IPL 2025 - Ranking All Teams Based on Best Possible Playing XI
Author: Shimit Mahur
Updated At:
The 18th season of the Indian Premier League is about to begin and every franchise is hoping for a positive result. The IPL 2025 mega auctions took place in November. We will see some major changes in every squad, but the thrill and excitement of the league is expected to be much higher.
There are ten teams that are part of the league and they will define the new era of the Indian cricket. The franchises are currently in the process of finalising the best possible playing XI with the right combination of experienced and fresh faces of cricket.
However, in this article, we bring you the best possible playing XI for every franchise and we have also ranked each franchise for the upcoming season of the league. Keep an eye on the key players from every team who are expected to be part of the betting tips in every match prediction.
10) Lucknow Super Giants
Probable Playing XI
Aiden Markram, David Miller, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi
Lucknow Super Giants are ranked tenth on the list for multiple reasons. To start with, they have failed to hire the services of a full-time top order. They don’t have good options to finalize the top 3 who can start the game on a positive note. Another weakness of the team is their weak pace attack. The team lacks experienced pace attack and quality names. They have pacers who have been inconsistent and have failed to make an impact. Rishabh Pant will be leading the team and he will be under pressure to perform with a weaker middle order and top order.
9) Punjab Kings
Probable Playing XI
Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Josh Inglis, Prabsimran Singh, Azmatullah Omerzai, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal
Punjab Kings are ranked 9th in our list. They stunned everyone by only retaining two of their players from the previous edition. Punjab Kings are coming back in action with a completely new squad, and that might not work in favour of the team. They also lack backup players in the team. They have a strong playing XI, but if the first-choice players fail, they will have to rely on the back up options and domestic talent like Shashank Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Nehal Wadhera.
8) Delhi Capitals
Probable Playing XI
Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Sameer Rizvi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan
Delhi Capitals have never won an IPL title even after trying multiple captains and T20 stars from across the globe. This year, they have done the same thing during the IPL 2025 mega auctions. However, Delhi Capitals missed out on signing reliable all-rounder options. They have Axar Patel as the only all-rounder in the team and he will be under pressure to perform every time the team needs him to. They have a strong top order but the middle order needs to step up the game as the league proceeds in order to get positive results.
7) Rajasthan Royals
Probable Playing XI
Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande
Rajasthan Royals have done a good job in the recent seasons of the league. However, the team will be without their core unit as they have failed to retain some of the best players from the previous season. Like Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals also lack quality all-rounders. During IPL 2025, the Royals will mostly rely on Wanindu Hasaranga to do the job of an all-rounder. Nitish Rana is another option but he has been a failure in the past and can’t be trusted.
6) Gujarat Titans
Probable Playing XI
Sai Sudharsan, Sherfane Rutherford, Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan
Gujarat Titans is ranked 6th in our list but they have a strong combination of players. The team has quality all-rounders with Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, and Mahipal Lamror in the best possible playing XI. However, the team lacks dependable names in the pace unit. They have Mohammed Siraj as the only effective pacer but even he is joining the team for the first time and might take his own time to settle in. Kagiso Rabada has been a failure in the past and Prasid Krishna has struggled with injuries consistently.
5) Kolkata Knight Riders
Probable Playing XI
Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock (o) & Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell (o), Sunil Narine (o) & Ramandeep Singh, Anrich Nortje (o), Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora & Varun Chakravarthy
The defending champions - Kolkata Knight Riders come at number 5 in the list. Ajinkya Rahane will be the leading man in IPL 2025 for KKR but he has not produced results in the past. They also have a weak top order this year with only Venkatesh Iyer as the only reliable name. KKR will again depend on Sunil Narine to play the role of a top order batter and a spin all-rounder and considering his age, he might not be as effective as the management might expect him to be.
4) Sunrisers Hyderabad
Probable Playing XI
Abhinav Manohar, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Brydon Carse, Nitish Reddy, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa
At number 4 stands tall the runner-ups of the previous edition - Sunrisers Hyderabad. One of the biggest reasons them being at number 4 is the captaincy of Pat Cummins, who changed the playing style of the team in the previous edition. Hyderabad also has a strong top order and they have added Ishan Kisha to their team and that gives them an extra edge. The only problem Sunrisers Hyderabad might face will be in their spin attack as the team only has Adam Zampa as a full-time spinner.
3) Royal Challengers Bangalore
Probable Playing XI
Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Jitesh Sharma, Phil Salt, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shephard, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Yash Dayal
Royal Challengers Bangalore comes at number 3 as the team has a complete squad for IPL 2025. They have a new leader, strong top order, reliable pace attack, and talented spin bowling unit. However, Bangalore has not won a single IPL title even after having a balanced team in the past, and that makes the whole team unreliable. They also lack depth in their middle order with inconsistent Krunal Pandya as a weak link.
2) Mumbai Indians
Probable Playing XI
Tilak Varma, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ryan Rickelton, Mitchell Santner, Hardik Pandya, Will Jacks, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Trent Boult
At number 2 comes Mumbai Indians who are coming to play a new season after witnessing a nightmare in the previous season. However, a lot has changed in this one year. Their skipper Hardik Pandya has come out as a consistent performer in the white-ball cricket. They also have talented young players who have performed exceptionally well in T20 international cricket. With a combination of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, and Mitchell Santner in the team, Mumbai Indians might come out on top in the point table.
1) Chennai Super Kings
Probable Playing XI
Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Rachin Ravindra, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad
Chennai Super Kings have solved every void from the previous edition of the league. They have the strongest spin attack, which is required on the Indian pitches. Chennai also has the most deadly combination of all-rounders in the league with some of the most reliable top order in the league. Overall, if Chennai Super Kings are on a winning streak, it will be very tough for any opposition to stop them in the upcoming season of IPL. The only problem they might face is in their pace attack, but the team also have good back-up options for the later phase of the league.
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