IPL Cricket Trading Preview 2018
The greatest T20 tournament in the world is again upon us and we thought we would give you a guide to trading it!
If you have not already read our brilliant strategy articles on trading cricket and the IPL then you really should. There is great advice in them from the greatest trading minds on Betfair. If followed correctly these will make you money for years to come, find them here:
https://betfairtradingcommunity.com/en/blog/trading-ipl-cricket
https://betfairtradingcommunity.com/en/blog/preparing-trade-part-2-cricket-richard-futter
https://betfairtradingcommunity.com/en/blog/7-steps-master-cricket-scalping-trading-betfair
Onto this year's IPL Preview:
As we have already covered how to trade cricket in depth in the articles above I will not repeat that and will give some short previews of this year's teams instead.
The huge news this year is the return of the Chennai Super Kings, Chennai have been suspended for the past two years but have never not made the semi-finals in the 8 years they were in the IPL. They made the final 6/8 seasons and won it twice. That is an incredible record of success and as such their price of 8.0 looks big to me. They have an ageing squad but one with huge experience at T20 level, the likes of - Dhoni, Du Plessis, Raina, Bravo, Jadeja, Watson, Harbajan and Tahir to name a few. With the amount of quality spin bowling in their ranks they will be very tough to beat in Chennai and for a team with such a huge record of success in the IPL (who will be hungry to bounce back after the bang) they are my value pick here!
Delhi Daredevils - Never really been a prominent side in the IPL despite their firepower and usual star names. With Roy, Munro and Maxwell being steadied by the ever dependable Gautam Gambhir (who is a huge signing for a powerful batting order that needs some stability) they have a good chance of causing some upsets this year. The bowling is their weaker wing by far but don't count them out chasing a high total if the bowlers fail.
Kings XI Punjab - Big overhaul here to try to freshen up a struggling team. They have gone for homegrown players like Rahul, Ashwin, Singh and Nair to try and revitalise the franchise but also have the firepower of Gayle and Finch to call upon. Bowling again looks a concern beyond Ashwin.
Kolkata Knight Riders - Strangely only signed 19 of a total 25 players available this year, may be a concern that the owners are not going all out to try and win it. Narine is available at the moment and his suspect action is still courting controversy, Starc is a big loss though but if anyone can fill a big bowling void it is Narine. Plenty of firepower batting and lots of spin bowling, they could be a dark horse here and defend some lower totals.
Mumbai Indians - Second favourites in the market but some serious questions need to be asked about the heirarchy's decisions in the off-season. Letting Jos Buttler go made little sense and the lack of specialist spin options will hurt. Defending champions and that may be the reason for the market optimism but they will be relying on some big performances from some lesser known players this year.
Rajasthan Royals - Another who missed two years but have come back with a bang signing Stokes and Unadkat (the two most expensive players). However, this has come at a cost, they have no obvious specialist spinner. In a game where spin bowling is seen as an absolute key this is a glaring omission and is probably why they are the least favoured team in this years competition.
Royal Challengers Bangalore - The favourites this year and with a really balanced line up it is not hard to see why. Kohli and De Villiers will be the heads of a strong batting line up and with plenty of spin options to go along with quality quicker bowlers like Woakes and Coulter-Nile it would not be a suprise to see them win it all.
Sunrisers Hyderabad - With Warner now out it is tough to support this batting line up, there is very little power hitting and in a format where that is crucial then this could be costly. This team has a very subcontinent feel to it and has players who will be at home in such conditions. If they can find some batting from Pathan and Hooda they could be a real threat.
So that is my summary of the teams and the key notes from the offseason. Use our guides posted above to trade the IPL and you should make plenty of dosh!
Back Chennai Super Kings at 8.0 odds
