Dean Etheridge
The biggest domestic cricket competition in the world starts later this week in Ahmedabad. On Friday, the Gujarat Titans take on the Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the 2023 Indian Premier League. So with the competition just a couple of days away, here we look ahead to the upcoming fiesta of cricket with our latest IPL betting picks and futures.
- The 2023 IPL is the 16th edition of the competition. The action starts on March 31st, with ten teams playing 74 matches across two months
- Gujarat Titans won the 2022 edition. They defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the final to win their first IPL title in their inaugural season
- This year, the Titans are again favored to win. But the bookmakers expect both Delhi and Mumbai to be in the shake up
For anybody not totally up to speed with cricket and the status of the IPL, think of it like this. It’s like March Madness combined with the NBA All-Star match. India’s richest franchise cricket teams go out and buy up the world’s top cricket stars and assemble them into one league. And that league lasts for just under two months with matches played every day!
It’s simply a cricket carnival. There is no expense spared, and the best of everything heads to India for the IPL. Players, coaches, even commentators. The IPL is the gig that everybody is after. Outside of cricket world cups, it’s where every cricketer wants to play!
Who is the favorite to win the 2023 IPL?
The favorite to win the 2023 IPL is the Gujarat Titans. In 2022, the IPL expanded from being an eight team competition, to a ten team competition. The two new sides who entered were the Gujarat Titans and the Lucknow Super Giants.
It was expected that the Titans and Super Giants would be competitive, but not be in the mix to win. But led by coach Ashish Nehra, and captain Hardik Pandya, the Titans surpassed all expectations and won the IPL at their first attempt.
The beautiful 9️⃣-letter word that we are going to be known by 👑#SeasonOfFirsts pic.twitter.com/rzYesX41lk
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 29, 2022
As a result of this, the best cricket betting sites have installed the Titans as favorites to win the competition again in 2023. The Gujarat Titans are +550, which puts them just ahead of the Delhi Capitals (+600), and Mumbai Indians (+600). Also expected to be in the mix this year are the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are both priced at +650.
Full betting can be found on our IPL odds table. The bookmakers listed here are best online sportsbooks for cricket betting.
| 2023 IPL Winner Betting Odds |  |  |  |
| Gujarat Tigers | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Delhi Capitals | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Mumbai Indians | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Rajasthan Royals | +650 | +650 | +650 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | +650 | +650 | +650 |
| Lucknow Super Giants | +750 | +750 | +750 |
| Punjab Kings | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Chennai Super Kings | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
Our IPL Outright Winner Pick
As the IPL odds table confirms, picking a winner isn’t easy. There is little separating the top teams in the betting, and as a result we feel we can hedge our bets a little here.
Statistics are key in cricket, and the IPL is no different. The statistics say that on only two occasions have a team retained the IPL title. That was done by the Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, and by the Mumbai Indians in 2019 and 2020. The stats also show that a runner-up has never won the IPL the following year. And on five occasions the winners have flopped the following year, not even making the playoffs.
Gujarat won last year’s title mainly thanks to their bowling attack. With the exception of Lockie Ferguson (who has returned to the Kolkata Knight Riders), the Titans have retained that attack for this year.
Their batting wasn’t exceptional, and they have now added Kane Williamson to their line up. Williamson was at the Sunrisers during their recent decline, and it could be argued his best boundary hitting days are behind him (despite his exceptional Test form). We feel this makes the Titans a bad pick for this season.
Instead we are looking at the Delhi Capitals. The Capitals have recruited wisely. Mitchell Marsh has developed into one of the best white ball batters in the world, and in Lungi Ngidi, the Capitals have a world class performer spearheading their attack.
Chance for David Warner to build on his IPL legacy, this time as the captain of Delhi Capitals | #IPL2023 #DelhiCapitals #Cricket https://t.co/a9A83GaoMq
— India Today Sports (@ITGDsports) March 16, 2023
They are also going to be captained by David Warner, and we think his added experience and cricketing brain makes the Capitals the best value pick of the four betting favorites.
IPL 2023 Value Pick
For our second cricket betting pick, we’re looking in the direction of the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They’ve been gradually clearing out the deadwood that oversaw their dramatic decline since winning the competition in 2016.
#OnThisDay in 2016, we won the IPL title 🏆 after a fantastic season 😍#ThisDayThatYear #OTD #OrangeArmy #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/J4gxuZTvVo
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 29, 2019
Coached by Tom Moody and captained by Aiden Markram (who has just led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the SA20), the Sunrisers now look to have a well balanced squad between bat and ball.
Overseas signings like Glenn Phillips, Harry Brook, and – the scandalously ignored by the IPL for years – Adil Rashid, will nicely compliment a home contingent containing the likes of Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Rahul Tripathi.
The Sunrisers might still be in rebuilding mode. But some of those additions to the squad make them extremely dangerous. Depending on his availability for the tournament, Harry Brook could be a candidate to win the Orange Cap (highest run scorer). While Adil Rashid is a proven performer on the world stage. Having played a pivotal role in England’s 50 Over and T20 World Cup wins.
The Sunrisers might not be ready to win the IPL again just yet. But at +1200, the Sunrisers seem grossly overpriced and disrespected, and are well worthy of a small side wager.
