After the conclusion of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, all 10 franchises have finalized their squads. While players like Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer grabbed the spotlight by breaking past records for the most expensive buys, some teams managed to strengthen themselves by picking talented players at lower prices. With the squads in place, the focus has now shifted to analyzing which team can field the strongest playing XI capable of winning the IPL title in the upcoming season. Initial assessments suggest that last season’s top-performing teams remain the strongest contenders.
Strongest and Weakest Teams
The reigning champions of IPL 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders, and finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad appear to have the most formidable playing XIs. Meanwhile, five-time champions Chennai Super Kings have also added players who can help them maintain dominance, especially at their home ground, Chepauk. On the other hand, the team led by the most expensive player, Rishabh Pant’s Lucknow Super Giants, appears to be one of the weakest. Other teams also have certain vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
Best Predicted Playing XIs for IPL 2025
Chennai Super Kings
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain)
- Devon Conway
- Rahul Tripathi
- Shivam Dube
- Deepak Hooda
- Ravindra Jadeja
- MS Dhoni (Wicketkeeper)
- Sam Curran
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Noor Ahmad/Khaleel Ahmed
- Matheesha Pathirana
Delhi Capitals
- KL Rahul
- Jake Fraser-McGurk
- Harry Brook
- Abhishek Porel (Wicketkeeper)
- Tristan Stubbs
- Ashutosh Sharma
- Axar Patel
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mitchell Starc
- T Natarajan
- Mukesh Kumar
Gujarat Titans
- Shubman Gill (Captain)
- Jos Buttler (Wicketkeeper)
- Sai Sudharsan
- Glenn Phillips
- Washington Sundar
- Rahul Tewatia
- Shahrukh Khan
- Rashid Khan
- Sai Kishore/Prasidh Krishna
- Kagiso Rabada
- Mohammed Siraj
Kolkata Knight Riders
- Sunil Narine
- Quinton de Kock (Wicketkeeper)
- Ajinkya Rahane
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Rinku Singh
- Andre Russell
- Ramandeep Singh
- Harshit Rana
- Vaibhav Arora
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Anrich Nortje
Lucknow Super Giants
- Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper)
- Mitchell Marsh
- Aiden Markram
- Nicholas Pooran
- David Miller
- Ayush Badoni
- Shahbaz Ahmed
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Avesh Khan
- Mohsin Khan
- Mayank Yadav
Mumbai Indians
- Hardik Pandya (Captain)
- Rohit Sharma
- Ryan Rickelton (Wicketkeeper)
- Tilak Varma
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Will Jacks
- Naman Dhir
- Deepak Chahar
- Allah Ghazanfar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Trent Boult
Punjab Kings
- Prabhsimran Singh
- Josh Inglis (Wicketkeeper)
- Shreyas Iyer
- Marcus Stoinis
- Glenn Maxwell
- Shashank Singh
- Nehal Wadhera/Yash Thakur
- Harpreet Brar
- Arshdeep Singh
- Marco Jansen
- Yuzvendra Chahal
Rajasthan Royals
- Sanju Samson (Captain-Wicketkeeper)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Nitish Rana
- Riyan Parag
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Dhruv Jurel
- Wanindu Hasaranga
- Maheesh Theekshana
- Jofra Archer
- Sandeep Sharma
- Akash Madhwal
Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Virat Kohli
- Phil Salt
- Rajat Patidar
- Liam Livingstone
- Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper)
- Krunal Pandya
- Tim David
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Suyash Sharma/Rasikh Salam Dar
- Josh Hazlewood
- Yash Dayal
Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Pat Cummins (Captain)
- Travis Head
- Abhishek Sharma
- Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper)
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Heinrich Klaasen
- Abhinav Manohar
- Harshal Patel
- Mohammed Shami
- Adam Zampa
- Rahul Chahar