Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL for the first time in a decade last year, when they lifted the trophy after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. Here's who the favourites are to win the tournament this year.
This year's competition will start this Saturday (March 22), with the reigning champions taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in front of a home crowd at Eden Gardens. This year is a fresh start for KKR, who let go of their title-winning captain ahead of this year's auction, and gave the armband to Anjinkya Rahane.
They will face some strong competition in their bid to retain the title, with many teams having undergone a revamp in the mega-auction.
IPL 2025: Who are the leading contenders to win this year's competition?
The bookies have KKR backed at 8/1 on Betway to retain their title. However, that puts them unfavoured in terms of odds compared to Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are the bookies' favourite in terms of odds at 9/2 on Betway, and Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians who are both backed at 9/2.
"Between the IPL 2025 auction and now, Punjab Kings' squad has grown in stature..."
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) March 13, 2025
Punjab have not qualified for the playoffs in the last 11 seasons but it would be surprising if that doesn't change this year, writes @CoverDrivenFor4
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The uncertainty around KKR likely has a lot to do with their decision to release Shreyas Iyer, while the core of their side remains the same. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will continue to feature in their top seven, with Rinku Singh also retained. However, Mumbai Indians and CSK are likely favoured by the bookies due to their strong picks at the auction. MI paired Jasprit Bumrah with Trent Boult with Deepak Chahar also a strong buy. CSK picked up Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin and Devon Conway, with Sam Curran also set to rejoin Dhoni's men.
IPL 2025: Who will win this year's competition?
The bookies' favourite to win the title are Sunrisers Hyderabad, following their final-reaching campaign last year. Pat Cummins will once again lead the side, who once again boast and explosive opening partnership in Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. However, a thinner looking middle order and some untested overseas picks for their fourth spot might make them an unpredictable banker.
A smart pick might be Punjab Kings, who are backed at 11/1 on Betway. While they have consistently failed to make the playoffs, Punjab completely reset in this year's auction, going in with the highest purse of any franchise. With Ricky Ponting as their new head coach, they picked up several Australia players, including Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis, while also snapping up Iyer. They also have India's top two T20I wicket-takers in Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal, while they also have South Africa quick Marco Jansen. With all the bases covered, they have a strong case to be contenders throughout the tournament.
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