Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle analyse which players are giving value for money in the IPL 8.
IPL 8 is past the half-way mark, and Andre Russell of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is emerging as the player offering the best performance at the lowest cost.
To measure ‘performance’, we use our most valuable player index that collapses a player’s batting, bowling and fielding performances into a one-dimensional ‘run equivalent’. Russell’s MVPI of 511 indicates that he has contributed the most ‘runs’ so far in IPL.
The captains of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Daredevils (DD) are just a little behind; David Warner has contributed 507 ‘runs’ while Jean-Paul Duminy has contributed 497 ‘runs’.
The analysis gets much more interesting when we bring in the player’s price; i.e., ask how much does the player earn for every ‘run’ that he contributes. By this measure – that we call the paisa vasool index (PVI) – Andre Russell’s value grows manifold. Bought at a value of about $100,000, every ‘run’ that Russell contributes costs KKR only $154, or Rs 9226. In contrast, the more expensive David Warner has to be paid $1291 for every ‘run’ scored!
The table below lists the details of the top 99 players ranked in terms of their MVPI. It is interesting to look at their PVI as well. A highly paid player like Rohit Sharma – although playing well – costs Mumbai Indians (MI) $3758, or about RS 2.25 lakhs for every run scored. And if you consider Yuvraj Singh, DD is paying him a staggering Rs 6 lakhs for every ‘run’ scored.
Is it therefore any surprise that everyone wants to play the IPL?
Rank | Player | Team | From | Runs | 6s | Str Rate |
W | Eco | M | MVPI | Money Offered (US $) |
PVI (US$) |
PVI (INR) |
1 | Andre Russell | KKR | WI | 236 | 13 | 190.3 | 10 | 7.2 | 10 | 511 | 100000 | 154 | 9226 |
2 | David Warner | SH | AUS | 406 | 14 | 159.2 | 0 | - | 10 | 507 | 916667 | 1291 | 77487 |
3 | J-P Duminy | DD | SA | 329 | 17 | 132.1 | 8 | 7.3 | 11 | 497 | 366667 | 580 | 34780 |
4 | Dwayne Bravo | CSK | WI | 143 | 2 | 130.0 | 16 | 7.6 | 10 | 470 | 666667 | 1013 | 60790 |
5 | Ajinkya Rahane | RR | IND | 438 | 11 | 130.7 | 0 | - | 11 | 458 | 1250000 | 2339 | 140362 |
6 | Chris Gayle | BRC | WI | 357 | 29 | 160.1 | 0 | - | 8 | 417 | 1583333 | 2712 | 162727 |
7 | AB de Villiers | BRC | SA | 303 | 14 | 165.6 | 0 | - | 10 | 398 | 1250000 | 2243 | 134602 |
8 | Rohit Sharma | MI | IND | 343 | 16 | 146.0 | 0 | - | 10 | 396 | 2083333 | 3758 | 225469 |
9 | B McCullum | CSK | NZ | 315 | 18 | 174.0 | 0 | - | 10 | 394 | 541667 | 982 | 58920 |
10 | Robin Uthappa | KKR | IND | 308 | 6 | 129.4 | 0 | - | 10 | 386 | 833333 | 1696 | 101776 |
11 | Kieron Pollard | MI | WI | 259 | 17 | 167.1 | 1 | 11.7 | 10 | 359 | 1250000 | 2487 | 149224 |
