An early look at all teams-
Chennai: Danger round the corner. They depend too much on the Foreign Four, which isn't a good sign. We saw Flintoff and Oram promoted ahead of Dhoni and Badrinath, because of which Dhoni had to walk in when in a dire situation, and Badrinath had to play completely out of his position as a late-order slogger. They won't even have Flintoff for too long, though that may not be such a bad thing. The weakness in the Indian base, however, will hamper their chances- only Dhoni and Raina have stood out.
Hyderabad: They won't lose anybody, except, possibly, Symonds, and are shaping up nicely. Their bowling attack still looks a little weak, as a struggling batting side took 32 runs off four Styris overs, while Harmeet Singh is still raw and not very effective. Their batting is shaping up nicely.
Bangalore: It's early days, riding on Dravid's stability and Kumble's extra striking power in helpful conditions. These two will play a major role in the team's performance.
Kolkata: Doesn't look good. This controversy-ridden, much-publicised, star-studded team lacks proper group dynamics. Rather than make decisions to look flamboyant, SRK and Bucks need to do things to keep the team together.
Punjab: This is the team to watch, with the best Indian base, with as many as five national prospects (at varying levels) currently playing. A prominent supply line for the national team, their performance is crucial. While they will miss Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh and Sarwan, the loss of Sreesanth is even bigger, as he was their leading wicket-taker last season, and would play the whole season. We can't comment too much on that silly shootout at Newlands, but Goel is shaping up nicely as an opening batsman, with good support from Bopara, but Mahela isn't cut out for the late-overs attacking role he has to play here. And of course, if VRV Singh should be ahead in line for an India cap, his fielding should improve.
Jaipur: They axed Mohammed Kaif, and it's now stinging them badly. Except captain and coach Warne, all their foreign recruits (including local Smith) have failed, especially with the bat. Early days, but a lot will depend on multiple men Tyron Henderson, Dimi Mascarenhas, Yusuf Pathan and Shane Warne. Their bowling isn't too bad, but they can drop one man for batting strength, which is needed.
Delhi: Danger round the corner. We're seeing some laughable selections made here, especially with McGrath being benched for rookie Nannes, Maharoof benched (I wonder if he's fit, though) and some questionable decisions in bowling changes. They still, however, have a decent Indian player base, which will make them the other team to watch. Sehwag and Gambhir are still doing well together, but the management will have to guard against the temptation to replace one with David Warner at the top. The selection of HP seamer Vicky Malik is a good one, as he adds lower-order runs in addition to Maharoof (if he plays), Vettori, Bhatia, (and a little less) Sangwan, Mishra and Yo Mahesh. Good batting by Tiwary and Karthik will take them further ahead.
Mumbai: Sanath and Sachin opening. Enough said. They still, however, have too many bits-and-pieces players around, and can do without them- what Rohan Raje did, Abhishek Nayar can do a lot better. They look strong, but they need to be careful with the fifth bowler option- they can't rely on Sanath to do the job consistently.
]