Preview: Aussies galore in IPL 9

KINGS XI PUNJAB

Home Ground: PCA Stadium, Mohali & VCA Stadium, Nagpur

Coach: Sanjay Bangar

Captain: David Miller

Last year: Last (3 wins, 11 losses)

The Aussies: Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Johnson, Marcus Stoinis

Most expensive recruit: Mohit Sharma ($1.37 million)

Star Player: Glenn Maxwell is a superstar in India and will again shoulder plenty of responsibility for the Kings XI this year. He was unable to repeat his 2014 heroics last season but it would be a brave man to bet against him winning a match or three by himself.

Player to watch out for: A canny left-arm orthodox spinner and handy lower-order batsman, Axar Patel has been out of favour with national selectors with the likes of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja preferred ahead of him. Still just 22, Patel has a fan in India captain MS Dhoni and can win his way back into India colours with a good tournament here.

Squad: David Miller (c), Murali Vijay, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Axar Patel, Anureet Singh, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Manan Vohra, Mitchell Johnson, Nikhil Shankar Naik, Rishi Dhawan, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, Kyle Abbott, KC Cariappa, Marcus Stoinis, Farhaan Behardien, Pardeep Sahu, Armaan Jaffer, Swapnil Singh

Prediction: After a very disappointing campaign last year, the Kings XI are expected to do much better this time around. They have two outright match-winners in Miller and Maxwell while the return to cricket of Mitchell Johnson will create plenty of interest. But their lack of big name Indians in the squad - at least seven of the XI must be home grown players - may count against them and they will do well to sneak into the finals.

DELHI DAREDEVILS

Home Ground: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi & Raipur International Cricket Stadium, Raipur

Coach: Paddy Upton

Captain: Zaheer Khan

Last year: 7th (5 wins, 8 losses, 1 no result)

The Aussies: Nathan Coulter-Nile, Joel Paris (unavailable)

Most expensive recruit: Pawan Negi ($1.79 million)

Star Player: One of the leading limited-overs bowlers in the world, Proteas leggie Imran Tahir has thrived in the IPL before and will be expected to do so again this year.

Player to watch out for: Many eyebrows were raised when the Daredevils spent $886,100 to bring inexperienced West Indian Carlos Brathwaite to the franchise, but his heroics in the World T20 final prove he's a man for the big occasion.

Squad: Zaheer Khan (c), Jean-Paul Duminy, Mohammed Shami, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Quinton de Kock, Saurabh Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Agarwal, Imran Tahir, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Albie Morkel, Sanju Samson, Chris Morris, Carlos Braithwate, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Sam Billings, Joel Paris, Pratyush Singh, Akhil Arvind Herwadkar, Mahipal Lomror, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Chama Milind, Pawan Suyal, Rishabh Pant

Prediction: The Daredevils splashed the cash in the off-season by bringing in Pawan Negi, Chris Morris and Brathwaite for figures in excess of $AUD850,000 and they will again rely heavily on their South African contingent, including Proteas stars JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Tahir and Morris. But with most of their international quality players coming from overseas, a lot will be expected of the Indian members of the squad, nearly all of them are far from permanent fixtures at the highest level, meaning it could be another difficult tournament.

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Home Ground: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Coach: Jacques Kallis

Captain: Gautam Gambhir

Last year: 5th (7 wins, 6 losses, 1 no result)

The Aussies: Brad Hogg, Chris Lynn, John Hastings

Most expensive recruit: Jaydev Unadkat ($302,970)

Star Player: Andre Russell is having a dream 2016. The entertaining allrounder won the KFC Big Bash League with the Sydney Thunder, claimed the Pakistan Super League title with Islamabad United and is a dual World T20 winner after the West Indies won the big one in India on Sunday. Fast, fit and firing, watch out for Dre Russ this season.

Player to watch out for: Owning the second-fastest T20 international half-century – a 14-ball romp against Sri Lanka in January – Colin Munro is as explosive as they come in the game's shortest format. The left-hander loves a switch-hit and will enjoy the slow, low pitches of the subcontinent.

