IPL 2019: Analysing each team's strengths and weaknesses 

The IPL Auction was held at Jaipur on 18th December. Each team had released its retention list earlier this month.

Carlos Braithwaite, Mohammed Shami, and Axar Patel were some of the unexpected releases. Axar Patel and Sarfaraz Khan were the only two players who were retained in the previous season but were dropped this time.

The banned duo of Steve Smith and David Warner were retained by Rajsthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. Mandeep Singh was traded for Marcus Stoinis while Shikar Dhawan was traded for Abhishek Singh, Vijay Shankar, and Shahbaz Nadeem.

Each team targetted a few players to rectify the weaknesses which were there in the team before auctions. Teams after tomorrow look equally strong and set for the IPL 2019. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of each team:

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals will be boosted by the return of Steve Smith

Strengths: The team will be boosted by the return of their skipper and best batsman Steve Smith, whose one-year long suspension from international cricket would have ended by that time.

The team has a good batting order with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, and Ben Stokes as a finisher. Jos Buttler was one of the top batsmen in the previous season. This provides a healthy competition among the batsmen.

They have some good spinners as well including Krishnappa Gowtham, Ish Sodhi and Shreyas Gopal.

Weaknesses: The form of Ajinkya Rahane might be a concern for the team. He has not been able to get his form back in T-20 cricket since the past one year, due to which he has been dropped from the team very frequently.

The fast bowling department also looks a bit fragile. There is no in-form fast bowler in the team other than Jofra Archer. Jaydev Unadkat too will be in pressure to perform after a disappointing season last year.

Kings XI Punjab

After a disappointing last season, the team would be looking to perform better this time.

Strengths: The team has an experienced captain in Ravichandran Ashwin. He, along with Mujeeb Ur Rahman will play a crucial role in the spin bowling.

The batting lineup also looks totally settled up, with the likes of Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, and Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran, whom they bought during the auctions. KL Rahul and Chris Gayle were the heroes of the previous season for KXIP. Rahul had 659 runs while Gayle had 368 runs.

The biggest boost to the team will be the addition of Sam Curran, the hero for England during India's tour over there.

Weaknesses: Andrew Tye and Moises Henriques, the two back-up all rounders might not be available because Australia will probably not allow their main players to play the second half of IPL due to the world cup.

The form of Karun Nair and David Miller and Sarfaraz Khan has also been a matter of concern which had made the middle order look fragile.

A big concern for the team will be the availability of experienced campaigners like Ashwin and Gayle given their national duties this year.

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals decided to retain Ricky Ponting as the coach and Shreyas Iyer as Captain.

Strengths: The team has an experienced coach in Ricky Ponting. Delhi Capitals will be boosted given the availability of Shikhar Dhawan, who was traded from SRH at the cost of Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Singh, and Shahbaz Nadeem.

The batting department looks solid, with Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw at the top, with Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant to follow. The 4 have been in sensational form in T-20 cricket.

The team also have a bulk of good all-rounders in Chris Morris, Hanuma Vihari and Axar Patel. The fast bowling department too looks settled, with the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris and Trent Boult.

Weaknesses: The team lacks a good T-20 Indian bowler. Ishant Sharma is their only T-20 bowler, but he too has been a bit shaky in this format of the game.

The availability of the foreign players like Trent Boult and Colin Munro would be doubtful after the first half of IPL.

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR retained the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Sunil Narine.

Strengths: It looks like the team has got all the bases covered. From the explosive openers in Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine to the settled middle order due to Shubhman Gill, Robin Uthappa, and Dinesh Karthik, the team has one of the strongest batting line-ups in IPL 2019.

Andre Russel and Carlos Braithwaite are dangerous all-rounders. The team also has 3 young fast bowlers in Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Prasidh Krishna. Kamlesh did not play the previous season, but the other 2 were fantastic with their bowling.

The spin trio of Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, and Sunil Narine will be dangerous against any team.

Weaknesses: The fast bowling department is not experienced. Prasidh Krishna and Shiwam Mavi are young and the team does not have anyone experienced bowler to guide them.

With Chris Lynn not available for the second half of the tournament, KKR will have to bank on Joe Denly who has had a good run in the Big Bash League.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The team will be boosted by the return of David Warner.

Strengths: The team will be boosted by the return of their star campaigner David Warner. He, along with Martin Guptill or Johny Bairstow might open the batting.

The team has retained its core bowling unit, which was in top form in the last season. That department includes the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed in fast bowling and Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan in the spin bowling. All these players were responsible for SRH getting into final last season and are in fabulous form again.

Not to be left behind, the batting will have the likes of David Warner and Kane Williamson. Kane was the orange cap holder in the previous season.

Weaknesses: The batting order looks fragile, with Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey and Wriddhiman Saha struggling to get their form for the past few months.

Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, and David Warner won't be available after the 1st half of the IPL, and this is the biggest concern. They have a lot of foreign batsmen, but there are no reserves for them. In their absence, it will be interesting to see who will lead the batting department.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB will be looking to win the trophy this time.

Strengths: RCB has the best in the business in likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the batting unit. The two have been consistent for the team since the past few years. Shimron Hetmyer and Heinrich Klassen are two other big batting names in the team.

They also have a great bowling unit with the in form Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Yuzuvendra Chahal. The young uncapped Shivam Dubey was a big addition and he will be a player to watch out for.

The entry of Marcus Stoinis in the team will also be a big gain for the Royal Challengers. The entry provides RCB with a host of good all-rounders, including Pawan Negi, Moeen Ali and Colin-de Grandhomme.

Weaknesses: Consistency has always been a big concern for the team. For instance, Washington Sunder was phenomenal with Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, but his performance declined with RCB.

The case has been the same for many other players as well. For RCB to win the season, the players will need to find consistency and the franchise needs to find a way to solve this problem.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians retained a strong core team for IPL 2019.

Strengths: The team has a very strong batting unit with the likes of skipper Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, and Ishan Kishan.

The team also has a bulk of some of the best all-rounders, which include Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, and Kieron Pollard.

Not to be left behind, the bowling department also has the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mayank Markande (One of the emerging stars of the previous season).

Weaknesses: Like RCB, Mumbai Indians have also lacked consistency in the previous season which cost them their title. Mayank Markande showed an initial spark but was taken for runs in the second half of the season. The same was the case with Ishan Kishan, Pollard and Mitchell McClenaghan.

No player other than Rohit has been consistent in the batting line-up. Yuvraj Singh's form will also be a concern.

Chennai Super Kings

Age factor might be a concern for CSK this time.

Strengths: The defending champions retained 22 players, most by any team this season. Their plan is clear, retain the core and win again. This might be a good strategy as well.

The team has a good mixture of both young and experienced players. Ambati Rayadu, Suresh Raina, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be the backbone of the batting unit.

The bowling department will be in the trusted hands of Dayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, and Lungi Ngidi and Mohit Sharma. The team will also be boosted by the return of Mitchell Santner, who will share spin duties with Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir.

Weaknesses: The team was underestimated last season due to aging players but proved the critics wrong. However, the age factor might haunt the team this season.

The team looks very strong on paper and has got all the bases covered. Due to this, the yellow-army will again start as favorites in next season.