12 | Virat Kohli | BRC | IND | 335 | 14 | 120.1 | 0 | 5.5 | 10 | 352 | 2083333 | 4228 | 253653 |
13 | Shreyas Iyer | DD | IND | 349 | 19 | 130.2 | 0 | - | 11 | 351 | 433333 | 970 | 58201 |
14 | Ashish Nehra | CSK | IND | 1 | 0 | 16.7 | 17 | 6.5 | 10 | 338 | 333333 | 704 | 42265 |
15 | HarbhajanSingh | MI | IND | 102 | 8 | 159.4 | 11 | 7.5 | 9 | 322 | 916667 | 2033 | 122005 |
16 | Dwayne Smith | CSK | WI | 274 | 14 | 135.0 | 0 | - | 10 | 320 | 750000 | 1674 | 100446 |
17 | Mitchell Starc | BRC | AUS | 10 | 0 | 76.9 | 15 | 5.5 | 7 | 314 | 833333 | 1896 | 113740 |
18 | B Kumar | SH | IND | 17 | 1 | 212.5 | 16 | 7.7 | 10 | 307 | 708333 | 1648 | 98883 |
19 | Steven Smith | RR | Aus | 263 | 3 | 137.7 | 0 | - | 11 | 307 | 666667 | 1861 | 111680 |
20 | Axar Patel | KXI | IND | 139 | 6 | 116.8 | 10 | 8.4 | 10 | 305 | 125000 | 293 | 17564 |
21 | S Dhawan | SH | IND | 307 | 6 | 123.3 | 0 | - | 10 | 297 | 2083333 | 5010 | 300625 |
22 | David Wiese | BRC | SA | 106 | 3 | 143.2 | 10 | 7.9 | 8 | 295 | 466667 | 1130 | 67797 |
23 | Suresh Raina | CSK | IND | 256 | 13 | 124.3 | 1 | 5.9 | 10 | 288 | 1583333 | 3927 | 235615 |
24 | MS Dhoni | CSK | IND | 224 | 10 | 122.4 | 0 | - | 10 | 284 | 2083333 | 5240 | 314386 |
25 | A Mathews | DD | SL | 143 | 6 | 141.6 | 7 | 8.2 | 10 | 277 | 1250000 | 3546 | 212739 |
26 | N Coulter-Nile | DD | AUS | 20 | 1 | 111.1 | 13 | 7.7 | 10 | 272 | 708333 | 2046 | 122768 |
27 | Lasith Malinga | MI | SL | 6 | 0 | 60.0 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 259 | 1583333 | 4367 | 261997 |
28 | Sanju Samson | RR | IND | 165 | 6 | 127.9 | 0 | - | 11 | 254 | 666667 | 2250 | 134983 |
29 | G Gambhir | KKR | IND | 264 | 4 | 118.4 | 0 | - | 10 | 249 | 2083333 | 6574 | 394435 |
30 | Piyush Chawla | KKR | IND | 35 | 1 | 125.0 | 11 | 7.1 | 10 | 246 | 708333 | 2262 | 135743 |
31 | George Bailey | KXI | AUS | 228 | 7 | 139.9 | 0 | - | 9 | 244 | 541667 | 1586 | 95141 |
32 | S Sharma | KXI | IND | 9 | 0 | 64.3 | 11 | 6.7 | 10 | 236 | 141667 | 429 | 25726 |
33 | Shane Watson | RR | AUS | 205 | 9 | 125.8 | 4 | 9.5 | 7 | 234 | 2083333 | 7631 | 457875 |
34 | Yusuf Pathan | KKR | IND | 187 | 6 | 133.6 | 2 | 9.7 | 10 | 233 | 541667 | 1827 | 109595 |
35 | Imran Tahir | DD | SA | 5 | 0 | 83.3 | 15 | 8.8 | 10 | 227 | 33333 | 115 | 6923 |
36 | Ambati Rayudu | MI | IND | 185 | 8 | 137.0 | 0 | - | 9 | 225 | 666667 | 2116 | 126984 |
37 | Ravi Bopara | SH | ENG | 128 | 6 | 117.4 | 6 | 7.6 | 8 | 224 | 166667 | 531 | 31888 |
38 | Lendl Simmons | MI | WI | 239 | 5 | 118.9 | 0 | - | 7 | 215 | 50000 | 166 | 9967 |
39 | Y Chahal | BRC | IND | 1 | 0 | 100.0 | 13 | 8.3 | 9 | 215 | 16667 | 55 | 3322 |
40 | M Henriques | SH | AUS | 117 | 4 | 117.0 | 6 | 7.2 | 5 | 214 | 166667 | 556 | 33378 |
41 | Parthiv Patel | MI | IND | 168 | 4 | 135.5 | 0 | - | 8 | 212 | 233333 | 786 | 47170 |
