IPL 2024 Tournament Preview: Who will come out on top in 2024

The 2024 Indian Premier League is here: over the next two months ten teams will battle it out to try to win the biggest prize in domestic cricket.

Since Brendon McCullum’s opening night score of 158 in 2008, the IPL has been different from all other tournaments across the world. It is the established brand leader.

Every year, the best white-ball players from across the globe come to India to compete for cricket’s richest prize. You should not underestimate this tournament, it is second only to the NFL for the value of its broadcast rights. 

So who are the top five contenders in the market?

Mumbai Indians: 4.7 

The Mumbai Indians are the joint most successful team in IPL history with five tournament wins, their last title coming in 2020. 

Rohit Sharma, the long-term Mumbai and India captain, has been replaced as the team’s leader by the returning Hardik Pandya. Pandya spent most of his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians but has spent the last two years leading the Gujarat Titans. 

They boast a batting line up made up of Rohit, Dewald Brevis, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik and Tim David, giving them one of the most destructive line-ups in the tournament. 

Their bowling is spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, who is arguably the best white-ball fast bowler in the world. He is ably backed up by Jason Behrendorff, Piyush Chawla and Gerald Coetzee – who impressed during last year’s 50 overWorld Cup. Afghan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi will also pitch in with a few overs where required.

Star player: Jasprit Bumrah. There is not a fast bowler in the world with a more complete skill-set than Bumrah. He can easily push above 90mph, he has a fantastic yorker and a brilliant slower ball.

One to watch: Dewald Brevis is your classic pedal-to-the-metal T20 batter. He has bucket-loads of talent, and at just 20 he will play with the no-fear approach that is vital to success in T20 cricket.

Chennai Super Kings: 5.7 

The reigning champions have also won the IPL five times. 

Since 2008, they have been led by veteran wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, but yesterday the 42-year-old announced he was handing over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad.

The quality of their all-rounders is where this side has the advantage over their rivals. Ravi Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner are all great options to have. The batting is also supported by Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell. 

Star player: Ravi Jadeja. In Indian conditions you would be hard pushed to find a better all-rounder than Jadeja. In last year’s final he remained ice cool under pressure to hit the final ball of the innings to the boundary. 

One to watch: Rachin Ravindra, the young New Zealander lit up the World Cup with some incredible performances with the bat. His T20 record isn’t amazing, but his World Cup performances were enough to persuade CSK they needed him.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 7.4

RCB have never won the competition despite having some of the best players the tournament has seen.

Virat Kohli has been the face of the franchise for years and despite a series of incredible performances he has never got his hands on the IPL trophy. 

The team is led by veteran opening batter South African Faf Du Plessis. 

Australia's Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell will be vital if RCB are going to win their first tournament. Maxwell was incredible at the World Cup and Green comes into the tournament fresh off a 174* against New Zealand. 

Weak bowling has been a theme of RCB sides since their inception and that looks set  to continue here. The saying ‘batting wins you matches but bowling wins you tournaments’ has been plaguing them since 2008.

Star player: Virat Kohli, with 7,263 IPL runs he is the all-time leading run-scorer in the tournament’s history. He comes into this fresh after missing the Test series against England so he could be with his wife for the birth of their second child.

One to watch: Cameron Green, was one of last season’s most expensive players when he was picked up by the Mumbai Indians. Despite scoring a century, he had a disappointing campaign before being moved out of Mumbai to make space for the returning Pandya. I think Green has a lot to offer this side with bat and ball.

Rajasthan Royals: 8.6

The Royals won the competition in its first year and haven’t managed to repeat the feat since.

They have a star-studded batting line up with England skipper Jos Buttler at the top of the order. They also have Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel who were incredibly impressive against England in the recent Test series. This year they are led by wicketkeeper Sanju Samson. 

They have a spin-focused bowling attack with R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa. New Zealander Trent Boult is the leading quick.

Star player: Jos Buttler, only Kohli and Chris Gayle have scored more IPL hundreds than the England opener. He was in terrible form during the World Cup, but after a break he looked back to his best in the SA20. Expect the England skipper to be firing on all cylinders as the next World Cup approaches.

One to watch: Yashasvi Jaiswal lit up the recent Test series between England and India. In last season’s IPL, he became the franchise’s youngest ever centurion with 124 against Mumbai Indians. He also scored a 50 from just 13 balls,  the fastest in the history of the tournament. 

Gujrat Titans: 11.5 

The recently formed franchise won the competition in 2022 under captaincy of Hardik Pandya. This season, they are led by Shubman Gill who was the leading run-scorer in last season’s competition, scoring three hundreds in the last five games of the season.

Plenty of experience surrounds the young skipper with the likes of David Millar, Wriddhiman Saha and Kane Williamson in the squad.

They have a strong bowling attack led by Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan. They also have the young Australian-speedster Spencer Johnson, who was very impressive in The Hundred last summer and in his international appearances so far.

Star player: Shubman Gill. Last season’s leading run scorer performed well against England in the recent Test series so will come into the tournament with confidence. It will be interesting to see how he copes with the added burden of captaincy.

One to watch: Spencer Johnson. The young Australian burst onto the scene with some remarkable performances for Oval Invincibles last summer. He has a great skill-set that combines raw pace with swing and a deceptive slower ball. Not many of the IPL batters would have faced him yet so he could have a surprise factor as well.

Recommended Bet

Back the Mumbai Indians to win the 2024 IPL @ 4.5