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IPL 2022: Hardik Most Valuable Player

April 18, 2022 11:07 IST

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.

IMAGE: Gujarat Titans Skipper Hardik Pandya in the game against the Rajasthan Royals, April 14, 2022. Photograph: BCCI/IPL
 

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)

 
RankPlayerTeamFromRunsTop Score4s6sStrike RateWicketsEconomy RateGamesMVPIPVI (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

PURNENDU MAJI, SRINIVAS BHOGLE