IPL 2022: Best XI of the tournament

Gujarat Titans won the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beating Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the final by seven wickets. The team led by Hardik Pandya won the title in their maiden season itself while the Royals’ dream of winning their second final in IPL history shattered. As far as the playoffs are concerned, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore made it to the top four but they were knocked out in the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 respectively. During the tournament, several players from different teams put up brilliant performances which surprised cricket fans. Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal were the most consistent among them, winning the Orange Cap and Purple Cap respectively. In terms of captaincy, the likes of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya also impressed with the latter taking his side to title victory. Among young players, Umran Malik and Tilak Varma were the top performers. Here’s a look at the Best XI of IPL 2022 1. Jos Buttler Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Senior English batter Jos Buttler delivered outstanding performances with the bat in IPL 2022. He scored a mammoth 863 runs in 17 games with a magnificent average of 57.53. Rajasthan won a lot of matches due to his heroics. He struggled in the second half of the league stage but returned to his best form in the playoffs, smashing a stunning ton against RCB in the second qualifier. Overall, Buttler scored four centuries and as many half-centuries. He is now the second-highest run-scorer in a single season of the IPL after the former Indian skipper and great batter Virat Kohli who smashed 973 runs in the 2016 season. Buttler proved he is an important asset in the role of an opener for Rajasthan Royals. Unfortunately, his gigantic efforts didn’t result in a title victory for RR and he was understandably disappointed. 2. KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper) KL Rahul fifty. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) KL Rahul performed excellently throughout the season for the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He led the side well too, while scoring the second-most runs in IPL 2022. Rahul led from the front with the bat, amassing 616 runs in 15 innings at an average of 51.33 at a strike rate of 135.38. However, his strike rate in the chases came under scrutiny especially in the Eliminator against RCB when LSG were chasing more than 200 runs. Nevertheless, it was a terrific effort from Rahul with the bat continuing his good run in the last few IPL seasons. Moreover, Rahul was impressive with his tactics as captain, making some hard calls during the crunch moments of the game. Unfortunately, he couldn’t lead his team to the title but definitely, there were a lot of positives for him and the side on which they can build on in the next season. 3. Liam Livingstone Liam Livingstone. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Liam Livingstone lived up to his reputation in the 15th edition of the IPL playing for Punjab Kings this season. He played a few blistering knocks showcasing his power-hitting abilities. Appearing in all 14 matches for the franchise, Livingstone scored 437 runs at an average of 36.42 smashing four half-centuries. Livingstone’s strike rate of 182.08 was one of the best throughout the season as he went on to smack 29 fours and 34 sixes. Moreover, he also smashed the longest six in IPL 2022 which travelled a whopping 117 metres. The England all-rounder also delivered with the ball scalping six wickets. However, it could be said that he was under utilised significantly with the ball as he did bowl many overs. 4. Rahul Tripathi Rahul Tripathi. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Rahul Tripathi had a great season with the bat once again in this year’s IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The franchise did not have a great outing as the team finished eighth by winning six out of 14 matches. Tripathi cemented his spot at the No. 3 position by scoring 413 runs in 14 matches at an average of 37.55 with a strike rate of 158.24. He managed three 50+ scores as his highest score of 76 runs off 44 balls came against Mumbai Indians. As an uncapped player, Tripathi has become the first player to score more than 1500 runs in the IPL. In the last few years, he has been the most consistent players in the tournament. He is even tipped to get a national team call-up in the coming days for his consistent performances. 5. Hardik Pandya (Captain) Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Everyone was in shock when Gujarat Titans (GT) appointed Hardik Pandya as their captain as he was coming back from an injury setback. His form with both the bat and ball was also in doubt as he did not play any competitive games for a good amount of time. Hardik Pandya surprised his critics as he led his troops to win this trophy in their debut season. Along with his impressive captaincy abilities, He managed to score 487 runs in 15 matches at an average of 44.27. He smashed four 50+ scores at a strike rate of 131.27. He also took eight scalps in 10 innings at an economy of 7.28. In the final, he was the Player of the Match for his all-round contribution (three wickets with the ball and 34 runs off 30 balls with the bat). His stellar performance throughout the tournament earned him a comeback call to Team India for the upcoming home series against South Africa, starting from 9 June 2022. 6. Deepak Hooda Deepak Hooda. