Which Team Will Struggle The Most Due To Shortage Of Australians At Start Of IPL 2022?

The 15th season of the Indian Premier League(IPL) is set to get bigger with the addition of the two new teams - Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. The new season is all set to begin in the last week of March in India. 

One of the interesting aspects of this season is the way squads are constructed. The addition of new teams has spread the quality of players, meaning there is a chance we might see new untested faces competing throughout the 74 matches of the season. 

With the squad quality already being thinner than the previous seasons, teams have dealt a blow as most of the Australian players won't be there at the beginning of the IPL 2022. Cricket Australia's chief selector George Bailey has confirmed that the centrally contracted players can only join the respective squads from 6th April after the Pakistan series is over. 

Even though the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, and Mitchell Marsh won't be participating in the limited-overs series, due to the CA's policy they aren't allowed to play before a certain date. 

This means that only four players - Daniel Sams, Riley Meredith, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Tim David - will join their respective IPL squads from the beginning of the season since they aren't in the central contract list of CA. 

With 10 out of 14 Australians not available at the start, some of the franchises are likely to suffer at the start of the season due to various reasons - squad depth, core group, etc. 

Let's take a look at which team is going to struggle at the start of the IPL 2022 due to Australians missing in the squad: 

Chennai Super Kings - The MS Dhoni-led franchise hasn't picked any Australians in the squad. They are a sorted team on that front. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore - RCB has three Australian players in the squad - Glenn Maxwell(retained), Josh Hazlewood, and Jason Behrendorff. Among the three, Maxwell and Hazlewood were the likely starters for RCB in the playing XI. 

Mumbai Indians - Despite having three Australians in the squad, MI is also a sorted team since all three players - Daniel Sams, Tim David, and Riley Meredith - will be available from the start of the season. 

Delhi Capitals - DC is another team that will suffer due to this issue. They got both David Warner and Mitchell Marsh in the squad who were sure-shot starters in the DC's playing XI. 

Lucknow Super Giants - The new franchise drafted Marcus Stoinis in the squad which meant the allrounder was a sure-shot starter in the playing XI. 

Punjab Kings - Despite having one Australian in the squad, PBKS won't suffer much as Nathan Ellis wasn't a likely starter for them in the playing XI. 

Kolkata Knight Riders - KKR too will have a setback due to this issue as they will miss the services of Pat Cummins in the beginning, a sure-shot starter in the playing XI. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad - The SRH squad only has one Australian - Sean Abbott, who was anyway an unlikely starter. Abbott being away won't hamper their plans much. 

Rajasthan Royals - RR, too, is a sorted franchise. Royals only have one Australian in the squad - Nathan Coulter-Nile, who will be available from the beginning of the tournament. 

Also Read: IPL 2022 Auction Overview List Of All Players & Teams

Gujarat Titans - The new franchise only bought one Australian player in the squad - Mathew Wade, who was anyways an unlikely starter for them in the playing XI.