IPL 2022 Playoffs: 4 players from each team who will play a crucial role

The league phase of IPL 2022 has come to an end, with four playoff spots being locked in. While Gujarat Titans (GT) will play Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 1 on May 24, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Eliminator the following day.

Both games will take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata before the action moves to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for Qualifier 2 and the final.

While each of the four IPL teams have shown great consistency in large swathes of IPL 2022, they've largely relied on a solid bowling unit to do their bidding. In the playoffs, though, the tide can turn just about either way, and a couple of good days is all a team require to have their name engraved on the coveted trophy.

For that to transpire, a collective effort and overcoming nerves will be pivotal. We take a look then at four players from each side who could have a big say in whether their side can taste glory.

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#1 Gujarat Titans - Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Shami, Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan

GT have relied on a solid bowling core to pull off many a heist throughout the league phase of IPL 2022. They have found different heroes at different junctures with the bat, something that saw the debutants finish at the summit of the table.

Come the playoffs though, all eyes will be on skipper Hardik Pandya. The captaincy hat has rested well on his head, although his form with the bat has tapered off in the second half of IPL 2022. But if GT are to taste glory, they will need their skipper to bring his all-round prowess to the fore.

On the field, Pandya will call upon local lad Mohammad Shami's guile with the new ball and Rashid Khan's wizardry in the middle overs. Shami has the joint-most wickets in the powerplay in IPL 2022 and on a pacey Eden Gardens surface, can break open the game at will.

Rashid's control in the middle overs needs no introduction, but his lusty blows with the bat too could decide GT's fate in the knockouts. As will the returns of a certain Shubman Gill, whose all-round batting game must inevitably come to the fore. Should that happen, not only will the pressure on the middle order be reduced, but the Titans could well have the IPL 2022 trophy within their grasp.

View the IPL 2022 orange cap here.

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#2 Rajasthan Royals - Jos Buttler, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult and Shimron Hetmyer

RR finished second in the league table of IPL 2022 with nine wins out of 14. Two of their biggest lynchpins in that regard were the duo of Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal. It was all the more pivotal that they stepped up as well, given that RR assembled a team largely comprising specialists at the IPL 2022 auction.

Buttler's form has tapered off massively in the second half though and he will need to reinvigorate himself come the knockouts. A fresh surface at Eden Gardens could be a good start. Should the keeper-batter get going, he can single-handedly win the Royals their second IPL crown.

Speaking of taking early advantage, a certain Trent Boult has shown signs of getting back to his best. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2017 and should relish the opportunity to bowl on a pace-friendly surface. Of course, a lot will also come down to how the Royals close out games, meaning that new dad Shimron Hetmyer's pace-hitting skills in the death overs will be equally pivotal.

Above all though, if there's one man who has been RR's trump card this season, it is Ravichandran Ashwin. Tidy with the ball on good batting strips and ever-reliable with the bat irrespective of the state of the game, Ashwin has been RR's go-to man for all seasons and reasons. Mind you, he's played enough playoff games in the past, meaning that all that experience will come in handy big time this time around as well.

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#3 Lucknow Super Giants - KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi

Debutants LSG assembled what many felt was the most balanced squad at the IPL 2022 auction. True to that billing, KL Rahul and Co. have made it to the playoffs with a string of consistent performances.

That said, the skipper's batting approach in the last few games has raised a few eyebrows. While one can attribute it partly to LSG's iffy middle order, Rahul is the kind of batter who can dictate his own terms and leave nothing to the opposition. More of the same will be needed should the Super Giants complete a fairytale debut.

Deepak Hooda has handled the middle overs and ensured that LSG haven't let momentum slip out of hand. Hooda is striking the ball as well as he ever has and a continuation of the same will also ease the load on Marcus Stoinis, who is expected to do the finishing duties.

Stoinis presents a very intriguing case given that LSG don't seem to have mastered his entry point just yet. All-rounders are worth their weight in gold, however, and very few can turn the game around within the blink of an eye like Stoinis does.

Which then brings us to Ravi Bishnoi, who has endured a campaign of crests and troughs. For some reason, Bishnoi has made an effort to flight the ball a lot more than usual in IPL 2022. There is a lot of merit and benefit in defensive bowling, however, particularly on flat surfaces. Should the young leg-spinner revert to tying down one end, he would leave his fast-bowling colleagues the ideal cushion to cut the opposition batting unit to size.

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#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore - Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel and Josh Hazlewood

One of the biggest takeaways from RCB's lead-up to the IPL 2022 playoffs was the return to form of Virat Kohli. The former skipper rewound the clock and produced a chasing masterclass against GT, showing the kind of intent and confidence that was missing for a long time.

Should Kohli convert this into a purple patch, not only will he put RCB in front but will also allow a certain Glenn Maxwell to unleash his monstrous self with the bat. Maxwell's contributions, however, aren't limited to the bat in hand - he has proved to be a canny operator with his off-spinners yet again, giving skipper Faf du Plessis tidy overs of gold dust.

That said, RCB's IPL 2022 campaign has been a successful one owing to their relentless bowling unit. While Wanindu Hasaranga has led the way with 24 scalps, the duo of Harshal Patel and Josh Hazlewood have created unrelenting pressure across various phases of their bowling essay.

Hazlewood should take to the Kolkata strip like a duck to water, while Harshal displayed incredible temperament in holding his own despite heavy dew at the venue during the T20I series against West Indies a few months ago. Also, should RCB proceed further in IPL 2022, Harshal's cutters should come in handy in Ahmedabad, where the pitch could tend to play on the drier side.