IPL 2023 Preview: Playoff locks, superstar talent and 10 teams that could win it all

It's that time of year again - the Indian Premier League is set to begin at 3am New Zealand time on 1 April and fill the cricket calendar for the following two months. We cast our eyes over all the squads and make our tournament predictions in this jam-packed episode. We start the show with a shout out to the Mumbai Indians for winning the WPL - Nat Sciver-Brunt starred in the final, alongside Hayley Matthews, New Zealand's own Amelia Kerr and many more in a tournament that felt like a huge success and a fantastic advertisement for our great game. As our attention turns to the men's edition, we run through each of the 10 teams in alphabetical order to answer questions like: Will the Chennai Super Kings spin their way to another trophy? How will the Delhi Capitals overcome the absence of Rishabh Pant? Can Hardik Pandya lead the Gujarat Titans to back-to-back titles? Is it a case of no Brendon McCullum, no chance for the Kolkata Knight Riders? How angry will Lucknow Super Giants fans be about KL Rahul's strike rate this season? Has Suryakumar Yadav forgotten how to bat, and what does that mean for the chances of the Mumbai Indians? Can super Sam Curran propel the Punjab Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2014? Do the Rajasthan Royals have any weaknesses? Will a happy Virat Kohli be the star of an RCB side that's stacked with stars? Are the Sunrisers Hyderabad the sleeping (or singing) giants of this competition, even despite the departure of Kane Williamson? And who will win it all? If you enjoyed the episode and the work we do on the podcast, we'd love it if you could take the time to visit www.sportspodcastgroup.com and vote for us as the Cricket Podcast of the Year. We're delighted to have made the shortlist, and honestly wouldn't be still recording these episodes if it wasn't for all the support and kind words we've received from listeners over the past few years. We'll be back again next week to discuss the white-ball series between the Black Caps and Sri Lanka and discuss the early stages of the IPL. In the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook , & @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram ) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website , and a few of our episodes are available on YouTube - we're slowly chipping away at populating this channel, including adding our latest episodes, like this one! You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including recent conversations with Cam Fletcher, Luke Wright and Dean Foxcroft, plus chats with Shane Bond, Finn Allen, Katey Martin, David Hussey, Ajaz Patel, Sophie Devine, Barry Richards, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. If you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com . Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices