Jacques Kallis, the former all-rounder from South Africa, offered his early forecast for the winner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 trophy. The 16th season of the cash-rich league began on Friday, involving the defending champions, Gujarat Titans (GT) and 4-time winner Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Noting the teams’ closely matched skills, Kallis found it challenging to forecast the IPL winner. Nonetheless, he had a hunch that the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) would contend in the IPL 2023 final, with the latter emerging as the champions.
“It is always difficult to predict which teams are going to be in the IPL playoff because the teams are so evenly matched. But I have got a feeling this year that it is going to be between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, with Delhi Capitals taking the cup,” said Kallis on Star Sports.
Notably, the Capitals have yet to taste victory in the lucrative tournament, with their highest achievement being a runner-up finish in IPL 2020 when they lost to Mumbai in the summit clash. Not to mention, MI have an impressive track record with five IPL titles under their belt, having won in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
Speaking about the previous season of IPL, the Capitals secured the fifth spot in the points table, recording seven wins and seven losses, accumulating a total of 14 points. Although they missed out on the playoffs by a narrow margin, their overall performance was commendable. On the other hand, Mumbai had a dismal season, managing only four wins in 14 matches and a total of eight points, which landed them at the bottom of the points table.