Squad: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Lynn, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Brad Hogg, Morne Morkel, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Sheldon Jackson, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Singh Rajpoot, John Hastings, Jason Holder, Colin Munro, Rajagopal Satish, Manan Ajay Sharma

Prediction: Kolkata will be looking to go one step further in 2016 and qualify for the finals. The two-time champions have an experienced squad, and like most teams, will struggle to decide which four of their international recruits will make the final XI. In Morne Morkel, Jason Holder and John Hastings, KKR have one of the tallest attacks in the competition, but it's unlikely all three will line-up together. It's a big year for Jacques Kallis, who takes the reins for the first time as head coach following the departure of Trevor Bayliss for England. The Knight Riders should be there or thereabouts again this season.

MUMBAI INDIANS

Home Ground: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Coach: Ricky Ponting

Captain: Rohit Sharma

Last year: Champions (10 wins, 6 losses)

The Aussies: None

Most expensive recruit: Jos Buttler ($792,000)

Star Player: After watching his West Indies teammates stampede to the World T20 title from the sidelines, Kieron Pollard will be champing at the bit to get back among the action and remind the world he's still one of the premier T20 allrounders in the business.

Player to watch out for: Jasprit Bumrah proved what an effective death bowler he was in the World T20. His unique action generates swing away from the right-hander with the new ball, but it's ability to nail his yorkers in the closing stages of an innings which has seen him rise to No.6 in the official ICC T20I bowling rankings.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Lendl Simmons, Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson, Unmukt Chand, Kieron Pollard, Parthiv Patel, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Marchant de Lange, Akshay Wakhare, Harbhajan Singh, Hardik Pandya, Jagadeesha Suchitch, Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Rana, R Vinay Kumar, Shreyas Gopal, Siddhesh Lad, Jos Buttler, Nathu Singh, Tim Southee, Krunal Pandya, KP Kamath, Jitesh Sharma, Deepak Punia

Prediction: With Ricky Ponting as coach and run-machine Rohit Sharma as captain, Mumbai will take some beating this season. Hardik Pandya and Bumrah were two of the mainstays in India's World T20 campaign, and will lead a balanced bowling attack with the input of Black Caps allrounder Corey Anderson, Vinay Kumar and possibly veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Expect a top-four finish at a bare minimum.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

Home Ground: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Coach: Daniel Vettori

Captain: Virat Kohli

Last year: 3rd (8 wins, 5 losses, 2 no results)

The Aussies: Shane Watson, Kane Richardson, Travis Head

Most expensive recruit: Shane Watson ($1.98 million)

Star Player: In a team full of superstars, nobody shines brighter than Virat Kohli. The No.1 ranked T20 batsman in the world was the leading run-scorer in the World T20 and looked imperious every time he strode to the middle. There's no better white-ball batter on the planet today.

Player to watch out for: While his involvement is still uncertain after suffering a shoulder injury in the World T20 final win over England, Samuel Badree is a huge inclusion for RCB this season. The leg-spinner was impressive in the World T20, opening the bowling in every match as he returned to the apex of T20 bowlers by tournament's end.

Squad: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villers, David Wiese, Adam Milne, Chris Gayle, Mitchell Starc, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Kedar Jadhav, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Sreenath Arvind, Varun Aaron, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Kane Richardson, Travis Head, Samuel Badree, Praveen Dubey, Vikramjeet Malik, Akshay Karnewar, Vikas Tokas, Iqbal Abdullah, Sachin Baby

Prediction: A squad which contains AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Kohli and Badree must be favourites. The fact that RCB possess the best T20 batsman, bowler and allrounder in the world is a coup unlike any other. While their international roster is unparalleled, their local ranks lack star power, but with the calibre of players around them they'll be sure to improve dramatically.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD

Home Ground: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

Coach: Tom Moody

Captain: David Warner

Last year: 6th (7 wins, 7 losses)

The Aussies: Moises Henriques, David Warner, Ben Cutting

Most expensive recruit: Yuvraj Singh ($1.46 million)

Star Player: David Warner was the leading run-scorer in last year's IPL and there's no reason why the powerful southpaw can't repeat his efforts. His contributions in Australia's World T20 campaign did not reflect his class, and will now have a point to prove on the subcontinent.

