Watch all 74 matches live on Sky Sports, starting with the opener between defending champions Gujarat Titans and four-time winners Chennai Super Kings from 3pm on Friday; Matt Kabir Floyd backs Rajasthan Royals to go one better than 2023 but foresees a group-stage exit for Mumbai Indians
Friday 31 March 2023 06:11, UK
These days it feels like every two days a new franchise T20 competition pops up in some far-flung part of the world.
It's so saturated that it's almost impossible for even the biggest of cricket nuts to keep across all the ebbs and flows - but there is one tournament that I would never scrimp on.
The IPL is still the daddy of all T20 tournaments and this year there are even more reasons to be glued to your TV screens.
The competition's return to home and away fixtures for the first time since 2019 makes a huge difference. In the darkest days of Covid the organisers did well keep the show on the road but it always felt like something was missing, even with games being played in busy neutral stadiums like the Wankhede.
Now we get to once again sample the incredible sights and sounds of the whole of the Chinnaswamy stadium bouncing to chants of 'RCB, RCB' and the Super Kings' Yellow Army raising the roof as MS Dhoni walks out to bat. That's what the IPL is all about.
There are a handful of fascinating rule changes, too. The most eye-catching is the decision to allow captains to name their team after the toss and bring an Impact Player in.
It might make the toss slightly less important and Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting reckons the use of the Impact Player could lessen the importance of all-rounders.
That would be a massive change as the T20 earnings list has been dominated by all-rounders for a long time now, and not all of them have been top-level internationals!
Even with these tweaks, it feels like this is going to be an 'old school' IPL season as packed partisan crowds and big-name players look to impress with a 50-over World Cup in India on the horizon.
Here's my guide to the 10 franchises - feel free to pull me up on anything you disagree with on twitter @mattkfloyd. I'm happy to take on all-comers!
Four-time winners. Mumbai may have won more titles but no team can match CSK for their consistent excellence - they've reached a staggering nine Finals in 13 seasons. Last year they were way off the pace, though, finishing ninth.
Last year was one to forget for the southern powerhouse. Ravindra Jadeja as captain simply didn't work and in the end MS Dhoni had to take up the reins again to steady the ship. This year, however, they return to a revamped Chepauk stadium, which is finally at full capacity again, and if any team will benefit from home advantage it will be CSK. In what could be Dhoni's last season, they will look to Ben Stokes to explode with the bat - he won't bowl in the first few games at least - but the lack of overseas pace bowling options is a real worry, with Kyle Jamieson out for the season. Their best bet, as ever at Chepauk, is to prepare turning pitches and make Chennai a fortress once again.
Stokes and Moeen Ali are both pretty much guaranteed starters, although Moeen's spot could come under pressure on seam-friendly pitches. The key question is where should they bat? Moeen has looked good at Number 3 for CSK but they may want Stokes to bat there or at four. He could also open, but there are two strong opening options in Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
1 Devon Conway / 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad / 3 Ben Stokes / 4 Moeen Ali / 5 Ambati Rayudu / 6 Ravindra Jadeja / 7 MS Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper) / 8 Shivam Dube / 9 Deepak Chahar / 10 Mukesh Choudhury / 11 Maheesh Theekshana
Group stage - just! I expect CSK to be pushing for the play-offs this season as there's no way they can be as bad as last year and being back in Chennai should make a real difference. Their lack of fast bowling depth could come back to haunt them, though, and I think they will fall just short.
Surprisingly, have never lifted the trophy before. Missed out on the play-offs last year after losing their final match to bottom side Mumbai. Finished in the top three in the previous three seasons.
You'd think the absence of Rishabh Pant would derail most franchises' season but I don't see it that way for the Capitals. Pant is obviously a huge miss but his replacement as captain, David Warner, is an experienced IPL leader from his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad and the squad looks strong and well balanced on paper, with the management doing a really good job at the last two auctions. Having good Indian seam options means they could pick three overseas batters. The only obvious issues are who will keep wicket and the fact that their tail could be long.
