IPL season preview

Skysports.com takes a look at the runners and riders for the 2011 Indian Premier League.

Skysports.com takes a look at the runners and riders for the 2011 Indian Premier League, which gets under way on Friday. With two new teams and a radical redistribution of players following the 2011 auction, this year's Indian Premier League has a fresh look to it. An array of star-studded talent will be on show once again, however there could be as few as three English cricketers playing a part in this year's showpiece. Well over 20 players from England initially entered into the auction, but just seven were signed up meaning the likes of Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott missed out on the lucrative tournament. Kevin Pietersen was due to compete for Deccan Chargers, however he misses out after recently undergoing hernia surgery. Others not deemed worthy of their price tags included Luke Wright, Matt Prior, Chris Tremlett, Ravi Bopara and Tim Bresnan. The lack of faith shown in the England stars available was brought home by the fact that Kolkata Knight Riders forked out $2.4million for the services of India's Gautam Gambhir. Pietersen was the most expensive English acquisition, fetching $650,000 from Deccan Chargers. But even that was nothing like the then-record $1,550,000 his signature demanded in 2009. Stuart Broad will miss out on the tournament after he also left the England World Cup camp early with a side injury. His compatriot Dimitri Mascarenhas would have been playing alongside him for King's XI Punjab, but he too has pulled out because of injury. Hampshire's Michael Lumb has been purchased by Deccan Chargers, who had paid $80,000 for him during the player auction. Eoin Morgan is the only player from England's ICC World Cup squad to have been signed during the auction and he will be heading out to India with something to prove following his 2010 IPL stint. Finally there is Owais Shah, who has proved to be a rare English success story in the short history of the IPL. He initially signed for Delhi Daredevils for $275,000 before the start of the second season. This year will see Shah represent Kochi Tuskers Kerala, one of two new IPL franchises for the fourth season, and he will play alongside VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum and Muttiah Muralitharan. Chennai Super Kings are the defending champions, will they reign again in 2011? Here, skysports.com takes a look at the runners and riders and tells you what to expect.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Key batsmen: AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Tillakaratne Dilshan
Key bowlers: Zaheer Khan, Dirk Nannes, Daniel Vettori
English players: None
Best: Runners-up, 2009
Last year: Third
Chances: Any team with De Villiers and Dilshan, whose stock rose as he finished top runscorer in the World Cup, will always be dangerous but a lack of experience could cost them.

Chennai Super Kings

Key batsmen: Suresh Raina, Mike Hussey, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Scott Styris, Dwayne Bravo
Key bowlers: Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus, Albie Morkel
English players: None
Best: Winners, 2010
Last year: Winners
Chances: Have retained the backbone of last year's winning squad, including captain Dhoni, whose presence will ensure strong Indian support. Batting depth should take them to the semi-finals at the very least.

Deccan Chargers

Key batsmen: Kumar Sangakkara, Cameron White, JP Duminy
Key bowlers: Ishant Sharma, Dale Steyn
English players: Michael Lumb
Best: Winners, 2009
Last year: Fourth
Chances: Have been hit hard by the withdrawal of Kevin Pietersen because of injury, exposing a possible lack of depth. Will rely heavily on Sri Lanka star Sangakkara and South Africa tearaway Steyn.

Delhi Daredevils

Key batsmen: Virender Sehwag, David Warner
Key bowlers: Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan, Roelof van der Merwe
English players: None
Best: Semi-finalists 2008, 2009
Last year: Fifth (did not progress)
Chances: Boast surely the most destructive opening partnership around in the shape of Sehwag and Warner, but could struggle if those two fail to fire, with not much strength in the middle order. Lack of spin options is also a worry.

Kings XI Punjab

Key batsmen: Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Adam Gilchrist
Key bowlers: Ryan Harris, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla
English players: None
Best: Semi-finalists 2008
Last year: Eighth, did not progress
Chances: Finished bottom last time out and have not gone all out to improve their squad with big names. Star man Gilchrist is past his peak, while England duo Stuart Broad and Dimitri Mascarenhas have both withdrawn because of injury. Could struggle again.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala

Key batsmen: Mahela Jayawardene, VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge
Key bowlers: Muttiah Muralitharan, Shantha Sreesanth, RP Singh
English players: Owais Shah
Best: N/A
Last year: N/A
Chances: The new boys spent big on foreigners, including Sri Lankan stars Jayawardene and Muralitharan, although they may be lacking a strong Indian core. Not many will fancy facing an attack including Muralitharan and local boy Sreesanth, so they will have their eyes on the semi-finals.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Key batsmen: Gautam Gambhir, Eoin Morgan, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Brad Haddin
Key bowlers: Brett Lee, Shakib Al Hasan
English players: Eoin Morgan
Best: Sixth 2008, 2010
Last year: Sixth (did not progress)
Chances: The IPL's perennial under-achievers appear to have invested wisely, with stars like Gambhir and Kallis augmented by shrewd buys in Morgan and Shakib. With Lee on fire following the World Cup, could be an outside bet for a surprise final place.

Mumbai Indians

Key batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Andrew Symonds
Key bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Munaf Patel, James Franklin
English players: None
Best: Runners-up, 2010
Last year: Runners-up
Chances: Last year's runners-up have the potential to be fearsome this time, with the likes of Tendulkar, Pollard and Symonds in their team. With World Cup finalists Harbhajan and Malinga also in their side, they could go one better than last year - as long as Symonds and Harbhajan play nice.

Pune Warriors

Key batsmen: Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Graeme Smith, Jesse Ryder
Key bowlers: Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Wayne Parnell
English players: None
Best: N/A
Last year: N/A
Chances: Having recruited Yuvraj, Ryder and Smith, the Warriors certainly will not lack power in their debut season. Parnell is also a shrewd acquisition, but with Angelo Mathews ruled out through injury, they may lack the nous and all-round quality to reach the semi-finals.

Rajasthan Royals

Key batsmen: Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson
Key bowlers: Shane Warne, Johan Botha, Shaun Tait
English players: Paul Collingwood
Best: Winners 2008
Last year: Seventh (did not progress)
Chances: Taylor could be one of the stars of the tournament, but, with Warne's powers waning and Collingwood almost certain to miss the whole tournament through injury, the Royals will need Watson to shine with both bat and ball to have a chance of progressing.