Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 29.
There's a question mark about how IPL 14 will go in the days and weeks ahead. But it has already thrown up its fair share of surprises.
The top three places are currently occupied by left-handers. Ravindra Jadeja tops the list with a MVPI of 372, more for his attacking batting than his reliable bowling.
Shikhar Dhawan (MVPI of 368) is second, because he has scored the most runs, and at a faster clip than before.
And Moeen Ali (348) is third! Last year he was just hanging around in the RCB dugout.
Chris Morris is a surprising fourth, chiefly because he has bagged a lot of wickets, and Harshal Patel (339) is fifth because he has bagged the most wickets.
The table below tells a lot of stories. Here are some more: English players are outperforming the Australians; Hardik Pandya isn't even in the top 50; Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli, given their lofty standard, aren't finding enough wickets or runs; Bumrah and Shami have together captured just 14 wickets, while Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan have captured 31 wickets!
Finally, the highest paid players haven't contributed sufficient value.
Look at the Paisa Vasool Index (PVI) column: A PVI of over 3000 suggests that the player is probably overpaid.
To be sure, many factors determine a player's price, and the auction frenzy adds to the extreme price irrationality.
Best performing players so far at IPL 2021 (after Match 29 ending May 2, 2021)
| Rank | Player's Name | Team | From | Runs | Top Score | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate | Wickets | Economy Rate | Games | MVPI | PVI($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravindra Jadeja | CSK | IND | 131 | 62 | 11 | 6 | 161.7 | 6 | 6.7 | 7 | 372 | 1307 |
| 2 | Shikhar Dhawan | DC | IND | 380 | 92 | 43 | 8 | 134.3 | 0 | - | 8 | 368 | 1121 |
| 3 | Moeen Ali | CSK | ENG | 206 | 58 | 22 | 12 | 157.3 | 5 | 6.2 | 6 | 348 | 1397 |
| 4 | Chris Morris | RR | SA | 48 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 154.8 | 14 | 8.6 | 7 | 346 | 3261 |
| 5 | Harshal Patel | RCB | IND | 35 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 145.8 | 17 | 9.2 | 7 | 339 | 41 |
| 6 | Prithvi Shaw | DC | IND | 308 | 82 | 37 | 12 | 166.5 | 0 | - | 8 | 339 | 281 |
| 7 | Faf du Plessis | CSK | SA | 320 | 95 | 29 | 13 | 145.5 | 0 | - | 7 | 330 | 337 |
| 8 | K L Rahul | KXI | IND | 331 | 91 | 27 | 16 | 136.2 | 0 | - | 7 | 327 | 2670 |
| 9 | Sanju Samson | RR | IND | 277 | 119 | 26 | 11 | 145.8 | 0 | - | 7 | 312 | 1781 |
| 10 | Avesh Khan | DC | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 14 | 7.7 | 8 | 295 | 188 |
| 11 | Jos Buttler | RR | ENG | 254 | 124 | 27 | 13 | 153 | 0 | - | 7 | 289 | 1057 |
| 12 | Rashid Khan | SRH | AFG | 17 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 130.8 | 10 | 6.1 | 7 | 283 | 2208 |
| 13 | Pat Cummins | KKR | AUS | 93 | 66 | 5 | 8 | 166.1 | 9 | 8.8 | 7 | 277 | 3886 |
| 14 | A B de Villiers | RCB | IND | 207 | 76 | 16 | 10 | 164.3 | 0 | - | 7 | 275 | 2778 |
| 15 | Andre Russell | KKR | WI | 163 | 54 | 12 | 13 | 155.2 | 7 | 11.4 | 7 | 275 | 2146 |
| 16 | Rahul Chahar | MI | IND | 14 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 107.7 | 11 | 7.2 | 7 | 265 | 498 |
| 17 | Kieron Pollard | MI | WI | 168 | 87 | 11 | 13 | 171.4 | 3 | 7.5 | 7 | 262 | 1431 |
| 18 | Jonny Bairstow | SRH | ENG | 248 | 63 | 20 | 15 | 141.7 | 0 | - | 7 | 255 | 599 |
| 19 | Mayank Agarwal | KXI | IND | 260 | 99 | 24 | 11 | 141.3 | 0 | - | 7 | 252 | 315 |
| 20 | Sam Curran | CSK | ENG | 52 | 34 | 5 | 3 | 208 | 9 | 8.7 | 7 | 250 | 1528 |