Phil Salt's chances of making the XI increased dramatically with Pant being ruled out for the season. It seems a straight shoot-out between him and Sarfaraz Khan for the wicketkeeping gloves but Sarfaraz may have the edge due to where he bats. Delhi have plenty of top order options and Sarfaraz is used to batting in the final 10 overs, which is where the keeper may have to slot in. I'd be surprised if Salt doesn't get an opportunity at some point, though.
1 David Warner (captain) / 2 Prithvi Shaw / 3 Rilee Rossouw / 4 Yash Dhull / 5 Mitchell Marsh / 6 Sarfaraz Khan (wicketkeeper) / 7 Axar Patel / 8 Kuldeep Yadav / 9 Anrich Nortje / 10 Chetan Sakariya / 11 Mukesh Kumar
Play-offs. I like the look of this Delhi squad. They have cover for almost any position and the most difficult thing will be picking the right XI. They'll need the top seven to fire consistently, though. I don't see many runs being scored by the rest!
One season, one title - that's how they roll.
The newly-formed Titans burst onto the scene last year and were deserved champions. Hardik Pandya has proved a revelation as captain, they have a nicely-balanced attack and Shubman Gill is on the road to becoming an all-format superstar. They will be hard to beat yet I don't quite fancy them to go all the way this year, even with the possibility of over 100,000 supporting them at the Narendra Modi stadium. They have match winners in their team but I feel they may have overperformed last year and it might be a stretch too far to do it again.
The Titans have no English players but Josh Little did make history in becoming the first Irish player ever picked up in the auction. He may play a few games, too. Gujarat aren't blessed with deepest pool of overseas fast bowlers and he is the only left-armer of the bunch.
1 Shubman Gill / 2 Matthew Wade / 3 KS Bharat / 4 Hardik Pandya (captain) / 5 David Miller / 6 Rahul Tewatia / 7 Odean Smith / 8 Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper) / 9 Rashid Khan / 10 Yash Dayal / 11 Mohammad Shami
Play-offs. The champions had a brilliant team spirit last year. That should carry them into the play-offs again but other teams know what to expect from the Titans this season and they won't be as much of a surprise package.
Two-time winners. The only side other than Mumbai and Chennai to have lifted the trophy more than once. Seventh last year - their worst finish since 2013.
Captain Shreyas Iyer will miss at least the start of the tournament through injury, which also further depletes their thin-looking batting. Experienced KKR servant Nitish Rana takes over and will be needed for his runs just as much as leadership skills. The bowling looks potent but they could do with the mystery spin twins Sunil Narine and Varun Chakratharvy rediscovering their 2021 form.
None whatsoever sadly!
1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicketkeeper) / 2 N Jagadeesan / 3 Venkatesh Iyer / 4 Nitish Rana (captain) / 5 Mandeep Singh / 6 Andre Russell / 7 Sunil Narine / 8 Shardul Thakur / 9 Umesh Yadav / 10 Lockie Ferguson / 11 Varun Chakravarthy
Group exit. KKR have one of the best bowling attacks around but the batting is a major concern, especially the top order. If Shreyas misses most of the tournament I can't see them qualifying for the play-offs.
Impressive debut season last year. They finished third but got knocked out by RCB in the Eliminator.
Like Gujarat, Lucknow hit the ground running in their first season thanks to some really smart recruitment. They have arguably the best opening partnership in the competition in KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock, all-rounders galore and a lovely variety to their bowling attack. Throw in Nicholas Pooran - whom they spent big on at the recent auction - and it looks a pretty formidable squad. Left arm seamer Mohsin Khan looks like he will be out for most of the season but no need to panic. They have an in-form Jaydev Unadkat.
Mark Wood has only ever played one IPL match (back in 2018 for CSK) but I expect him to add to that significantly over the next few weeks. The Super Giants have decent fast-bowling options but no one with the raw pace of Wood. This could be the year that he cracks the IPL.