42 | Faf du Plessis | CSK | SA | 183 | 2 | 130.7 | 0 | - | 10 | 209 | 750000 | 2563 | 153794 |
43 | James Faulkner | RR | AUS | 118 | 5 | 137.2 | 7 | 9.1 | 10 | 208 | 1583333 | 6525 | 391484 |
44 | Yuvraj Singh | DD | IND | 203 | 8 | 120.8 | 1 | 8.2 | 11 | 207 | 2666667 | 10122 | 607315 |
45 | M Agarwal | DD | IND | 213 | 7 | 120.3 | 0 | - | 10 | 205 | 266667 | 1022 | 61324 |
46 | David Miller | KXI | SA | 216 | 8 | 112.5 | 0 | - | 9 | 201 | 2083333 | 7403 | 444208 |
47 | Manish Pandey | KKR | IND | 181 | 7 | 123.1 | 0 | - | 10 | 197 | 283333 | 1130 | 67803 |
48 | Karn Sharma | SH | IND | 62 | 5 | 140.9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 192 | 625000 | 2325 | 139509 |
49 | Ravindra Jadeja | CSK | IND | 99 | 2 | 95.2 | 5 | 8.4 | 10 | 186 | 1250000 | 4800 | 288018 |
50 | W Saha | KXI | IND | 165 | 6 | 119.6 | 0 | - | 10 | 186 | 366667 | 1408 | 84485 |
51 | Deepak Hooda | RR | IND | 125 | 11 | 186.6 | 1 | 8.5 | 11 | 182 | 66667 | 314 | 18838 |
52 | Chris Morris | RR | SA | 56 | 4 | 200.0 | 5 | 7.6 | 8 | 178 | 233333 | 1124 | 67416 |
53 | Harshal Patel | BRC | IND | 17 | 2 | 170.0 | 8 | 7.2 | 9 | 178 | 66667 | 268 | 16051 |
54 | Anureet Singh | KXI | IND | 18 | 1 | 58.1 | 11 | 8.2 | 10 | 177 | 33333 | 135 | 8071 |
55 | Amit Mishra | DD | IND | 8 | 0 | 66.7 | 9 | 7.4 | 11 | 175 | 791667 | 3554 | 213265 |
56 | Surya Yadav | KKR | IND | 137 | 8 | 139.8 | 0 | - | 10 | 173 | 116667 | 530 | 31792 |
57 | Dinesh Karthik | BRC | IND | 101 | 3 | 123.2 | 0 | - | 10 | 173 | 2083333 | 8602 | 516102 |
58 | Trent Boult | SH | NZ | 0 | 0 | - | 8 | 8 | 6 | 171 | 633333 | 2646 | 158730 |
59 | Morne Morkel | KKR | SA | 0 | 0 | - | 9 | 7.1 | 5 | 171 | 466667 | 2144 | 128655 |
60 | Brad Hogg | KKR | AUS | 2 | 0 | 200.0 | 9 | 6.7 | 5 | 169 | 83333 | 387 | 23246 |
61 | Murali Vijay | KXI | IND | 199 | 6 | 105.3 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 165 | 500000 | 2165 | 129870 |
62 | R Ashwin | CSK | IND | 26 | 0 | 173.3 | 6 | 6.5 | 7 | 160 | 916667 | 4092 | 245536 |
63 | Kedar Jadhav | DD | IND | 125 | 5 | 120.2 | 0 | - | 11 | 159 | 333333 | 1647 | 98832 |
64 | D Kulkarni | RR | IND | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | 9 | 7.9 | 9 | 156 | 183333 | 1007 | 60440 |
65 | Karun Nair | RR | IND | 143 | 5 | 130.0 | 0 | - | 11 | 154 | 125000 | 696 | 41744 |
66 | Ishwar Pandey | CSK | IND | 0 | 0 | - | 8 | 7.3 | 8 | 151 | 250000 | 1183 | 70956 |
67 | Naman Ojha | SH | IND | 135 | 4 | 115.4 | 0 | - | 10 | 150 | 83333 | 397 | 23810 |
68 | Stuart Binny | RR | IND | 74 | 1 | 113.8 | 4 | 7.6 | 11 | 147 | 916667 | 5345 | 320700 |
69 | Umesh Yadav | KKR | IND | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 9 | 8.8 | 9 | 143 | 433333 | 2381 | 142857 |
70 | MMcClenaghan | MI | NZ | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | 9 | 8.1 | 6 | 141 | 50000 | 253 | 15198 |
