BANGALORE ROYAL CHALLENGERS
Owner: Vijay Mallya
Coach: Ray Jennings
Captain: Kevin Pietersen
Star player: Rahul Dravid
Most expensive player: Kevin Pietersen – $1.55million
Last year: Seventh
Odds: 7-1
Big let downs last year, the Bangalore Royal Challengers won only four games in the inaugural IPL season and ended up second from bottom.
Owner Vijay Mallya has splashed the cash in order to prevent a repeat of last year’s misfortunes, with England talisman Kevin Pietersen brought in as captain.
The South African-born star will only be available for six matches, but BRC have plenty of other quality in their ranks, namely Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid and Jesse Ryder.
Odds 7-1
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CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Owners: India Cements
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Captain: MS Dhoni
Star player: Andrew Flintoff
Most expensive player: Andrew Flintoff – $1.55million
Last year: 3rd (Finished Runners-up)
Odds: 7-2
Led once again by Indian international captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Super Kings will be looking to go one better this campaign and capture the IPL title.
Boosted by the full availability of Australian Matthew Hayden, who only featured in four games last season, they also spent big landing England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, albeit for only six games.
The record signing will add much needed balance to a side which also boasts an impressive bowling attack featuring South African duo Albie Morkel and Makhaya Ntini, plus Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan.
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DECCAN CHARGERS
Owners: Deccan Chronicle
Coach: Darren Lehman
Captain: Adam Gilchrist
Star player: Herschelle Gibbs
Most expensive player: Andrew Symonds – $1.35million
Last year: Bottom
Odds: 10-1
Last season’s big spenders and pre-tournament favourites failed to match their ambition off the field and finished rooted to the bottom of the table.
Dogged by internal disputes and poor tactical decisions, the Charges will be hoping to do their talking on the pitch this time around.
They’ve added more depth to their squad with the additions of West Indian duo Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Smith, though both will not be around for the duration of the tournament.
Australian veteran Adam Gilchrist skippers the side and compatriot Darren Lehmann has been handed the coaching mantle.
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DELHI DAREDEVILS
Owners: GMR Holdings
Coach: Greg Shipperd
Captain: Virender Sehwag
Star player: Daniel Vettori
Most expensive player: Owais Shah – $375,000
Last year: 4th (Lost in semi-finals)
Odds: 7-2
An unpredictable force last campaign, the Daredevils finished fourth in the table winning seven and losing seven, before exiting in the knock-out stages.
Australian Twenty20 specialist David Warner has been brought in, along with English duo Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah, but like so many IPL teams, they could be severely handicapped by the early withdrawal of some of their star names. However, with old warhorse Glenn McGrath, left-arm quick Dirk Nannes and captain Virender Sehwag available for the duration, the Daredevils cannot be written off.
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Indian Premier League
KING’S X1, PUNJAB
Owners: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman
Coach: Tom Moody
Captain: Yuvraj Singh
Star player: Kumar Sangakkara
Most expensive player: Irfan Pathan – $925,000
Last year: 2nd (Lost in semi-finals)
Odds: 7-1
The Kings X1 finished second in the table in 2008 but could not repeat their league form in the knockout stages, after they were beaten by eventual runners-up Super Kings.
They could be hindered by Australian bowler Brett Lee’s fitness concerns, but will be hoping Shaun Marsh, Kumar Sangakkara and his Sri Lankan team-mate Mahela Jayawardene continue where they left off last year with the bat. England’s Ravi Bopara and Jerome Taylor of the West Indies were team’s only two purchases at the auction in Goa.
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KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Owners: Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jai Mehta
Coach: John Buchanan
Captain: No fixed captain
Star player: Chris Gayle
Most expensive player: Ishant Sharma – $950,000
Last year: 6th
Odds: 13-2
Brendon McCullum hit a 20-over world record 158 in their win over Bangalore in the inaugural IPL match but that’s as good as it got for the Knight Riders. They were expected to be one of the biggest spenders in this year’s auction but simply could not compete with the financial power of Bangalore Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings. But that didn’t stop them forking out some money, paying over the odds for Bangladesh fast bowler Mashrafe bin Mortaza. West Indies captain Chris Gayle is set to play at least a part in the tournament and Australian Moises Henriques comes in for the departed Salman Butt.
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MUMBAI INDIANS
Owner: Reliance Industries Ltd
Coach: Shaun Pollock
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Star player: Sanath Jayasuriya
Most expensive player: Sanath Jayasuriya – $975,000
Last year: 5th
Odds: 5-1
The 2008 IPL season turned into a horror show for the Mumbai Indians who were expected to make the knock-out stages, They lost captain Sachin Tendulkar with injury before stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh was suspended after his on-field row with Sree Sreesanth. South African star Jean Paul Duminy has been brought in and big things are expected of Sanath Jayasuriya once paired up once more with fit-again Tendulkar. England hopeful Graham Napier will get the chance to prove his worth ahead of the World Twenty20.
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RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Owners: Emerging Media Group
Coach: Shane Warne
Captain: Shane Warne
Star player: Graeme Smith
Most expensive player: Mohammad Kaif – $675,000
Last year: 1st (Champions)
Odds: 13-2
The surprise package of 2008, the Royals finished top of the table and went on to reign supreme in the knock-out stages. Led on and off the pitch by Aussie legend Shane Warne, the defending champions have lost last season’s leading wicket taker Sohail Tanvir but have brought in Shaun Tait as a replacement, South Africa’s 20-over specialist Tyron Henderson and Morne Morkel are solid signings who could shine alongside South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, who will be keen to impress on home soil.
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