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The biggest T20 league in the world has now come to a close. Mumbai Indians have been crowned as IPL champions for the fourth time after defeating Chennai Super Kings in a nail-biting final.
This season had everything you would expect from such a high profile tournament. There were humongous sixes, funny moments, controversies, and centuries.
The best thing about the IPL is the fact that we get to witness some of the best cricketers across the world perform on cricket’s grandest stage.
There were some great performances this year. We witnessed some of the most breath-taking displays of batting and bowling unlike never before.
Though all these players who delivered match-winning performances couldn’t win the MVP award at the end of the season, they can definitely be considered the most valuable players of the season for the way they played a huge role in their team’s success. This post lists out those 10 players who are the most valuable players of the season.
Note: This post is based on personal opinion and has nothing to do with the MVP award list.
#10 Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians)
It’s no big secret that Jasprit Bumrah is one of the best bowlers in the world. He is best known for being a lethal death over specialist in the shortest format. Bumrah has always been reliable with the ball for Mumbai Indians.
This year was no exception for the Indian speedster. Even when an experienced bowler like Lasith Malinga was getting dispatched to the boundary with ease, Bumrah managed to stay calm while maintaining a good line and length.
He has brought Mumbai Indians back from the brink of defeat multiple times in the tournament.
In the final against CSK, it was Bumrah’s exceptional bowling that helped restrict CSK till the final over was bowled. The fact that he conceded just 14 runs from his full quota in such a high-pressure game speaks volumes about his mentality.
Bumrah finished the season as the fifth highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets from 16 matches at an economy rate of 6.63.
#9 Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals)
Rishabh Pant is probably one of the best up and coming cricketers India has to offer. It seems like he is being groomed to be the next MS Dhoni.
His keeping skills may indicate otherwise but his batting shows that he can live up to the expectations. Last year, Pant was the second highest run scorer in the tournament with 684 runs.
He may not have been as good with the bat as last year, in terms of runs, but he managed to maintain his consistency. In fact, this year he has shown a bit more maturity in his batting. It almost feels like he has grown up as the tournament progressed.
Pant went from swinging for the fences at every ball to playing careful strategic innings. A couple of times Pant single-handedly rescued his team from the brink of defeat by playing a mature knock ensuring they crossed over the finish line.
Rishabh Pant finished the season with 488 runs from 16 matches at a strike-rate of 162.66.
#8 Shreyas Gopal (Rajasthan Royals)
Last year, Shreyas Gopal shocked everyone by picking up the wicket of Virat Kohli and Ab de Villiers in the same match. In fact, many had written it off as a fluke. This season, Gopal has proved that it was not the case.
He picked up the wicket of both Kohli and de Villiers when Rajasthan Royals faced Royal Challengers Bangalore on both occasions this year.
He even scalped a hat-trick in the match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He may be the only bowler in the world who can claim to have taken Kohli and de Villiers’ wicket in the same match on three different occasions.
Shreyas Gopal has quickly become one of the biggest talking points of the tournament and will soon find himself playing for India if he continues this form.
Gopal took a lot of responsibility after Jofra Archer left the tournament. He quickly became Rajasthan Royals’ strike bowler. Shreyas Gopal ended the season with 20 wickets from 14 matches at an economy rate of 7.22.
#7 KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab)
KL Rahul has been one of the best players for Kings XI Punjab ever since he joined the franchise last year. He has been their most consistent batsman and has scored a bulk of their runs.
This season was no exception for the swashbuckling opener. At most times, he seemed to be the only saving grace for Kings XI Punjab.
He ended the season as the second highest run scorer with 593 runs from 14 matches at an average of 53.90. Rahul scored a total of six half-centuries and one century.
While his fiery batting won KXIP a couple of matches, it wasn’t enough to get them into the playoffs as they finished the season in sixth place. KL Rahul is one of those players who has become too good for his own team and he definitely deserves to be part of a more consistent outfit.
Apart from his batting, he was also quite useful in the field and took a few spectacular catches. Rahul can also keep wickets when required making him a valuable asset to any team.
#6 Kagiso Rabada (Delhi Capitals)
Delhi Capitals have been consistently placed at bottom of the points table for the past few years. However, this year all that changed for them. A part of their huge success this year is owed to Kagiso Rabada.
The South African speedster spearheaded their bowling attack. He bowled beautifully in the death overs and picked up a lot of wickets. Rabada was the leading wicket-taker for most of the season.