71 | Eoin Morgan | SH | ENG | 128 | 8 | 130.6 | 0 | - | 5 | 140 | 250000 | 1276 | 76531 |
72 | Ashish Reddy | SH | IND | 56 | 4 | 180.6 | 3 | 8.3 | 5 | 138 | 33333 | 173 | 10352 |
73 | J Suchith | MI | IND | 43 | 2 | 159.3 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 132 | 16667 | 90 | 5411 |
74 | Pravin Tambe | RR | IND | 2 | 0 | 50.0 | 7 | 7.8 | 9 | 122 | 16667 | 117 | 7026 |
75 | Pawan Negi | CSK | IND | 55 | 3 | 177.4 | 2 | 7.8 | 3 | 121 | 16667 | 98 | 5903 |
76 | C Anderson | MI | NZ | 114 | 6 | 117.5 | 1 | 8.3 | 4 | 119 | 750000 | 4502 | 270108 |
77 | Mandeep Singh | BRC | IND | 78 | 5 | 195.0 | 0 | - | 8 | 118 | 133333 | 807 | 48426 |
78 | Tim Southee | RR | NZ | 13 | 0 | 144.4 | 6 | 8.8 | 7 | 115 | 200000 | 1491 | 89441 |
79 | Mohit Sharma | CSK | IND | 4 | 0 | 50.0 | 8 | 8.6 | 10 | 112 | 333333 | 2126 | 127551 |
80 | M Johnson | KXI | AUS | 31 | 1 | 86.1 | 9 | 9.4 | 9 | 109 | 1083333 | 7099 | 425950 |
81 | Unmukt Chand | MI | IND | 102 | 2 | 122.9 | 0 | - | 6 | 108 | 108333 | 716 | 42989 |
82 | Saurabh Tiwary | DD | IND | 70 | 3 | 159.1 | 0 | - | 4 | 101 | 116667 | 908 | 54455 |
83 | RTenDoeschate | KKR | NETH | 61 | 3 | 135.6 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 95 | 166667 | 1378 | 82707 |
84 | Lokesh Rahul | SH | IND | 100 | 4 | 108.7 | 0 | - | 6 | 93 | 166667 | 1280 | 76805 |
85 | Sarfaraz Khan | BRC | IND | 75 | 2 | 174.4 | 0 | - | 7 | 93 | 83333 | 640 | 38402 |
86 | Albie Morkel | DD | SA | 78 | 1 | 136.8 | 1 | 8.8 | 2 | 91 | 50000 | 432 | 25903 |
87 | Praveen Kumar | SH | IND | 13 | 0 | 68.4 | 6 | 8.8 | 9 | 88 | 366667 | 2976 | 178571 |
88 | Iqbal Abdulla | BRC | IND | 20 | 0 | 111.1 | 4 | 7.9 | 5 | 87 | 108333 | 889 | 53366 |
89 | V Sehwag | KXI | IND | 99 | 3 | 117.9 | 0 | - | 8 | 86 | 533333 | 4430 | 265781 |
90 | Shaun Marsh | KXI | AUS | 81 | 3 | 139.7 | 0 | - | 4 | 85 | 366667 | 3081 | 184874 |
91 | Zaheer Khan | DD | IND | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 7.1 | 4 | 78 | 666667 | 6716 | 402930 |
92 | Johan Botha | KKR | SA | 29 | 1 | 263.6 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 74 | 166667 | 1770 | 106178 |
93 | Domnic M | DD | IND | 1 | 0 | 33.3 | 4 | 7.2 | 6 | 73 | 16667 | 179 | 10763 |
94 | S Aravind | BRC | IND | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 6.8 | 1 | 69 | 50000 | 518 | 31056 |
95 | Glenn Maxwell | KXI | AUS | 75 | 4 | 125.0 | 0 | 11.2 | 7 | 64 | 1000000 | 11161 | 669643 |
96 | Vinay Kumar | MI | IND | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 8.2 | 8 | 61 | 466667 | 5464 | 327869 |
97 | Hanuma Vihari | SH | IND | 39 | 0 | 111.4 | 0 | - | 5 | 49 | 16667 | 243 | 14577 |
98 | Manoj Tiwary | DD | IND | 57 | 1 | 101.8 | 0 | - | 5 | 49 | 466667 | 7483 | 448980 |
99 | Sunil Narine | KKR | WI | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 7.4 | 6 | 47 | 1583333 | 26469 | 2E+06 |