Leading run-scorers during each cycle after mega auctions in IPL

The Indian Premier League started with a bang in 2008 with Brendon McCullum entertaining the spectators at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium and TV audience alike with his attacking knock of 158 not out.

The BCCI which was initially a big critic of the T20 format became the first cricket board to introduce a franchise-based T20 tournament.

The league started with eight franchises based out of different cities with six players named as the icons for their respective cities.

The remaining players were selected by means of the auction for the period of three years. The teams were given the option of trading the players with the other teams in the transfer window before the mini-auction that took place every other year.

Thus, the mega auctions took place in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018. The previous cycle got extended by a year due to the arrival of the interim franchises Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions for the past two seasons.

In this article, let us take a look at the leading run-scorer during each of the cycles 2008-10, 2011-13 and 2014-17.

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#1 Season one to Season three: Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina is the currently the leading run-scorer of the tournament

Suresh Raina was the leading run-scorer for the first three seasons of the Indian Premier League.

He scored 1375 runs during the period at an average of 38.19 and an impressive strike rate of 142.19.

The remarkable part of his achievement was that he did not win the Orange Cap in any of the seasons, but was very consistent with 400+ runs in each season.

Raina’s run-tally for the three seasons was 421, 434 and 520 respectively. He was a major contributor in Chennai Super Kings’ triumph in 2010 scoring 520 runs.

The good show in the first season enabled him to make a comeback to the Indian team for the limited-over formats.

Top 5 run-scorers during the season 1 to season 3 of the IPL

#2 Season four to Season six: Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle is the leading run-getter in T20 format

Chris Gayle topped the run charts for the next three years of the Indian Premier League amassing 2049 runs at a very good average of 62.09 and an incredible strike rate of 165.10.

Such was Gayle’s dominance during this period that the second leading run-scorer lagged behind him by 494 runs.

Initially unsold in the auctions in 2011, Gayle was signed up by Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for injured Dirk Nannes and he played a big role in taking them to the Final of that edition.

The Jamaican dasher scored in excess of 600 runs in every season and also won the Orange Cap for two consecutive years 2011 and 2012.

The sequence of his run tally during the three seasons was 608, 733 and 708 which included a whopping 154 sixes.

During the 2013 season, Gayle got the record score of 175* in the T20 format against Pune Warriors which is also the fastest century in the format, coming off just 30 deliveries.

Top 5 run-scorers during the season 4 to season 6 of the IPL

#3 Season seven to Season 10: David Warner

David Warner won the Orange Cap twice

David Warner showed a great consistency during the next four years of the Indian Premier League.

Representing Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Australian batsman scored 2579 runs at an average of 52.63 and a brisk strike rate of 147.70.

He was instrumental in SRH winning the title in 2016 when he led from the front accumulating 848 runs in the season.

He won the Orange Cap twice, in 2015 and 2017 and amassed more than 500 runs in every season during this period.

Warner’s run-tally during the four seasons was 528, 562, 848 and 641 runs respectively. He had 27 fifty-plus scores in 59 innings which was seven higher than the second-placed Virat Kohli.

Warner forged a great opening pair with Shikhar Dhawan with them being the most prolific pair during the period with 2357 runs at an average of 48.10.

Top five run-scorers during the season 7 to season 10 of the IPL