Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar took to his official Twitter profile to rank the eight IPL sides on the basis of their batting abilities. Manjrekar has been engaging with fans on his profile for quite some time, drawing their opinions and debating on various aspects surrounding the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.
Putting the condition that pitches turn in the United Arab Emirates, Manjrekar believes that Chennai Super Kings have the best batting unit, followed by KL Rahul's Kings XI Punjab, and Shreyas Iyer's Delhi Capitals.
Manjrekar further said that the KL Rahul-factor was key in rating KXIP above DC in the ranking.
After a Twitter user pointed out that KXIP are more vulnerable against spin than DC, Manjrekar wrote, "Good point... but KL Rahul tilts it for me. Also competence of playing spin in Karun, Mayank, Mandeep, Sarfraz etc. and just in case Maxwell fires."
Manjrekar further ranked Mumbai Indians at fourth, and Royal Challengers Bangalore at fifth. The sixth, seventh and eighth spot went to Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
Manjrekar has ranked CSK at top -- even after Suresh Raina, the key member of the side's batting unit, withdrew from the upcoming edition. The CSK batting unit comprises of players like Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, captain MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Murali Vijay. Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo also provide handy options with bat in the lower-order.
Spin-bowling prowess is likely to be the key factor to success in the slow pitches of United Arab Emirates. Manjrekar had earlier rated Delhi Capitals' bowling as the best in such conditions, with CSK at second. DC boasts of spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Axar Patel and Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane.
CSK, meanwhile, have a quality spin-bowling attack in South Africa's Imran Tahir, and an Indian attack of Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma and R Sai Kishore.
The 13th edition of the tournament will begin on September 19.