Player to watch out for: Mustafizur Rahman was the breakout star of the World T20. The left-armer troubled batsman with the new and old ball, and bagged a five-wicket haul against semi-finalists New Zealand.

Squad: David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson, KL Rahul, Naman Ojha, Parvez Rasool, Trent Boult, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Reddy, Bipul Sharma, Karn Sharma, Ricky Bhui, Siddharth Kaul, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Deepak Hooda, Mustafizur Rahman, Aditya Tare, Barinder Singh Sran, Ben Cutting, Vijay Shankar, Abhimanyu Mithun, T Suman

Prediction: Hyderabad have a well-rounded squad capable of beating anyone on their day. Their starting XI will likely include Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Eoin Morgan, Naman Ojha, Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Yuvraj Singh and Ashis Nehra – a quality group of match-winners. Whether it's enough to push for the title is yet to be seen, but they have they ingredients.

RISING PUNE SUPERGIANTS

Home Ground: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

Coach: Stephen Fleming

Captain: MS Dhoni

Last year: First season

The Aussies: Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Scott Boland, Adam Zampa, Peter Handscomb

Most expensive recruit: Mitch Marsh ($1 million)

Star Player: Love him or loathe him, Kevin Pietersen is a brilliant T20 batsman. He's part of a mini-Melbourne Stars under coach Stephen Fleming and teammates Adam Zampa, Scott Boland and Peter Handscomb. Still as destructive as ever, Pune are a potential with KP in the squad.

Player to watch out for: There is no better place than the subcontinent to develop the art of spin bowling, and that's the opportunity facing boom Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa. The leggie was fantastic for Australia in the World T20, and could play a big part for Pune this season.

Squad: MS Dhoni (c), Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Steve Smith, Faf Du Plessis, Mitchell Marsh, M Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Kevin Pietersen, Irfan Pathan, Thisara Perera, Rajat Bhatia, Ashok Dinda, Scott Boland, RP Singh, Peter Handscomb, Adam Zampa, Ishwar Pandey, Ankit Sharma, Ankush Bains, Baba Aparijith, Deepak Chahar, Jaskaran Singh

Prediction: Another star-studded squad, Pune is one of two new IPL teams in season nine. MS Dhoni leads a team with the desired blend of youth and experience, and also has a strong stable of local players to call on, including Ravi Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma. If they can gel quickly, there's nothing stopping the Supergiants from rising to the top in their maiden year in the IPL.

GUJARAT LIONS

Home Ground: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

Coach: Brad Hodge

Captain: Suresh Raina

Last year: First season

The Aussies: James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Andrew Tye

Most expensive recruit: Praveen Kumar ($696,599)

Star Player: With his glittering international career now in the past, Brendon McCullum can fully focus on T20 cricket and scoring swashbuckling runs like only he can.

Player to watch out for: Having missed Australia's opening two World T20 matches, Aaron Finch was recalled with a point to prove. He top-scored in Australia's tournament-ending loss to India, and is still the No.2 ranked T20 batsman in the world. And nobody, apart from maybe Gayle, can hit a ball longer than Finch.

Squad: Suresh Raina (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner, Dwayne Bravo, Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith, Dhawal Kulkarni, Eklavya Dwivedi, Aaron Finch, Andrew Tye, Ishan Kishan, Pravin Tambe, Jaydev Shah, Pradeep Sangwan, Shadab Jakati, Shivil Kaushik, Amit Mishra, Sarabjit Ladda, Akshdeep Nath, Umang Sharma, Paras Dogra

Prediction: There's a lot of the unknown surrounding Gujarat. It's the first season for the club, first season for coach Brad Hodge and first season for captain Suresh Raina. But that unpredictability could work in the Lions favour. Twenty20 cricket is such a fickle game anybody can win on any given day, and if momentum is with the Lions, look out.