1 KL Rahul (captain) / 2 Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper) / 3 Deepak Hooda / 4 Nicholas Pooran / 5 Marcus Stoinis / 6 Ayush Badoni / 7 Krunal Pandya / 8 Mark Wood / 9 Jaydev Unadkat / 10 Avesh Khan / 11 Ravi Bishnoi
Runners-up. Pooran and Wood should elevate LSG to the next level. Whether they can drive all the way to the trophy is up for debate but I reckon we will see them in the final.
Five-time winners, more than anyone else. The crown has slipped of late, though. The Indians were rock bottom last year and have missed the play-offs in the last two seasons.
The most successful franchise in IPL history decided to shake their squad up at the mega auction before last season and it clearly has not worked. With Jasprit Bumrah - who is a massive loss - and Jhye Richardson out for the season, the fast-bowling stocks look desperately thin. Jofra Archer will make his long-awaited debut but will he be faced with a similar situation to the one he faced at Rajasthan, where he was forced to carry a weak bowling attack? The Indians are clearly lacking a gun spinner, too, but at least their batting retains an intimidating look to it.
Mumbai took a gamble by signing Archer even though they knew he would probably miss the whole of last season, and it was a gamble worth taking. Archer is a Rolls Royce of a T20 fast bowler and has looked sharp since his return to international cricket, particularly in Bangladesh where he cranked things up to over 90mph on slow pitches. He should play every game, body-permitting.
1 Ishan Kishan / 2 Cameron Green / 3 Rohit Sharma (captain) / 4 Suryakumar Yadav / 5 Tilak Varma / 6 Tim David / 7 Ramandeep Singh / 8 Piyush Chawla / 9 Jofra Archer / 10 Kumar Kartikeya / 11 Jason Behrendorff
Group exit. You're probably asking 'how can a team with that top six not finish in the top four?! Well, they can and they will unless the bowling attack performs out of its skin. The squad reminds me of RCB of a few years ago - totally imbalanced.
Only made the play-offs twice in 15 seasons and not since 2014! They were sixth last year.
The Kings have a big Jonny Bairstow-shaped hole in their team after he pulled out to focus on the Ashes and I'm not sure how they fill it. His replacement Matthew Short arrives off the back of an excellent Big Bash season but is largely unproven at the top level. All eyes will be on Liam Livingstone to provide the X factor and new captain Shikhar Dhawan to be his usual consistent self. The frontline bowling attack looks tasty, although I am slightly concerned about the depth behind it.
Livingstone hasn't played since December and will miss the first game, but once fit he is a shoo-in. As is Sam Curran after the Kings made him the most expensive buy in IPL history. With that comes a lot of pressure, though, and it will be fascinating to see how Sam deals with that.
1 Shikhar Dhawan (captain) / 2 Prabhsimran Singh / 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa / 4 Liam Livingstone / 5 Jitesh Sharma / 6 Shah Rukh Khan / 7 Sam Curran / 8 Kagiso Rabada / 9 Harpreet Brar / 10 Rahul Chahar / 11 Arshdeep Singh
Group exit. Despite bringing in Curran, Punjab look slightly weaker than last year to me. Without Bairstow and Mayank Agarwal the batting might be too reliant on uncapped Indian players in key positions. They are the kind of team who could beat anyone if they get hot. I'm just not sure they will be consistent enough to make the play-offs.
Runners-up last year after three seasons outside the play-offs. It was the franchise's first final since winning the inaugural title under the late, great Shane Warne in 2008.
The Royals changed tack at the mega auction before last season and it paid huge dividends. Archer was sensational for them but his release allowed the franchise to spread their cash wisely and they now have a squad that would be the envy of most others. Jason Holder and Joe Root seem canny additions this season and they have a decent back-up to almost every position. They have three elite spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Ashwin and Adam Zampa. The only fly in the ointment is the absence of Prasidh Krishna for the whole tournament. They will hope that the promising and pacy Kuldeep Sen can help fill that void.