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Deepak Hooda enjoyed a great IPL season finally as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) provided him opportunities to showcase his talent. LSG lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator and Deepak Hooda’s form was instrumental throughout his franchise’s debut season. Batting in the middle order, he smashed 451 runs in 14 innings at an average of 32.21 with a strike rate of 136.67. LSG skipper KL Rahul also utilised his off-spin bowling abilities in two innings where he managed one wicket at an economy of 10.75. His best score of 59 runs off 39 balls came against Rajasthan Royals (RR). For the last few years, he was quite consistent with his batting form in the domestic circuit in the shortest format of the game. Now, he has got a national call-up for the home series against South Africa next month. 7. Andre Russell Andre Russell (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) All eyes were on Andre Russell once again as Kolkata Knight Riders retained the all-rounder ahead of this year’s IPL. This West Indian big-hitter looked to avoid any injury scare this year to play throughout the tournament. As a franchise, KKR failed to enjoy a good season as they finished seventh on the table by winning six matches from 14. In 12 innings, Russell scored 335 runs at an average of 37.22. His strike rate was 174.48 as he smashed 32 sixes in the tournament. He picked up 17 wickets as well in 13 innings at an economy of 9.87. His best bowling figures came against Gujarat Titans when he scalped four wickets in an over by conceding only five runs. With the bat, his best game came against the Punjab Kings when he scored an unbeaten 70 runs off 31 balls. 8. Umran Malik Umran Malik. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Umran Malik was the talk of the town throughout the whole tournament due to his sheer pace in every match. This young pacer from Jammu & Kashmir was retained by SRH and he enjoyed a great season by picking up 22 wickets in 14 matches. He got those wickets at an economy of 9.03 while his best performance came against Gujarat Titans. He bagged five wickets in that match by conceding only 25 runs. He also picked up a four-fer in the tournament. This stellar performance did not go unnoticed by the Indian selectors as he earned his maiden call up to the Indian team for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa in India. Eventually, in all the 14 matches that he played he won the award for the fastest delivery of the match. Meanwhile, Proteas legend Dale Steyn enjoyed working with him during the IPL. 9. Wanindu Hasaranga Wanindu Hasaranga. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Royal Challengers Bangalore took a huge decision earlier this season when they parted ways with Yuzvendra Chahal. In the mega auction, they went for this Sri-Lankan leggie at a hefty fee. For the last few years, Hasaranga’s performance in different leagues had been impressive and that helped him to gain an IPL contract for RCB this year. In the 16 matches of this season, he picked up 26 wickets at an economy of 7.54. His average was 16.54 and he bagged a career-best 5/18 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He also came up with some useful cameos with the bat when he got opportunities down the order. However, Hasaranga ended the tournament at the second position in the Purple Cap race, just behind RR’s Chahal (27 wickets). His form was one of the main reasons for RCB’s run-up to the Qualifier 2 where they lost to Rajasthan Royals. 10. Mohammed Shami Mohammed Shami. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Mohammed Shami looked very impressive with his accurate bowling as he helped Gujarat to win this tournament in their debut season. GT’s skipper Hardik Pandya used Shami as the leader of his bowling unit for his huge experience. In 16 matches, Shami picked up 20 wickets at an average of 24.4 and an economy of eight. He managed to give early breakthroughs to GT in powerplay overs. His best figures came against LSG as he bagged three wickets by conceding only 25 runs. In the final, he picked up the wicket of Riyan Parag in his full four-over quota by giving away 33 runs. Mohammed Shami has worked hard on his fitness as he is determined to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year in Australia. He can be a vital option for the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, along with Bumrah, for that tournament. 11. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) After playing for so many years for RCB, Yuzvendra Chahal got an opportunity to play for Rajasthan Royals this year. When RCB decided to let him go, RR grabbed that opportunity with both hands and picked up this spinner for a reasonable price in the mega IPL auction. He played a huge role in taking RR to the final of this year as he bagged 27 wickets in 17 matches. His economy was 7.75 along with an average of 19.52. Even in the final, he conceded only 20 runs in his four overs, picking up one wicket. He finished the tournament as the Purple Cap holder but failed to win the final for his team. Chahal will look to continue his blistering form with the ball for India as well as he is picked for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa, starting next month.

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IPL 2022: Best XI of the tournament

RR's Jos Buttler won the Orange Cap with 863 runs and RR's Yuzvendra Chahal won the Purple Cap with 27 wickets.

8. Umran Malik

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