Malinga the most valuable in IPL-4

Lasith Malinga is now IPL-IV's most valuable player with a MVPI of 454. This isn't such a surprise because Malinga has taken 22 wickets, while the next best bowler has taken just 12. Malinga's strike rate too is a very respectable 5.8 (anything below 8 must be considered good).

If Mumbai Indians (MI) are only paying him $500,000 (since he was a retained player, one cannot be sure), Malinga is a phenomenal steal because his performance costs MI just $708 for every 'run equivalent' he 'scores'.

Paul Valthaty (MVPI 399) has finally lost his top position, but at just $55 per 'run' he continues to be IPL4's biggest bargain. Iqbal Abdulla (MVPI 283) is another player who provides tremendous value at $68 per 'run'.

It makes you sad that BCCI's silly rule of not including uncapped players in the IPL auction prevents talented players like Valthaty and Abdulla from earning more?although franchise owners won't mind this.

Let us now check who are the 'expensive' ( $400,000) foreign players offering the best value. Recall that the lower a player's paisa vasool index (PVI), the greater the value that he offers.

We could define a PVI of less than 1000 to be a '5-star' payback, 1000-1500 to be '4-star', 1500-2000 to be '3-star', and 2000-3000 to be '2-star'. But don't forget that players on the bench tend to have a higher PVI (because they are paid even for not playing).