When was the last time we saw an IPL top 50 table without the names of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, M S Dhoni, and with Rishabh Pant getting almost the last empty seat? ask Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji as they list the 50 Most Valuable Players after the first 29 IPL 2022 games.
It is both reassuring and worrying. The way Hardik Pandya (GT; MVPI: 330) has stormed to the top of the MVP list reassures us that all the talent and ability he possesses is still intact.
Indeed, he has shown he can excel even with the added burden of captaincy. The worry is that we might be seeing the beginnings of another injury.
Andre Russell (KKR; 297) and Jos Buttler (RR; 285) continue to remind us that they are among the very best in T20 cricket.
Liam Livingstone (PBKS; 293) is beginning to finally show IPL fans why other T20 leagues rate him so highly.
And how's one to react to the magic that Dinesh Karthik (RCB; 278) is unleashing? It is pure and heart-warming drama.
While the MVP table offers rich data about IPL 2022's top performers so far, it also contains worrying pointers about how some IPL greats seem unable to get on to the bus so far.
When was the last time we saw an IPL top 50 table without the names of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, M S Dhoni, and with Rishabh Pant getting almost the last empty seat?
Recall that the MVPI collapses a player's batting, bowling and fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'.
To have the best MVPI value, batters must score a lot of runs with a high strike rate and bowlers must take a lot of wickets with a low economy rate.
MVPI: Most Valuable Player Index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points. Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.
Who, among the top 50 players, have the lowest Paisa Vasool Index -- currently offer the best value for money?
They include David Miller (GT; 192), Kuldeep Yadav (DC; 394), Umesh Yadav (KKR; 450), Tilak Varma (MI; 463), Robin Uthappa (CSK; 537), Murugan Ashwin (MI; 658), Aiden Markram (SRH; 669), Shahbaz Ahmed (RCB; 885), Shivam Dube (RCB; 964 ) and T Natarajan (SRH; 964).
This analysis is based on the first 29 matches of the current IPL, and updated on the morning of April 18, 2022.
We have assumed the par score to be 180 and every wicket to be worth 18 'runs'.
Best Performing Players in IPL 2022 (after Match 29 ending 17.4.22)
| Rank | Player | Team | From | Runs | Top Score | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate | Wickets | Economy Rate | Games | MVPI | PVI (US$) | PVI (INR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hardik Pandya | GT | IND | 228 | 87 | 26 | 6 | 136.5 | 4 | 7.6 | 5 | 330 | 2597 | 194805 |
| 2 | Andre Russell | KKR | WI | 179 | 70 | 11 | 16 | 179 | 5 | 10.2 | 6 | 297 | 2309 | 173160 |
| 3 | Liam Livingstone | PBKS | ENG | 224 | 64 | 18 | 16 | 185.1 | 2 | 11.1 | 6 | 293 | 2243 | 168211 |
| 4 | Jos Buttler | RR | ENG | 272 | 100 | 23 | 18 | 152.8 | 0 | - | 5 | 285 | 1671 | 125313 |
| 5 | Dinesh Karthik | RCB | IND | 197 | 66 | 18 | 14 | 209.6 | 0 | - | 6 | 278 | 1131 | 84789 |
| 6 | Yuzvendra Chahal | RR | IND | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 62.5 | 12 | 6.8 | 5 | 267 | 1159 | 86945 |
| 7 | Umesh Yadav | KKR | IND | 19 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 135.7 | 10 | 6.8 | 6 | 254 | 450 | 33746 |
| 8 | Rahul Tripathi | SRH | IND | 205 | 71 | 19 | 11 | 173.7 | 0 | - | 6 | 249 | 1951 | 146299 |
| 9 | Wanindu Hasaranga | RCB | SL | 11 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 183.3 | 11 | 8.5 | 6 | 245 | 2507 | 188047 |
| 10 | Kuldeep Yadav | DC | IND | 24 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 114.3 | 11 | 8.2 | 5 | 242 | 394 | 29516 |
| 11 | Shimron Hetmyer | RR | WI | 197 | 59 | 12 | 15 | 177.5 | 0 | - | 5 | 240 | 1687 | 126488 |
| 12 | KL Rahul | LSG | IND | 235 | 103 | 18 | 10 | 144.2 | 0 | - | 6 | 238 | 4082 | 306122 |
| 13 | Shivam Dube | CSK | IND | 226 | 95 | 18 | 13 | 168.7 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 237 | 964 | 72333 |
| 14 | T Natarajan | SRH | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 12 | 8.7 | 6 | 237 | 964 | 72333 |
