sportz:ipl teams

• Ten teams are geared up as the for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Twenty20 league enters a new era with the addition of two new teams. This is how the ten teams shape up for the league:
  
  
  
  
  Kolkata Knight Riders: They fared badly in the previous three years and look formidable on paper this time. They had the biggest catch in Gautam Gambhir, who will be leading the side. Experienced Jacques Kallis, belligerent hitters like Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, the Netherland's World Cup star Ryan ten Doeschate, fit-again Brett Lee, Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan add to the team's explosive combination. (Text courtesy: IANS)
  
  
• Chennai Super Kings: The core of the defending champions remains in World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel being retained. They also bought back Ravichandran Ashwin, Doug Bollinger and Subramaniam Badrinath within their limited resources after paying the top guns. They have also got back dependable Michael Hussey and acquired West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. They made a smart last-minute move by signing up the World Cup's second leading bowler, New Zealand paceman Tim Southee, who took 18 wickets in the premier event.
  
  
   
• Rajasthan Royals: Enigmatic Shane Warne, who transformed an energetic bunch into champions in the inaugural year, will again hold the reins of Rajasthan Royals. They have two devastating batsmen in Ross Taylor and Shane Watson while Johan Botha and Shaun Tait will light up the bowling attack. Warne has again put on his bet on Indian talent and many members of the Rajasthan's Ranji Trophy winning side find a place.
  
  New pace sensation Deepak Chahar and slow left-arm spinner Ashok Menaria will be closely watched. Ajinkya Rahane, Sumit Narwal, Pankaj Singh, Siddharth Trivedi and Pinal Shah will all get an opportunity to prove themselves. They have two old war horses in Paul Collingwood and Rahul Dravid and a domestic veteran in Aakash Chopra.
  
  
• Sahara Pune Warriors: One of the two new entrants in the league, they have the firepower to turn the tables. Led by Yuvraj Singh, the team has the likes of Graeme Smith, Jesse Ryder, Nathan McCullum, Angelo Mathews, Jerome Taylor and Ashish Nehra. Strokemakers Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa and will add teeth to the batting.
  
  
• Kochi Tuskers: Mahela Jayawerdene will captain Kochi Tuskers. Muttiah Muraliatharan and Brendon McCullum are their prized catches besides Thisara Perera, Australian leg-spinner Steven Smith, Brad Hodge and local boy S. Sreesanth. Proven IPL perfomers like Rudra Pratap Singh and R. Vinay Kumar will add to their strength.
  
  
• Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard and Lasith Malinga have been retained by Mumbai Indians. They have exciting all-rounders in Moises Henriques and James Franklin, in form Munaf Patel, classy Rohit Sharma and big hitter Andrew Symonds, among others.
  
  
• Royal Challengers Bangalore: The new-look team will be led by Daniel Vettori. Explosive opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ab de Villiers, Zaheer khan, Virat Kohli, Dirk Nannes and Saurabh Tiwary, Cheteswar Pujara and Johan van der Wath make them a formidable outfit.
  
  
• Kings XI Punjab: Former Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist, who led the Hyderabad team to triumph in 2009 in South Africa, is in charge of Kings XI Punjab. Reliable Shaun Marsh, David Hussey and Dinesh Karthik will be the batting mainstay. All-rounder Abhishek Nayar, pacer Praveen Kumar and leggie Piyush Chawla will add solidity in the bowling department.
  
  
• Delhi Daredevils: Their biggest draw has been Virender Sehwag. Irfan Pathan will look to make a strong comeback while foreign buys like Roelof van der Merwe, David Warner, Travis Birt, Aaron Finch and Colin Ingram may turn out to be the stars. Morne Morkel will spearhead the bowling along with Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda and Umesh Yadav.
  
  
• Deccan Chargers: Kumar Sangakkara will lead the the 2009 champions. The team also has the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Ishant Sahrma and Dale Steyn in bowling, and Kevin Pietersen and Jean Paul Duminy in batting.