter-friendly Eden Gardens. While Shardul and Lockie have been historically expensive bowlers, Varun had a poor IPL 2022.

While one shouldn’t rule out any team Andre Russell plays for, KKR isn’t one of the favorites to make the playoffs this year.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Predicted XI: 

Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Litton Das(WK), Narayan Jagadeesan/Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana (C), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, and Varun Chakravarthy.

Delhi Capitals

The Delhi Capitals were dealt a cruel blow ahead of the season, with captain Rishabh Pant suffering a car accident that will keep him out of the game for a while. David Warner will lead DC in IPL 2023, and they’ll look to soldier on without Pant.

His absence leaves a hole in a pretty fragile yet explosive batting order. Warner and Shaw is an opening pair that can only improve, especially with the latter in an excellent run of form. Mitchell Marsh has been highly consistent for them at No.3, and he should continue that run.

However, barring Sarfaraz Khan, who’s also likely to keep wickets, that middle order of DC’s is not convincing. Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, and Axar Patel are the other three middle-order batters for DC, and it leaves a pretty long tail.

As for their bowling, Anrich Nortje is their trump card, and if he can keep himself fit, he’s a game-changer. Even without him, with Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, and Lungi Ngidi as Nortje’s backup, DC is stocked with quality bowling options.

Despite Pant’s notable absence, DC has an explosive side filled with plenty of potential, and under an excellent IPL captain like Warner, they could make the playoffs.

Delhi Capitals’ Predicted XI: 

Prithvi Shaw, David Warner (C), Mitchell Marsh, Manish Pandey/Yash Dhull, Sarfaraz Khan (WK), Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, and Khaleel Ahmed.

Lucknow Supergiants

After an impressive debut season, KL Rahul’s LSG will look to match up to fellow new side Gujarat Titans’ standards and look to win the IPL title. They haven’t altered much from last season, swapping out a few overseas players who were predominantly backups. However, one major signing they made was that of Nicholas Pooran for a whopping ₹16 Crores.

The Caribbean wicket-keeper batter hasn’t lived up to his potential in the IPL yet but is a solid pick for an LSG side, especially with the lack of firepower in the middle order after Deepak Hooda at No.3.

That was an issue for them in IPL 2022, and despite Pooran’s addition, it is still probably their only concern this season. Marcus Stoinis didn’t live up to expectations last season, with LSG struggling to finish games towards the fag end. The constant tinkering with the batting order must have affected his rhythm, and they’re likely to bat him at No.5 this time.

Ayush Badoni started the season brightly but couldn’t carry on in the same vein, while Krunal’s batting has been on the decline for a while now.

That middle-order muddle aside, LSG seems to have a strong side, with their bowling unit very impressive. While star left-arm seamer Mohsin Khan could be out of the tournament, LSG can call upon the services of the in-form Jaydev Unadkat. Krunal and Bishnoi combine to make a miserly spin-bowling duo, with the pacy Mark Wood giving them an X-Factor with the ball.

Even the overseas backups in Kyle Mayers and Daniel Sams are quality T20 cricketers. LSG certainly has it in them to have another successful season, but they need to win the crunch moments if they want a shot at silverware.

Lucknow Supergiants’ Predicted XI: 

KL Rahul (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Jaydev Unadkat, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, and Ravi Bishnoi.