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Which 4 teams will qualify for the playoffs of 2018 IPL?

Well IPL is mostly unpredictable. No one expected RR to win the title at first edition but they did. And DC did in next edition. And also there have been many close finishes in the finals in which a over has changed the course of the match but let's guess who might be top 4 this year.

Which 4 teams will qualify for the playoffs of 2018 IPL?

Any of the eight teams can win IPL 2018. It’s too early to predict the winner.Each team has their own strengths and weaknesses. On paper, some teams look good whereas some team not so much, but the game is played on pitches and not on paper so no one can really predict the winner by just looking at the teams on paper.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

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Source: Hindustan Times

Although the exclusion of David  Warner from IPL 2018  is a major setback for the SRH team, they are still among the favourites. Led by the young Kiwi captain, Kane Williamson, the team is a perfect blend of senior and junior players. They have two of the best bowlers in limited overs cricket in Bhuvneshwar  Kumar and the Afghan sensation Rashid Khan. Batting seems a bit out of proportion in the absence of Warner. However, Dhawan and Manish Pandey along with allrounders such as Deepak Hooda and Carlos Braithwaite are very much capable of doing the job. Moreover, when a team has names like VVS Laxman, Tom Moody and Muttiah Muralitharan in their support staff, we do expect something big.

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

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Source: Hindustan Times

KINGS!

That’s what you see when you look up the Kings XI squad for IPL 2018. They have all the big names and perhaps this year have the chance to finally grab that golden trophy.  The batting seems exceptional with pinch hitters like Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle and Aaron Finch along with classical batsmen including K. L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair. It only gets better with the presence of all-rounders such as Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Axar Patel. The team has a decent pace attack with Mohit Sharma, Andrew Tye and Barinder Sran. To everyone’s surprise, Ravichandran Ashwin was named the captain of the KXIP for the IPL 2018.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

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Source: Rediff.com

With a new captain at the helm, the Kolkata Knight Riders revamped the core of their team, and while this creates confusion in the ranks, KKR has looked a settled unit. They have few problems with the fast bowling contingent, but their batting and spinning department looked sorted and settled to lead them into the knockout stages.

In Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, and Piyush Chawla, they have three quality spinners up their sleeves, and on any day either one of the spinners mentioned above can win the match for the team.

Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, and captain Dinesh Karthik combine to render a solid look to the batting coterie which bodes well for the franchise.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

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Source: RapidLeaks

The RCB team led by Virat Kohli is perhaps the most unlucky team in IPL history. They are often referred to as the chokers due to their reputation of losing in the knock out matches. The team has a star-studded batting lineup comprising of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Brendon McCullum. But batting has never been the problem for them. The pack attack always appeared a bit ripe when compared to other strong oppositions. However, the IPL 2018 auctions saw them bidding high for quality pacers. As a result, we have a perfectly balanced bowling attack with Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar in the spin department and Nathan Coulter Nile, Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav to carry the pace attack.

With all-rounders such as Mandeep Singh, Chris Woakes and Corey Anderson, this RCB team looks all capable of lifting the IPL 2018 trophy.

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