| 21 | Rishabh Pant | DC | IND | 213 | 58 | 25 | 4 | 131.5 | 0 | - | 8 | 225 | 5291 |
| 22 | Kyle Jamieson | RCB | NZ | 59 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 143.9 | 9 | 9.2 | 7 | 222 | 4692 |
| 23 | Glenn Maxwell | RCB | AUS | 223 | 78 | 21 | 10 | 144.8 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 221 | 3378 |
| 24 | Rohit Sharma | MI | IND | 250 | 63 | 18 | 11 | 128.2 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 208 | 5008 |
| 25 | Devdutt Padikkal | RCB | IND | 195 | 101 | 22 | 9 | 152.3 | 0 | - | 6 | 206 | 67 |
| 26 | Deepak Hooda | KXI | IND | 116 | 64 | 7 | 8 | 143.2 | 2 | 7.1 | 8 | 194 | 205 |
| 27 | Krunal Pandya | MI | IND | 100 | 39 | 8 | 4 | 131.6 | 3 | 7.5 | 7 | 190 | 3216 |
| 28 | Deepak Chahar | CSK | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 8 | 8 | 7 | 189 | 294 |
| 29 | Jasprit Bumrah | MI | IND | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.7 | 6 | 7.1 | 7 | 184 | 2642 |
| 30 | Rahul Tripathi | KKR | IND | 187 | 53 | 20 | 4 | 135.5 | 0 | - | 7 | 183 | 228 |
| 31 | Kagiso Rabada | DC | IND | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 225 | 8 | 8.8 | 7 | 183 | 1821 |
| 32 | Virat Kohli | RCB | IND | 198 | 72 | 21 | 4 | 121.5 | 0 | - | 7 | 182 | 6487 |
| 33 | Suryakumar Yadav | MI | IND | 173 | 56 | 22 | 5 | 144.2 | 0 | - | 7 | 182 | 1221 |
| 34 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | CSK | IND | 196 | 75 | 25 | 5 | 128.9 | 0 | - | 7 | 176 | 158 |
| 35 | Mustafizur Rahman | RR | BAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8.3 | 7 | 175 | 397 |
| 36 | Mohammed Shami | KXI | IND | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 76.5 | 8 | 8.2 | 8 | 173 | 2202 |
| 37 | Ambati Rayudu | CSK | IND | 136 | 72 | 6 | 13 | 200 | 0 | - | 7 | 170 | 899 |
| 38 | Chris Gayle | KXI | WI | 178 | 46 | 20 | 8 | 133.8 | 0 | - | 8 | 165 | 962 |
| 39 | Manish Pandey | SRH | IND | 193 | 61 | 12 | 8 | 123.7 | 0 | - | 5 | 164 | 4658 |
| 40 | Mohammed Siraj | RCB | IND | 12 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 6 | 7.3 | 7 | 164 | 1101 |
| 41 | Nitish Rana | KKR | IND | 201 | 80 | 21 | 9 | 122.6 | 0 | - | 7 | 164 | 1440 |
| 42 | Trent Boult | MI | NZ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 8 | 8.5 | 7 | 163 | 1363 |
| 43 | Varun Chakravarthy | KKR | IND | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 7 | 7.8 | 7 | 157 | 1769 |
| 44 | Arshdeep Singh | KXI | IND | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66.7 | 7 | 8.2 | 6 | 154 | 103 |
| 45 | David Warner | SRH | AUS | 193 | 57 | 15 | 6 | 110.3 | 0 | - | 6 | 150 | 5787 |
| 46 | Chetan Sakariya | RR | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8.2 | 7 | 150 | 93 |
| 47 | Prasid Krishna | KKR | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9.2 | 7 | 150 | 93 |
| 48 | Axar Patel | DC | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 6 | 7 | 4 | 149 | 2663 |
| 49 | Jaydev Unadkat | RR | IND | 35 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 145.8 | 4 | 7.1 | 4 | 141 | 1478 |
| 50 | Harpreet Brar | KXI | IND | 29 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 152.6 | 4 | 5.4 | 2 | 131 | 121 |
| 51 | Chris Woakes | DC | ENG | 15 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 136.4 | 5 | 7.5 | 3 | 130 | 916 |
This analysis is based on the first 29 matches of the current IPL, and as on the morning of May 2, 2021.
This analysis is based on the first 21 matches of the current IPL, and as on the morning of April 27, 2021.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
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