Unfortunately, he got injured and returned to South Africa leaving his team vulnerable without a strike bowler. We all witnessed how Rabada’s absence affected the team in the playoffs.
He also lost his purple cap to Imran Tahir who played five more matches than him. Kagiso Rabada finished the season with 25 wickets from just 12 matches at an impressive economy rate of 7.82.
Delhi Capitals can only hope that Rabada retains his form when he returns to play for them next season.
#5 Imran Tahir (Chennai Super Kings)
Imran Tahir’s form was a surprise for me. Despite being a lethal T20 bowler, he has failed to remain consistent in the IPL. He has picked up wickets but failed to do so on a consistent basis. MS Dhoni still showed a lot of faith in the leggie and he (Tahir) repaid that faith tenfold.
This season, he was their standout bowler who never failed to impress. He hit the right lengths, got the ball to turn, and deceived many batsmen in the process. There’s no doubt that Tahir is one of the most valuable players of the season.
He finished the season with 26 wickets from 17 matches to win the purple cap. Tahir won the purple cap after taking two wickets in the final against the Mumbai Indians.
He overtook his compatriot and Delhi Capitals’ pacer Kagiso Rabada who had taken 25 wickets from 12 matches before leaving the tournament due to injury.
Tahir’s availability for the next season is in question since he is retiring from white ball cricket after the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. If that’s the case, then his absence will leave CSK with a huge hole to fill.
#4 Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Jonny Bairstow entered the IPL in good form and retained it throughout the season. Jonny Bairstow and David Warner’s opening partnership for SRH was a treat to watch in this season's IPL.
We got to witness an Englishman and an Australian form an unbreakable partnership. Bairstow’s form and quick scoring ability took some pressure off the rest of the batting lineup. He was scoring runs for fun and hammered the bowlers.
While he didn’t finish the tournament, Bairstow’s batting left a huge mark on the season. He scored a total of 445 from 10 matches at a strike-rate of 157.24. His tally of 445 runs is the highest for a player in his maiden IPL season.
His departure impacted SRH to some extent but Warner was able to steady the ship when required.
#3 David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
David Warner has been one of the most spectacular cricketers to watch over the years. His performances have had such a huge impact on SRH’s success. Despite being banned from international cricket for a year, Warner still hasn’t missed a beat.
Right from the first match, he showed a lot of intent to score runs and wasn’t backing down. His partnership with Bairstow was one of the best sights this year. The duo terrorized bowlers with their insane batting.
Warner and Bairstow broke the record for the highest opening partnership scoring over 200 runs.
In the 12 matches he played, Warner scored 692 runs at an average of 69.20 with eight half-centuries and one century. Just like his opening partner, Warner also left the tournament early to prepare for the World Cup.
His departure really affected Sunrisers Hyderabad who failed to win their Eliminator match against Delhi Capitals. It’s safe to assume that Warner’s absence was the difference between victory and defeat.
#2 Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians)
Mumbai Indians won their fourth IPL title this year and a big reason for their success has been Hardik Pandya. At the start of the season when the top order was struggling, Pandya pulled them out of troubled waters with some scintillating batting.
He played some beautiful cameos down the order including some beautiful helicopter shots. Pandya’s quick-fire batting was quite often the difference between victory and defeat. The Indian all-rounder scored 402 runs from 16 matches at an average of 44.66. He also had the second highest strike-rate of the season with 191.42.
His batting wasn’t the only thing that impressed this season. Pandya was quite useful with the ball in hand. Although expensive, he provided some crucial breakthroughs. He scalped 14 wickets from 16 games this season.
Pandya is also a brilliant fielder making him a true all-rounder and a big asset to the Mumbai Indians franchise.
#1 Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Andre Russell is undoubtedly the most valuable player of the season. He was KKR’s glimmer of hope throughout the season. He played with a lot of intent and his passion for KKR was clearly visible.
Russell single-handedly pulled his team out of trouble with his big hitting. While the top order failed to maintain any consistency, Russell proved that his power alone was enough.
He single-handedly won games for KKR with his cameos.
Andre Russell finished the season with 510 runs from 14 matches at an average of 56.66 and a strike-rate of 204.81. Despite his efforts, KKR failed to make the playoffs.
Russell also impressed with the ball taking 11 wickets from 14 matches at an economy rate of 9.51. Unsurprisingly, the West Indian all-rounder was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season for his efforts.
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