IPL 2022: Andre Russell Leads MVP Race

The Most Valuable Player Index table is telling another (worrying?) story: Performance from players in teams that are not going to make the top four is dropping somewhat alarmingly.
The IPL is gruelling and cruel. It can do wonders to your career, but can also seriously hurt your international prospects if you get injured in a match that is essentially inconsequential.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after Game 63.

IMAGE: Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell bowls Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain Kane Williamson at the MCA stadium in Pune, May 14, 2022. Photograph: BCCI

Andre Russell (MVPI: 705) has stormed ahead of Jos Buttler (644). Russell is scoring runs rapidly and taking wickets too. Buttler's runs have recently dried up, and his strike rate is also marginally down.

However, time might be running out for Russell since KKR currently look unlikely to make the play-offs. Buttler could still regain the top position if we compare his MVPI with players from teams likely to be in the top four.

For example, K L Rahul (465) from LSG or Rashid Khan (514) and Hardik Pandya (455) from GT, or Yuzvendra Chahal (512) and Sanju Samson (455) from RR. Sadly, Samson seems content to climb a hill, instead of heading for the more magnificent mountain peaks.

The Most Valuable Player Index table is telling another (worrying?) story: Performance from players in teams that are not going to make the top four is dropping somewhat alarmingly.

The IPL is gruelling and cruel. It can do wonders to your career, but can also seriously hurt your international prospects if you get injured in a match that is essentially inconsequential. If one looks closely, the trend of top players from losing teams either leaving or 'switching off' in the end weeks is becoming glaringly evident.

Thankfully, the IPL also provides new evidence, or reassurance, about the ability of several players. Among the Indian players Chahal, Umesh Yadav (451), Harshal Patel (423), Mohammed Shami (411), and, even more so, R Ashwin (421) and Dinesh Karthik (402) have demonstrated an admirable level of skill and resilience in T20 cricket.

The table below tells many other interesting stories. India's bench strength of fast bowlers is looking more and more impressive, India's largely 'invisible' batsmen have more to offer than we might realise, Sri Lankan cricketers might be making a significant comeback in T20 cricket, retiring fully or partially from international cricket earlier than usual might leave you wealthier at the end of your career, even a marginal second skill (bowling a couple of good overs, or being able to keep wickets) dramatically increasing your value etc, etc.

This analysis is based on 63 matches of IPL 2022. We have assumed the par score to be 180 and every wicket to be worth 18 'runs'.

Best Performing Players so far in IPL 2022 (after Match 63 ending 15.5.22)

