SRH and PBKS will go all out to snap the two crucial points to nose ahead in the race for play-offs.
Chennai Super Kings have so far failed to display the stuff that won them the IPL last season, and new skipper Ravindra Jadeja must seek improvement on multiple fronts against Punjab Kings when they meet at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders are expected to continue with their risk-taking approach despite mixed returns when they on Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League, at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai on Friday.
India will begin their campaign against South Africa at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on January 15.
Both RCB and PBKS will have new captains at the helm in Faf du Plessis and Mayank Agarwal respectively
The Punjab bowlers led by Kagiso Rabada have fared well. But the likes of Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh along with Rahul Chahar, who has nine wickets, would need to be on the money.
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
All eyes will be on the opening fixture between defending champions Saurashtra and record 41-time champions Mumbai in Ahmedabad with Rahane and Pujara on either side, aiming to make the big scores that have deserted them at the Test level for a while.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The 10 teams in the league will be bidding heavily for the Indian players in a list of 590 cricketer
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
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