Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey

Will we see a brand new champion in IPL 2021? | Will Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals or Punjab Kings win IPL 2021?

If you look at the history of the toughest T20 league in the world, then barring 3 current IPL teams, every other team in the current lot has won the tournament at least once. There have been 13 seasons of the IPL and among the eight teams, two have won the trophy eight times (5- MI and 3- CSK) between them. Kolkata Knight Riders have won two, while Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals each have one title to their name. We haven’t got a new champion since Sunrisers’ title triumph in 2016.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab are the ones without any title. We’ll analyse all three teams and figure out which team has the potential to emerge out as the new winner of the IPL.

Punjab Kings

The newly named side, Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab), with a big purse, made a lot of noise in the IPL 2021 Auction. They had some expensive buys in the form of two Australian quicks – Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, and also the uncapped Indian batsman Shahrukh Khan.

However, out of the two Aussie quicks, one may not even be the first-choice option for the team. Punjab’s strength has been their strong batting group. The top 5 of this team is one of the most dangerous among all teams. The likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan, and Nicholas Pooran are all capable of turning the match on their own.  The addition of Malan is an interesting one as if they want to rest Gayle then Malan comes in his place at 3 or even a Moises Henriques, who has prior experience of playing at 3 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Also for the lower order hitting PBKS have 3 good Indian options in Mandeep Singh, Deepak Hooda, and Sarfaraz Khan. The batting group will keep the opposition bowlers on their toes.

While their batting is their outright strength, the bowling department will be their biggest worry for the 14th edition of the tournament. Apart from Mohammad Shami and Chris Jordan, the bowling lacks experience which might leave them exposed once again. One can see a lot of potential in Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, and Arshdeep Singh, but there’s a lack of experience to go along with that.

With KL Rahul as the captain and their best player, the team would be dependent on Shami, Mayank, Gayle, Pooran, and Jhye Richardson to have a successful campaign.  The Team also lacks good all-rounders, which is again a defining area.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The search for silverware is on for RCB in the 14th edition of the IPL as well. They have made some structural changes for the upcoming IPL in the hope that they can go the distance this year.

RCB made some exciting inclusions in the squad for the upcoming season with Glenn Maxwell being much-talked-about. RCB acquired the services of the Aussie power-hitter for a massive 14.25 crore, while they also bought New Zealand’s all-rounder Kyle Jamieson for a whopping 15 crores. Daniel Christian, Mohammed Azharuddeen, and KS Bharat are the other players who might help RCB to overcome the ghosts of the past.

The overseas combination should see Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, and Kyle Jamieson playing a major role in the team. The top 4 looks solid with Kohli, Padikkal, ABD, and Maxwell playing the role of the floater. However, it is the lower middle-order that is a problem area for RCB. If the top 4 are bundled out for low scores, then RCB could be in a dangerous situation. The lack of good Indian batting options is also an area of concern. Yuzvendra Chahal-led spin department will happily play most of the IPL matches this season at the slow-turning tracks of Ahmedabad and Chennai.

The Play Bold army has a fresh fast bowling attack with some exciting young pacers like Jamieson, Mohammed Siraj, and Navdeep Saini. However, the combination lacks experience. Jamieson has made a name for himself in the New Zealand team but his performances in T20Is have been questionable with an economy of 9.80. But as RCB is going to play five of their league games on a seaming track (Kolkata), Jamieson certainly will enjoy bowling on that kind of track. RCB has some depth in their pace attack this time with Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel, and Kane Richardson, but it still looks rusty in many ways without any solid leader of the pack. Indeed, death bowling is still the team’s weakest link.

How Virat will handle his overseas resources will decide the fate of RCB in the IPL 2021.

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals has been the most improved T20 unit since 2018. Undoubtedly, the Capitals has been one of the consistent sides in the IPL in recent times since the franchise rebranded itself ahead of the 2019 season. DC made it to the playoffs in the last two editions of the cash-rich league, including the final in IPL 2020. Unfortunately, DC will be missing their skipper Shreyas Iyer due to a shoulder injury. Rishabh Pant has been announced as the captain of DC for IPL 2021. The franchise has once again successfully formed a strong squad with backup options available in each department.

The sheer quality of Indian players in the squad is the biggest strength of the runner-ups of the last season. Especially their batting department is full of big household names like Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, and captain Rishabh Pant. Most of these players are in good touch with the bat which certainly will be helpful in DC’s hunt for their first title.

The inclusion of big names like Sam Billings and Steve Smith provides further depth to the Delhi Capitals’ batting. Their spin and fast bowling attack is equally potent and gives the opposition batsmen a run for their money.

The captaincy of Shreyas Iyer will be sorely missed this year since Rishabh Pant will have big shoes to fill. The batting line-up also lacks credible finishers barring the in-form skipper Pant and if he does fail to finish the innings, the onus will be on the likes of Stoinis, Hetmyer, and Axar to end the innings on a high.

Conclusion:

Of all the 3 teams, Delhi Capitals, even in the absence of their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer, looks like a complete T20 unit. And we believe they’ve a better chance to emerge as the new winners of the IPL than the other two franchises. 

Written by Vaibhav Tripathi. Follow Vaibhav on Twitter today.