More than two months of the IPL tournament have finally separated the wheat from the chaff. This has been the season of spectacular performance from some of the old guards, while also heralding the arrival of the future of Indian cricket, both in batting and bowling. Indian cricket has dominated the batting charts, while overseas bowlers like Rabada and Archer have bowled with heart and left their mark in the competition. Some players shone for brief moments, but did not have the consistency to put their stamp on this year’s IPL.
One factor that may have affected the performance has been the schedule of the tournament, coming at the back end of a long and gruelling season for Indian cricket. Among the members of the World Cup-winning team, players like Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav struggled. Bumrah and Hardik, in particular, appeared to have run out of gas and were well below their best. Suryakumar Yadav extended his poor form since the World Cup and even before that, while Tilak Varma has had a middling season.
The team has been selected based on the IPL Impact Player rule. Hence, it includes 6 batsmen, one all-rounder and 5 bowlers. Below is the list of players selected for this team as per their respective batting order:
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Before the start of this year’s IPL, few would have predicted Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to be the leading run-getter. Sure, he had a good season last year, but teams would invariably find out his weaknesses and bowl accordingly. And at 15 years of age, no one could be that good. But he turned this argument inside out and ended up topping the batting chart, with also the highest strike rate. No bowler was spared; in fact, he seemed to target bowlers with greater reputation. Grown men had to plan exclusively for a 15-year-old batter, and see those plans go up in flames once the innings started.
Runs – 776, Average – 48.5, Strike Rate – 237.30
Shubman Gill
This may be the most contentious pick as there are so many contenders for the second opener’s spot. As is generally the case in batting-friendly T20 tournaments, the leading run-getter list is jam-packed with opening batsmen.
Taken in isolation, Abhishek Sharma may be a good enough choice. He averages less than some, but with a strike rate of more than 200, he brings in a certain x-factor. But since we already have Sooryavanshi at the other end, a bit of stability may be traded in for some flair. And since the no. 3 pick would also be a left-handed batsman, a right-hander would be preferable at this spot. The Indian T20I team found this the hard way in this year’s World Cup, slipping and then course-correcting on their way to the Cup win.
Among the right-handers, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mitchell Marsh and Sanju Samson are all decent choices.
On paper, Kohli looks the best with an average of around 56 (including 4 not outs) and a strike rate of around 166, but he was a part of a much stronger lineup than most. He could afford to play around his relative weakness of spin; let his teammates handle them at the other end and then dismantle the pacers himself. His strike rate versus spin dropped to around 130, but he made up for it against the pacers. If he had been part of a weaker batting line-up, would this strategy have been successful? We can never say for sure. However, his composure in high-stakes chases does make him a class apart.
Gill, on the other hand, had to account for the top-heavy structure of his team. While Sudharsan and Buttler gave him able support, the middle order just could not be relied upon. Case in point, the 42nd IPL match vs RCB, where he got GT off to a flyer, only to see his teammates almost muff it up. And while it is not a criterion for this list, there are few things of greater beauty in cricket than a stroke-filled Gill innings.
Runs – 732, Average – 45.75, Strike Rate – 163.02
Ishan Kishan
Few players have made a comeback at 27 the way Ishan Kishan has. After getting a double century in ODIs, there were question marks around his attitude and approach towards the game. He was promptly discarded from the international setup. To his credit, he worked hard on it and made a spectacular comeback to the Indian team, albeit with some timely luck falling his way. He has been the most consistent player for India’s T20 side in the past few months. Unlike many others, fatigue does not seem to be a factor for him, and he looks to enjoy his cricket even more. Consistency, but not at the expense of strike rate, has been a leading theme for him this season.
Runs – 602, Average – 40.13, Strike Rate – 182.42
Heinrich Klaasen
Kishan is joined by his SRH teammate at no. 4. Coming at one of the most difficult, but responsible positions of no. 4, he needed to keep the runs flowing at a rapid rate, or account for early wickets, and he did both with aplomb. He did not start this year at his most fluent. While the runs were coming initially, there was a certain lack of intimidation. After retiring from international cricket, it becomes difficult for players to keep themselves mentally and physically fit when the time comes to perform, and this might have been a factor for Klaasen.
But as the tournament went on, the flow returned and the strike rate, which was hovering around the 140-mark, improved and finished at 160. He would still anchor the innings, but the bowlers knew that when the requirement was there, Klaasen could always bring down the asking rate with a couple of mighty blows.
Runs – 624, Average – 48.00, Strike Rate – 160
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas had a great time on the field as a player and led the team from the front. PBKS seemed to be coasting in the initial phase of the tournament as one of the hot favourites, before a massive implosion saw them lose 6 matches on the trot to finish 5th on the table and miss the playoff chance. The overall team performance does leave a stain on his captaincy, but does not take away from Shreyas as a player. Always comfortable against spin, he has improved immensely against pace. The early career problem against short ball appears to be a thing of the past, as his strike rate of 171+ against pace suggests. His century versus LSG was a masterclass in chasing under pressure.
