New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought in two brand new teams at record valuations this year, and a lot of fresh talent in the form of national as well as international players. However, a lot of established heavyweights like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have underperformed.
Seventy matches will have been played till Sunday, some with clinical precision, and others in heart-stopping chaos. All eyes are now on who will lift the cup.
Newcomers Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants are sitting pretty on top and third place respectively, and will be joined by Rajasthan Royals in second, and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the fourth place. In the playoffs, Gujarat will face Rajasthan Tuesday and Lucknow will face Bangalore Wednesday, with both games scheduled to take place in Kolkata.
The winner of Tuesday’s encounter will go straight to the final to be held in Ahmedabad on 29 May, while the losing team will play the winner of Wednesday’s encounter on 27 May for a place in the final.
As the round-robin phase comes to a close, ThePrint looks at the 11 best performers so far. In keeping with the IPL rules, we too have kept only four foreigners in our team:
- Jos Buttler (Opener, Rajasthan Royals)
England’s vice-captain and the white-ball star has finally come back to the IPL party after three years of middling returns. Buttler had a stellar first half of the season, with three centuries in his first seven games, and has amassed 629 runs in 14 matches.
His first century off 66 balls came against the Mumbai Indians on 2 April, and the next two in consecutive appearances against Kolkata and Delhi. However, Jos’s form is dipping as he has scored a paltry 41 runs in his last four games. The Royals will need their star-batter to step up once the playoffs start.
- K.L. Rahul (Opener and captain, Lucknow Super Giants)
Captain of the new Lucknow Super Giants, the most expensive team in IPL’s history, Rahul has been the “Mr Consistent” of the season. Dependable as ever at the top, he has scored 537 runs at an average of 48.82.
Apart from his exploits with the bat, he has also managed a new squad with finesse, rotating players when needed, to ensure a smooth road to the playoffs.
However, the only sticking point has been the low strike rate this season — of 136 runs, a niggling problem for him since 2019. Remember, he had set a benchmark of 158 in 2018?
- Rahul Tripathi (Middle-order batsman, Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Surrounded by raw youngsters and underperforming seniors, the aggressive middle-order batsman has risen to the task by repeatedly rescuing his new franchise’s batting efforts.
Captain Kane Williamson has consistently slowed down the scoring rate in the power-play and opener Abhishek Sharma has blown hot and cold. But with a little help from overseas batsmen Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram, Tripathi dealt in boundaries at a rate of 161, his highest ever in the IPL.
- Deepak Hooda (Middle-order batsman, Lucknow Super Giants)
After years of false starts and sporadic contributions, Rohtak-born Hooda has become an essential fulcrum this year when LSG’s opening partnership did not fire. He shored up the middle-order and counter-attacked for the team.
Bought for Rs 5.75 crore, Hooda has been more than worth it, notching up an impressive 406 runs this season at a strike rate of 133, while also being a safe pair of hands in the outfield.
- Liam Livingstone (All-rounder, Punjab Kings)
The longtime hype around Livingstone’s explosive batting abilities has finally been matched by performance this year. One of the few astronomically-priced foreign picks since Ben Stokes in 2017, the all-rounder has justified his 10-crore price tag by scoring nearly 400 runs at a strike rate of 177, including sixes that went past 110 metres.
The Lancashire-born cricketer has also gone above and beyond with the ball, providing Punjab with versatile overs of spin in the middle — off spin to left-handed batsmen and leg spin to the right-handed.
- Andre Russell (All-rounder, Kolkata Knight Riders)
2022 was not quite vintage “Dre Russ” but the Jamaican stalwart continued to carry a beleaguered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) whose squad structure was fundamentally unbalanced, while seniors repeatedly underperformed.
While his 17 wickets have come at a higher economy rate than usual, Russell’s ball striking remained high above his competitors, as he racked up 335 at a strike rate of 174, with 32 sixes.
- Dinesh Karthik (Wicketkeeper, Royal Challengers Bangalore)
D.K. has been the renaissance man this season. Given the role of a finisher, unshackled from the burdens of captaincy at KKR, D.K. has thrived in 2022.
He has been the perfect finisher for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), salvaging top order collapses and taking the score to defendable totals with Shahbaz Ahmed as a crucial partner. D.K. has the league’s highest strike-rate of 191.33 at an average of 57.40.
- Wanindu Hasaranga (Right-arm leg spin, Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Of late, the IPL has had a reputation for being a foreign spinners’ graveyard due to the abundance of local talent. But Sri Lankan sensation Hasaranga has successfully replicated his international white-ball exploits in the last seven weeks.
By making slight adjustments to release points and speeds of his leg spin and googly, Hasaranga evolved his game over the tournament to compete with Yuzvendra Chahal for the purple cap.
- Mohammad Shami (Right-arm medium Fast, Gujarat Titans)
Seasoned seamer Shami has more than lived up to his 6.25 crore price for Gujarat Titans with 18 wickets and an economy rate of 7.77. Shami’s economy has also improved over the last two seasons with an impressive 7.50 in 2021. A major drop from his career IPL economy of 8.49.
This has been the 4th consecutive 18+ wicket season for Shami. His majestic upright seam-position, aided by the occasional variation, have made him a delight to watch at the beginning of any innings.
- Umran Malik (Right-arm fast, Sunrisers Hyderabad)
His background as a rookie express pacer from Jammu (not known for producing top level cricketers) has provided frequent material for both hype and scrutiny, but Umran Malik has shrugged off the alleged “indiscipline” that plagued him at the start of the season.
When he’s not winning the ‘Fastest Delivery’ award at the end of every SRH match, he alternated between hurrying the batsmen with rapid-length balls above 150km/h with the odd yorker. While his economy rate is a little on the higher side due to a couple of off days, Malik has ended up with 21 wickets.
- Yuzvendra Chahal (Right-arm leg-spin, Rajasthan Royals)
After being excluded from India’s T20 WC squad in UAE and released by RCB ahead of the mega auction, Chahal has reminded all of his simmering talent by taking 26 wickets at an economy of 7.68.
In tandem with off-spin legend R Ashwin, Chahal has been instrumental in revitalising a Rajasthan spin attack that in seasons past had repeatedly ranked as the league’s worst. He is also among the favourites to don the purple cap in 2022.
Emerging excellence and celebrated comebacks
Tilak Varma (Middle order, Mumbai Indians)
The only shining light in batting for the debilitated Mumbai Indians, Tilak was the glue that held the lineup together, often playing both the anchor and aggressor in the same innings.
Mohsin Khan (Left-arm medium fast, Lucknow Super Giants)
With 13 wickets at 5.93, Mohsin Khan has the best economy rate for any pace bowler this season. From small town Sambhal in western Uttar Pradesh, he is one of the few “local lads” in a star-studded Lucknow squad, but has outshone bigger names.
Kuldeep Yadav (Left arm wrist spin, Delhi Capitals)
After a few seasons in drinks-carrying wilderness, Kuldeep has been the value buy of the season. Aided by a switch in franchise, the wrist spinner has thrived under Rishabh Pant, Ricky Ponting and James Hopes.
David Warner (Opener, Delhi Capitals)
In a return to his first ever IPL franchise, the explosive Australian opener has more than ensured that his poor form and acrimonious exit from Hyderabad last year was a mere blip, by scoring 432 at a strike rate of 150.5.
Ashish Nehra (Head coach, Gujarat Titans)
In his first-ever IPL head coaching assignment, Nehra was criticised by many for assembling a squad that on paper lacked batting talent and was overloaded with express pace. But the former left-arm pacer has proven them wrong, taking the league debutants to the top of the table.
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