Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2020 Report Card: Best & Worst Teams + Possible Changes | Looking at the best and worst teams so far in IPL 2020, and possible mid-season changes

It’s been three weeks since the Indian Premier League 2020 kicked off in the United Arab Emirates, and the strengths and weaknesses of all eight franchises are here to see. While some teams have impressed everyone thanks to optimal use of resources, there are a couple of teams that are yet to figure out their next XIs and have been below-par tactically.

While there is a familiar name of Mumbai Indians, who are currently first, Delhi Capitals have continued on their great form last season and are just behind in the standings. The ‘King’ teams are in the latter half of the points table, as Kings XI Punjab have just a solitary win in seven games while the Chennai Super Kings have only won a couple of them so far. The Rajasthan Royals were winless in four matches since winning the first two games, before Tewatia and Riyan pulled off an SRH heist. Kolkata Knight Riders and the high-performing Royals Challengers Bangalore round out the current top four, with Sunrisers Hyderabad on the edge with six points.

In this article, we look at what changes each of the eight teams can consider making, what alternatives are available on the bench and also what tactical changes can be done. 

Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have fielded a perfect XI

Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, the teams who occupy the top two spots, have the most well settled playing XIs and also have strong bench strength. While the defending champions wouldn’t voluntarily change their line-up, they have equally strong alternatives on the bench available.

There are spots where they can consider rotation as Nathan Coulter-Nile can come in for Trent Boult or James Pattinson to give rest to one of the overseas fast bowlers. Quinton de Kock has looked in good touch in the the last three games with 67, 23 and 53 after starting the tournament with just 47 runs in four matches. However, if the Protea batsman does not convert his starts, MI have the option of giving Ishan Kishan the gloves and bringing in Chris Lynn to open the innings. But, given de Kock’s incredible ability, this seems unlikely.

Just like the Mumbai Indians, the Capitals are all also on a high this season with five wins in seven games. In spite of a brief injury scare to R Ashwin and Amit Mishra being ruled out of the tournament, the Capitals have the bench strength to cope with Axar Patel, the second spinner, being one of the most economical bowlers in the tournament.

Rajasthan Royals

One team which has made all changes which they can until now is the Rajasthan Royals. Two matches ago against the Delhi Capitals, the Royals brought in Andrew Tye and Varun Aaron for Tom Curran and Ankit Rajpoot, which didn’t really end well as Tye conceded 50 runs in 4 overs and just picked a solitary wicket for his team.

The addition of Ben Stokes in the XI, who has returned post his quarantine period, is welcomed by the franchise as the middle order, apart from the incredible Rahul Tewatia, has looked below par in most of the matches. Another change that RR might consider is including Manan Vohra in the XI to open the batting along with Buttler as the opening combination has been an issue so far.

A change or two for the following teams

Three teams who are separated by four points are the high-performing RCB, followed by KKR and SRH.

For the Royal Challengers Bangalore, a recent change they made was bringing Chris Morris into the XI. His return from injury has been mighty successful, with 3/19 vs CSK and 2/17 vs KKR. Washington has been absolutely outstanding, as has Yuzvendra Chahal, which provides the seamers with a solid platform to work off in the death overs.

And with Kohli and de Villiers producing the goods, along with the promising form of Padikkal and Finch, RCB seem to have struck their ideal combination. Their fans will be hoping this continues, as they seek their first IPL Title.

The Sunrisers have been dealt with a huge blow as Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ruled out of the tournament due to injury. SRH have an option of playing Jason Holder as a pacer and include Shahbaz Nadeem instead of Siddharth Kaul or Sandeep Sharma. Should the Sunrisers want more bowling depth, they can consider dropping Kane Williamson who plays in an unusual position as finisher (although he’s doing well). Nabi, Fabian Allen or Holder could add some good value with bat and ball, should SRH go that way.

Abdul Samad has great power hitting skills against spinners and should be deployed in the middle order to tackle the spinners of the opposition which will ameliorate the run rate in the 7-16 overs phase.

The Knight Riders who are currently at the 4th position should stick with their ploy of playing Narine as a floater against spinners as he added just 27 runs in 4 innings as an opener. KKR can include Kuldeep as a spinner in the latter half of the tournament and have recently introduced Prasidh Krishna, who has made a good start to his tournament.

KXIP and CSK need their best combinations… fast.

The two teams for which problems galore exist are the Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab.

They have contrasting styles so far with CSK making only three changes to their line-up while the Kings XI have used 18 players so far. Though the constant chopping and changing hasn’t benefited the KL Rahul led side, they can make a few changes and settle on that.

Chris Gayle, if fit can be included in Maxwell’s place who has been in poor form so far and open the innings with KL Rahul. Alternatively, Rahul can move down the order at 3 or 4 as his strike rate has been poor in the powerplay phase. If not, then Rahul opens but must place more trust in his middle order and strike at a faster rate. Sarfaraz Khan can be re-included in place of Prabhsimran, as Sarfaraz can play the role of a finisher at 5.

In spite of Warner and Bairstow’s carnage, left arm pacer Arshdeep was economical and KXIP should stick with and include Jordan in place of Cottrell as the former has a better economy rate as a death bowler in the past 12 months.

On the other hand, CSK have finally made some changes, with the out-of-touch Kedar Jadhav dropped for rookie N Jagadeesan. They are yet to play Imran Tahir, but with Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo providing key value at the death with the ball, CSK could stick with their bowling combination. However, it’s their batting – particularly the middle – which has to fire. All eyes on Dhoni and Rayudu as CSK look to resurrect their season.

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.