Cricket betting tips: Indian Premier League outright and specials preview
Richard Mann's Indian Premier League betting preview features four bets, including a top tournament batsman pick at 33/1.
Cricket tips: Indian Premier League
2pts Kolkata Knight Riders to win the Indian Premier League at 10/1 (BetVictor, Betfred)
2pts Rajasthan Royals to win the Indian Premier League at 8/1 (General)
2pts Devon Conway top Chennai Super Kings batsman at 11/4 (General)
1pt Venkatesh Iyer top Indian Premier League tournament batsman at 33/1 (General)
Following the well-publicised mega auction, it’s all change ahead of IPL 2022 and KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS rate the standout bet in the outright market at 10/1.
For the early part of the 2021 campaign, KKR were a side high on potential and bustling with brawn, yet somehow unable to put it all together and produce the performances their richly talented squad was clearly capable of.
In a strange way, the postponement of the competition in the spring due to spiralling Covid-19 infections in India, and its resumption in the UAE in the autumn, worked in KKR’s favour. When the tournament did return, head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Eoin Morgan announced a clean slate and demanded all-out attack – empowering the players who responded with gusto.
The change was immediate as KKR went from competition strugglers to title contenders in the space of a few weeks, winning four games on the bounce to set up a final with Chennai Super Kings which they eventually lost by 27 runs.
Morgan leaves legacy with cavalier Knight Riders
Despite defeat in the final, it was a huge step forward for the two-time IPL winners and this year’s squad – though without Morgan – has the Irishman’s imprint all over it. Ahead of the auction, McCullum must have agonised over whether to keep faith with his good friend whose batting is on the wane, but whose captaincy remains peerless. Still, McCullum's philosophy on the game doesn’t differ much from Morgan’s and the KKR approach will remain the same.
Former Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer was bought for big money at the auction and immediately made captain, and his role will be made easier by having Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins to call upon for advice, along with KKR stalwarts Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Sam Billings, such a fine player of spin, is a smart recruit, too.
Russell can be hard to work out, but few in world cricket hit the ball as hard and his potential is immense. In this side, one which has so many bases covered, he could possibly be used as something of a luxury player, with his batting given licence to attack, and that might make him all the more dangerous.
Along with Russell, Iyer, Billings and Narine, the batting also features the classy Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer. Mohammad Nabi and Aaron Finch are also in the squad, with the latter’s leadership qualities another boost behind the scenes.
As for the bowling, Cummins and Umesh Yadav will provide pace, though Tim Southee enjoyed a fine T20 World Cup in the UAE and could play a big role. KKR certainly have options, though their spin pairing of Narine and Varun Chakravarthy will be the aces in the pack and ensure they have an attack for all conditions.
Perhaps death bowling might be an issue if Cummins is used primarily with the new ball, but Narine has filled that role with success in the past and I’m struggling to see too many negatives with KKR this year.
A strategy built around going all guns blazing will put some off, but T20 cricket is becoming more and more a game decided by the boundary count, and KKR have a line-up capable of outmuscling any side in the competition.
Iyer the best bet in top batsman market
I certainly expect them to enjoy a good season, so 10/1 appeals as a spot of value, as does the 33/1 for KKR’s dashing opening batsman VENKATESH IYER in the top tournament runscorer market.
Iyer is a player still making his way, but Morgan described him as a ‘serious batsman’ last year in a breakthrough season that saw him make 370 runs in 10 matches. The best is yet to come, as recent international honours indicate, and if KKR are to go well again, Iyer is sure to be integral to any success.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings are always hard to ignore and if the four-time winners make it to the play-offs again, they’ll surely be a tough nut to crack.
Managing to keep the likes of MS Dhoni, Ravi Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dwayne Bravo together means the core of their 2021 title-winning side remains, but the bowling looks weaker for Josh Hazlewood’s departure to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
CSK have always relied on an overseas paceman to spearhead their attack and Adam Milne has big boots to fill if he’s able to stay fit for the duration of the tournament.
Cool Conway to take Chennai by storm
Faf du Plessis is another big loss, but DEVON CONWAY is a solid replacement and in what looks a match with Gaikwad, I’ll take the Kiwi to finish the season as CSK’s leading runscorer.
I’m a huge fan of Gaikwad, who did these pages a big favour last season, but the cat is rather out of the bag now, and if anything, I think the betting has gone the other way in regards to him.
The value he represented last year has certainly gone and he looks too short at 6/4 when Conway – a proven international performer – is freely available at 11/4.
The New Zealand star was 7/2 in a place earlier in the week, but I’m still happy to get involved at 11/4 in the hope he will be tasked with a similar role to the one the likes of Mike Hussey, Shane Watson and du Plessis performed so well for CSK in years gone by.
Head coach Stephen Fleming has always liked to have a strong Indian core to his teams, but banking on an overseas opening batsman with international pedigree, along with a fast bowler with similar credentials, has always been a big part of the CSK success story and I expect Conway to fit in perfectly.
The top tournament bowler market wasn’t one I could find a strong angle in, though I was surprised to see so few firms price up Punjab Kings seamer Arshdeep Singh, who picked up 18 wickets last season and could be set for another good campaign. Betway have chalked him at 22/1, but that’s not big enough to be of serious interest.
I have a hunch that Narine might do plenty of bowling at the death for KKR and that would bring him into calculations, but spinners rarely win this market. Hazlewood is another runner, though his new-ball expertise might limit his overs at the death.
All-round Royals worth the risk
Nothing really stands out elsewhere, but I do want to add RAJASTHAN ROYALS to my outright staking plan at 8/1.
I still think KKR represent the best value at this stage, but the Royals exceeded my expectations last term and I think they fared better than most at the auction.
Main man is back in his habitat. 💗#RoyalsFamily | #TATAIPL2022 pic.twitter.com/oVwHYRrymw
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 23, 2022
The retention of Jos Buttler, the best white-ball batsman in the world, was obviously good business, but Yashasvi Jaiswal and new signing Devdutt Padikkal are two of the most exciting young batsmen in the competition. Throw Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer and Rassie van der Dussen into the mix and the batting looks very strong – and flexible.
The well-balanced bowling might well trump the batting, though, and I’m really excited to see Ravi Ashwin and Yuvi Chahal operating in tandem. Chahal carried Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowling for years and the Royals now have two world-class, Indian spinners who will pose different challenges to the opposition.
Trent Boult – one of the heroes of Mumbai Indians' 2020 title-winning side – will take the new ball, while Prasidh Krishna’s pace and bounce offers a point of difference.
All in all, this is an excellent squad with an attack capable both of restricting and taking wickets, while the batting is laced with potential match-winners.
The Royals have all the ingredients to go deep in the competition and though berthed in the same group as KKR, I see no reason why both won’t progress to the latter stages.
Also in Group A are Delhi Capitals, but they fared badly at the auction – losing much of their strong Indian core – and one wonders whether this Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack will be found wanting following Boult’s departure and Jofra Archer’s unavailability this season.
Across in Group B, I’ve already covered CSK who were still on my shortlist despite having a few too many question marks against them than is ideal. I’d still take them over Punjab Kings who could field a dynamic top four featuring Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, but whose bowling looks light.
Minus the aforementioned Chahal, the same comment applies to RCB who will be desperate for Glenn Maxwell to enjoy another fruitful campaign, something that will be crucial if Virat Kohli isn’t able to improve on last season's strike-rate.
Following such a dramatic mega auction, there was always going to be lots of unknowns heading into the new season, but both KKR and the Royals appear to have made big improvements to their already strong squads, and they make easily the most appeal at the current prices.
Published at 1820 GMT on 24/03/22
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