Isn't it incredible that this is Root's first time in the IPL?! The Royals should already have two overseas batters in the their top five in Jos Buttler & Shimron Hetmeyer so I expect him to start the season on the bench but I do think he will get opportunities as the tournament goes on. He could also be the perfect Impact Player if chasing down a target and the Royals want an extra batter. Buttler will play every game and don't bet against him being leading run-scorer again!
1 Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper) / 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal / 3 Devdutt Padikkal / 4 Sanju Samson (captain) / 5 Shimron Hetmeyer / 6 Riyan Parag / 7 Jason Holder / 8 R Ashwin / 9 Trent Boult / 10 Kuldeep Sen / 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Champions. Having seen how they revamped their squad in the mega auction, I thought the Royals would win last year and I'm going to go for them again this season. They have a bowling attack for all surfaces and Buttler available for the whole tournament. Warnie was the last man to lead them to glory 15 years ago, so what a story it would be!
RCB have never lifted the trophy despite stacking their side with various 'Galacticos' over the seasons. That's not to say they haven't been close: three times they have fallen at the final hurdle. Last year they were one game away from reaching a fourth final but the Royals knocked them out in the second Qualifier.
RCB were in the mix last year and they are the kind of side that, if they get to knockout stages, can easily go on to win as they always have two or three genuine match winners in their line-up. Glen Maxwell looks on course to return from injury and, perhaps even more importantly, Virat Kohli looks like Virat Kohli again. Josh Hazlewood missing the early stages is a major blow and I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't play at all to focus on getting fit for the Ashes. Rajat Patidar will also miss the first half at least and this could be just as important - there is a lack of Indian batting cover. Six of their first seven games are at home, so they need to head into the second part of the season with a winning record.
Faf Du Plessis, Maxwell and Wanindu Hasaranga are nailed on for three of the overseas spots. No Hazlewood means both Reece Topley and David Willey have a great chance of grabbing the fourth. Topley gives you better death-bowling skills but I can see why RCB would prefer Willey to beef up the batting.
1 Faf Du Plessis (captain) / 2 Virat Kohli / 3 Glenn Maxwell / 4 Mahipal Lomror / 5 Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper) / 6 Shahbaz Ahmed / 7 Anuj Rawat / 8 Wanindu Hasaranga / 9 Harshal Patel / 10 Reece Topley / 11 Mohammad Siraj
Group exit. Like CSK, I feel the Royal Challengers will be close to the play-offs but a slight lack of balance could derail their campaign. CSK are short on fast bowlers, RCB are fine on that front - even without Hazlewood - but Patidar's absence is a killer for me. The lack of another quality Indian batter puts immense pressure on Du Plessis, Kohli and Maxwell to deliver every game.
They finished eighth last season and in 2021 after a run of five straight play-off appearances prior to that. Sunrisers lifted the trophy under the leadership of David Warner in 2016.
It's all change at the top for the Sunrisers with Aidan Markram and Brian Lara replacing Kane Williamson and Tom Moody as captain and head coach respectively. The business done at the auction was eye catching, too - they managed to snare the in-demand Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal adds solidity to the top order and Adil Rashid finally gets a chance to show IPL fans what he can do. They look significantly stronger than last year.
Brook will be looked at as the gun batter in the line-up, the big question will be where he bats? I would go with No 4 but be willing to push him up to No 3 if the openers bat for a few overs. Hyderabad have a decent Indian leg-spinner in Mayank Markande which means they may favour picking Marco Jansen over Rashid initially. However, Jansen will now miss the first game which could open the door for Rashid. You can bring T Natarajan in and start the Englishman ahead of Markande. I expect him to wow Indian fans if he gets enough opportunities.
1 Mayank Agarwal / 2 Abhishek Sharma / 3 Rahul Tripathi / 4 Harry Brook / 5 Aidan Markram (captain) / 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper) / 7 Washington Sundar / 8 Marco Jansen / 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar / 10 Umran Malik / 11 Mayank Markande
Play-offs. There is a lot to like about this squad and I think they will be the surprise package this season. If Brook carries on his Bradman-esque form they could even go all the way but I suspect they may fall just short. Either way, they should be a good watch!