Rank	Player	Team	From	Runs	Top Score	4s	6s	Strike Rate	Wickets	Economy Rate	Game	MVPI	PVI(US$)
1	Andre Russell	KKR	WI	330	70	18	32	182.3	17	9.3	13	705	1945
2	Jos Buttler	RR	ENG	627	116	56	37	148.2	0	-	13	644	1775
3	WaninduHasaranga	RCB	SL	38	18	4	1	90.5	23	7.5	13	521	2555
4	Rashid Khan	GT	AFG	72	40	2	7	189.5	16	6.9	13	514	3335
5	YuzvendraChahal	RR	IND	5	5	0	0	62.5	24	7.8	13	512	1451
6	LiamLivingstone	PBKS	ENG	385	70	27	29	180.8	3	10	12	510	2577
7	KL Rahul	LSG	IND	469	103	39	21	135.5	0	-	13	465	4178
8	Hardik Pandya	GT	IND	351	87	37	8	131.5	4	7.3	12	455	3768
9	Sanju Samson	RR	IND	359	55	33	21	153.4	0	-	13	455	3516
10	Umesh Yadav	KKR	IND	55	21	4	4	141	16	6.9	11	451	507
11	David Warner	DC	AUS	427	92	51	15	152.5	0	-	10	450	1587
12	Kagiso Rabada	PBKS	SA	42	25	5	1	102.4	21	8.4	11	434	2436
13	Krunal Pandya	LSG	IND	183	42	16	4	127.1	9	6.6	13	429	2198
14	Harshal Patel	RCB	IND	42	11	4	2	113.5	18	7.7	12	423	3146
15	R Ashwin	RR	IND	143	50	12	6	140.2	10	7.2	13	421	2063
16	Sunil Narine	KKR	WI	50	22	6	3	151.5	9	5.5	13	417	1644
17	Glenn Maxwell	RCB	AUS	228	55	25	10	166.4	5	7.1	10	417	3266
18	MohammedShami	GT	IND	0	0	0	0	-	18	7.6	13	411	1738
19	DineshKarthik	RCB	IND	285	66	22	21	192.6	0	-	13	402	1694
20	Shubman Gill	GT	IND	402	96	43	9	135.4	0	-	13	395	2315
21	Deepak Hooda	LSG	IND	406	59	35	14	133.6	1	10.8	13	391	1681
22	Avesh Khan	LSG	IND	22	12	0	4	169.2	17	7.9	11	384	2976
23	Quinton deKock	LSG	SA	362	80	37	12	136.1	0	-	13	383	2014
24	Tilak Varma	MI	IND	368	61	27	15	132.9	0	6.5	12	380	511
25	Kuldeep Yadav	DC	IND	45	16	3	2	91.8	18	8.7	12	373	613
26	Aiden Markram	SRH	SA	358	68	23	19	141.5	1	10.7	12	369	738
27	Shreyas Iyer	KKR	IND	351	85	37	8	130.5	0	7	13	366	3825
28	Rishabh Pant	DC	IND	294	44	31	14	156.4	0	-	12	360	5079
29	Rahul Tripathi	SRH	IND	317	71	30	16	159.3	0	-	12	360	2474
30	Faf du Plessis	RCB	SA	399	96	41	13	132.6	0	-	13	359	2414
31	David Miller	GT	SA	347	94	26	14	136.1	0	-	13	350	245
32	ShimronHetmyer	RR	WI	291	59	18	21	166.3	0	-	11	350	2776
33	Rahul Chahar	PBKS	IND	52	22	5	3	118.2	14	8	12	345	1739
34	ShikharDhawan	PBKS	IND	402	88	42	10	122.9	0	-	12	342	2757
35	T Natarajan	SRH	IND	0	0	0	0	-	18	8.9	10	342	1225
36	Umran Malik	SRH	IND	4	3	0	0	57.1	18	9	12	341	1229
37	Jason Holder	LSG	WI	58	16	2	6	134.9	14	9.2	11	338	2959
38	AbhishekSharma	SRH	IND	374	75	41	11	134.5	0	9.3	12	334	173
39	Ishan Kishan	MI	IND	327	81	37	4	117.2	0	-	12	330	5281
40	Khaleel Ahmed	DC	IND	0	0	0	0	0	16	7.8	8	325	1846
41	Nitish Rana	KKR	IND	319	57	20	22	139.3	0	14	13	323	2831
42	PrasidKrishna	RR	IND	6	4	0	0	50	15	8.2	13	323	3538
43	RuturajGaikwad	CSK	IND	366	99	33	14	128.4	0	-	13	321	2136
44	Dwayne Bravo	CSK	WI	23	12	1	1	95.8	16	8.7	10	320	1571
45	NicholasPooran	SRH	WI	263	64	14	18	146.1	0	-	12	319	1379
46	Tim Southee	KKR	NZ	2	1	0	0	16.7	14	7	8	315	544
47	Shivam Dube	CSK	IND	289	95	22	16	156.2	0	18	11	307	1489
48	Moeen Ali	CSK	ENG	151	48	11	8	125.8	7	6.9	9	306	2988
49	SuryakumarYadav	MI	IND	303	68	23	16	145.7	0	-	8	306	2988
50	Axar Patel	DC	IND	146	42	10	8	162.2	4	7.8	11	300	3429