| 15 | Rahul Chahar | PBKS | IND | 34 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 130.8 | 9 | 7.2 | 6 | 234 | 1282 | 96154 |
| 16 | Quinton de Kock | LSG | SA | 212 | 80 | 25 | 4 | 136.8 | 0 | - | 6 | 226 | 1707 | 128003 |
| 17 | Avesh Khan | LSG | IND | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 350 | 11 | 8.3 | 6 | 225 | 2540 | 190476 |
| 18 | David Miller | GT | SA | 193 | 94 | 17 | 9 | 160.8 | 0 | - | 6 | 223 | 192 | 14414 |
| 19 | Shubman Gill | GT | IND | 200 | 96 | 20 | 5 | 151.5 | 0 | - | 6 | 222 | 2059 | 154440 |
| 20 | Aiden Markram | SRH | SA | 190 | 68 | 16 | 7 | 150.8 | 1 | 8.5 | 6 | 222 | 669 | 50193 |
| 21 | Dwayne Bravo | CSK | WI | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 128.6 | 10 | 8.4 | 6 | 214 | 1175 | 88117 |
| 22 | Rashid Khan | GT | AFG | 40 | 40 | 2 | 3 | 173.9 | 6 | 6.7 | 6 | 214 | 4005 | 300401 |
| 23 | Robin Uthappa | CSK | IND | 197 | 88 | 17 | 12 | 152.7 | 0 | - | 6 | 213 | 537 | 40241 |
| 24 | Suryakumar Yadav | MI | IND | 200 | 68 | 14 | 12 | 153.8 | 0 | - | 4 | 213 | 2146 | 160966 |
| 25 | Tilak Varma | MI | IND | 183 | 61 | 14 | 9 | 147.6 | 0 | 6.5 | 6 | 210 | 463 | 34694 |
| 26 | Sunil Narine | KKR | WI | 22 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 183.3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 207 | 1656 | 124224 |
| 27 | Prithvi Shaw | DC | IND | 176 | 61 | 22 | 7 | 164.5 | 0 | - | 5 | 204 | 1751 | 131303 |
| 28 | Ravindra Jadeja | CSK | AUS | 88 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 129.4 | 5 | 8.3 | 6 | 199 | 4594 | 344580 |
| 29 | Mohammed Shami | GT | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 8 | 7.6 | 6 | 187 | 1910 | 143239 |
| 30 | Harshal Patel | RCB | IND | 19 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 190 | 6 | 6.4 | 5 | 187 | 3285 | 246371 |
| 31 | Shikhar Dhawan | PBKS | IND | 205 | 70 | 20 | 6 | 128.9 | 0 | - | 6 | 184 | 2562 | 192158 |
| 32 | Kagiso Rabada | PBKS | SA | 38 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 131 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 181 | 2920 | 219021 |
| 33 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | SRH | IND | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.7 | 8 | 7.8 | 6 | 177 | 2744 | 205811 |
| 34 | Umran Malik | SRH | IND | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 9 | 9.1 | 6 | 176 | 1299 | 97403 |
| 35 | Deepak Hooda | LSG | IND | 170 | 55 | 14 | 7 | 133.9 | 1 | 10.8 | 6 | 173 | 1899 | 142444 |
| 36 | Lockie Ferguson | GT | NZ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 8 | 8.3 | 6 | 169 | 3381 | 253593 |
| 37 | Khaleel Ahmed | DC | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7.6 | 4 | 165 | 1515 | 113636 |
| 38 | Washington Sundar | SRH | IND | 58 | 40 | 6 | 2 | 207.1 | 4 | 7.9 | 4 | 162 | 1129 | 84656 |
| 39 | Trent Boult | RR | NZ | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 7 | 7.3 | 4 | 161 | 2366 | 177462 |
| 40 | Ishan Kishan | MI | IND | 191 | 81 | 22 | 1 | 117.2 | 0 | - | 6 | 159 | 5481 | 411051 |
| 41 | Shreyas Iyer | KKR | IND | 151 | 54 | 18 | 2 | 139.8 | 0 | - | 6 | 157 | 4459 | 334395 |
| 42 | Shardul Thakur | DC | IND | 70 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 194.4 | 4 | 9.5 | 5 | 156 | 3281 | 246108 |
| 43 | Ravi Bishnoi | LSG | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 5 | 7.2 | 6 | 156 | 1465 | 109890 |
| 44 | Shahbaz Ahamad | RCB | IND | 145 | 45 | 11 | 7 | 154.3 | 0 | 9.8 | 6 | 155 | 885 | 66359 |
| 45 | Sanju Samson | RR | IND | 117 | 55 | 6 | 10 | 148.1 | 0 | - | 5 | 155 | 4301 | 322581 |
| 46 | Dewald Brevis | MI | SA | 117 | 49 | 13 | 8 | 172.1 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 151 | 1135 | 85147 |
| 47 | Krunal Pandya | LSG | IND | 69 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 150 | 3 | 7.2 | 6 | 150 | 3143 | 235714 |
| 48 | Rishabh Pant | DC | IND | 144 | 43 | 15 | 6 | 146.9 | 0 | - | 5 | 149 | 5113 | 383509 |
| 49 | Nitish Rana | KKR | IND | 123 | 54 | 9 | 8 | 141.4 | 0 | - | 6 | 141 | 3242 | 243161 |
| 50 | Murugan Ashwin | MI | IND | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 100 | 6 | 7.8 | 6 | 139 | 658 | 49332 |
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