Runs – 498, Average – 55.33, Strike Rate – 168.81
Rajat Patidar (Captain)
The winning captain and the obvious candidate for the captain of this team. Generally regarded as a premier spin basher, his strike rate against spin was up there with the best, but it was his taking down of the pacers that has surprised many. With a strike rate in excess of 200 against pace, not too many can consistently do what Patidar did this season. Coming at a time when power play overs are generally completed, any mishit can land right on the outfielder’s lap. Taking risks and consistently making runs requires genuine quality and something that cannot be replaced.
That is why players like Patidar and Shreyas Iyer are so significant to the team’s performance. Replace an opener in this team with any of the other 3-4 options, and the overall standard does not differ significantly, but an excellent middle-order batsman in T20 is indispensable.
Runs – 510, Average – 41.75, Strike Rate – 192.69
Nitish Kumar Reddy
There were quite a few contenders for the all-rounder’s spot. Jason Holder was brilliant with the ball, but could not make much of an impact with the bat. Corbin Bosch was exceptional in the limited opportunities he got. Considering that only 4 overseas players can be accommodated in the team, Nitish Reddy would be the clear choice. He contributed significantly with the bat, making useful scores at a brisk rate, and his bowling has improved leaps and bounds recently. Bowling at a rapid pace and often touching 140 kmph, he provided vital breakthroughs in the middle overs.
Runs – 302, Average – 30.20, Strike Rate – 171.59
Wickets – 8, Average – 40.37, Economy – 10.41
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan has had much better performances than in this year’s IPL. But such is the stature and legacy of this man that he still emerged as one of the top picks for the spinner’s slot. Truth be told, his performance in the 2nd Qualifier was one of the worst he had bowled in recent memory, but in the Final, he was again at his best as he plucked two wickets in no time and was looking menacing, causing a few flutters in the RCB camp for a moment. In a tournament of flat batting surfaces, he held his own and controlled the middle overs well, and when conditions occasionally were slightly in his favour, he could wreak havoc.
Wickets – 21, Average – 24.57, Economy – 9.07
Sunil Narine
Had he been a part of any of the stronger teams, Sunil Narine could have realistically been the Player of the Tournament. Despite playing for 15 years, by which most of the mystery from his bowling should have logically been dissected by analysts and dissipated, he has gone from strength to strength. At times, he was almost unhittable, and the only viable option for a batsman was to go after the other bowlers. His batting was criminally underutilised, but his performance this year has further cemented his place among the IPL legends and one of the best, if not the best, players to ever play IPL, but that is a discussion for another day.
Wickets – 15, Average – 22.60, Economy – 6.64
Jofra Archer
Another tricky pick, the other option being Kagiso Rabada. Both bowled at extreme pace and picked up important wickets, with Rabada being the top wicket-taker in the tournament. But he also had great support from Siraj, Holder, Rashid Khan and the rest. Being a part of the best bowling attack in the tournament, Rabada may have had it slightly easier, whereas Archer was generally the main wicket-taker in a team of reliable supporting members. This occasionally messed up his economy as he tried too hard for wickets.
While 25 wickets in 16 matches was a fitting reward, it still did not quite reflect the impact he had on the batsmen’s psyche as he went full throttle against them. Also, his ball-hitting skills are often underrated. With 12 runs required in 3 balls, one could do a lot worse than Archer coming in to bat.
Wickets – 25, Average – 22.36, Economy – 9.31
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The unassuming bowler was written off for being past his prime, but an updated fitness regime, along with regular matches in domestic tournaments in order to keep himself match fit, has paid dividends. His experience has allowed him greater mastery of the swinging ball and, aided by the knuckle ball and killer yorker, he seemed to have the ball on a string. One could not help but feel sorry for young Sahil Parakh as the promising young batsman was flummoxed and his stumps completely demolished by a searing in-swinging yorker from Bhuvneshwar. Keep this going for a couple of years, and a return to the Indian T20 side would not be completely out of the question.
Wickets – 28, Average – 17.89, Economy – 7.95
Sakib Hussain
The find of the tournament, by far (we were all aware of Sooryavanshi for quite some time, weren’t we?). Coming from a poor family, where his parents struggled to afford his playing shoes, he has burst onto the scene quite unexpectedly. He did not feature in the starting 11 for the first few games, but with the SRH bowling struggling, they had to go for wholesale changes. Along with Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga and the return of Pat Cummins, the bowling was completely transformed, and the team became more well-rounded rather than the top-order batting-heavy unit it had looked at the beginning of the season.
With a bowling action similar to Bangladeshi pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, he uses extreme variation in pace and delivery types to completely outsmart the batsmen, especially when they are looking to up the ante. On good batting surfaces, he can be extremely lethal. A specialist in the death overs, batsmen struggled to pick him in this year’s IPL.
Wickets – 15, Average – 26.46, Economy – 9.45
The team covers all bases and should do well under all conditions. The only change one might consider is to bring in a spinning all-rounder like Krunal Pandya when the ball is turning square. A feisty character, he would be quite handy in situations when the match is not going according to plan.