IPL 2022: Best XI of the tournament

IPL 2022 culminated on Sunday at it got the finale it deserved. In front of a packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Gujarat Titans and the Rajasthan Royals – the two best teams in the tournament, battled it out for glory. The Titans ultimately won IPL 2022 but it wasn’t before RR had caused a bit of a flutter.

As always, this season of the IPL had everything. It had stunning batting displays. Exceptional bowling performances. Mind-boggling catches and youngsters rising to the occasion, telling the veterans that they deserve to be where they are.

It also meant that there was plenty to choose from, as far as the best XI of IPL 2022 is concerned. It wasn’t an easy task, considering the talent at our disposal. But as a celebration for another successful edition of the league, it was something we embarked upon, hoping to create a team that could make maximum impact and cover most bases.

So, without further ado, here is the IPL 2022 team of the tournament.

(Note: The XI consists of four foreigners and seven Indians, like any IPL team)

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IPL 2022 team of the tournament

Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans)

483 runs @ 34.5, SR: 132.32

We know what all of you are wondering. Gill, who only has a strike rate of 132.32 finds himself at the top of the order while KL Rahul, who scored at a strike rate of 135.38 and also scored more than 600 runs, does not find a place in the side. The simple explanation is that Gill’s knocks usually led to GT victories, whereas the same can’t be said of Rahul.

This space isn’t going to talk about what Rahul did. Instead, about what Gill did – a season where he gauged situations and also showed he could take the attack to the opposition. In the final, he had the luxury of batting at his own tempo, although it must be noted that he soaked up plenty of pressure and saw his team through.

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Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals)

863 runs @ 57.53, SR: 149.05

Buttler was at his best during IPL 2022 (Pic Credits: IPLT20.com)

The easiest selection of the lot. Buttler produced the second-highest run-tally in a single season in IPL 2022, and scored as many centuries as Virat Kohli did in 2016. He also nearly powered RR to the title and might well have done so had others around him not felt the pinch of a summit clash.

The most pleasing aspect in IPL 2022 was his improved batting against spin. He got stuck on a couple of occasions, but almost always emerged from it with renewed vigour. Buttler also played one of the greatest knocks ever in an IPL play-off against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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Rahul Tripathi (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

413 runs @ 37.55, SR: 158.23

Tripathi might not have been selected for the India team to face South Africa but he makes our side with ease. Not many batted as aggressively against spin or pace, and he was always on hand to fight fire with fire. His average might not be the highest. His run-tally was not even SRH’s highest in IPL 2022. But each of his 413 runs were impactful cand came at times when SRH needed something positive. He will play a very similar role in this side, with Gill at the top anchoring the innings.

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Hardik Pandya (C) (Gujarat Titans)

487 runs @ 44.27, SR: 131.27; 8 wickets @ 27.75, ER: 7.28

Before the season, not many would’ve thought Pandya would lead the Titans to IPL 2022 glory. But he did. Not many expected he would function as a genuine all-rounder. But he did. In fact, not many believed that he could even feature as a specialist batter throughout the season. But he did.

His leadership was also superb. The all-rounder chopped and changed his bowlers at the right moments and seemed a step ahead of the opposition on most occasions, even throwing his hat into the ring for India captaincy in the future. Most vitally, he silenced plenty of critics along the way, illustrating that he can still be a genuine match-winner on the biggest stage.

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Liam Livingstone (Punjab Kings)

437 runs @ 36.42, SR: 182.08; 6 wickets @ 33.67, ER: 8.78

The overseas breakout star of IPL 2022. Prior to the campaign, there were question marks around Livingstone’s ability to dominate on Indian pitches. But in an inimitable manner, he proved all those doubters wrong. He plundered every bowling attack he faced into submission and a few deliveries that he hit are still lying in a car park somewhere or are swimming in the Arabian Sea.

He ended the tournament with the second-highest strike rate (minimum 100 balls faced). Livingstone was also tidy with the ball as the pitches tired, with his bowling display against the Delhi Capitals standing out.

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Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)

335 runs @ 37.22, SR: 174.78, 17 wickets @ 16.35, ER: 9.87

What’s better than having Livingstone in your IPL 2022 XI? Well, having Russell alongside him. The Jamaican came into his own this season and shouldered KKR’s batting and bowling burden. He scored runs when his team needed them. He picked wickets when his side required them. And, did everything with his usual flamboyance.

It was a pity that KKR couldn’t make the play-offs, ridding people of the chance to watch Russell in the flesh again. But he was, by far, the best all-rounder on show at IPL 2022.

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Dinesh Karthik (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

330 runs @ 55, SR: 183.33

Just when you thought things in our middle order couldn’t get better, we throw Karthik at you. The veteran enjoyed a season of redemption and pulled numerous victories out of the fire for RCB. In a campaign where Kohli and Glenn Maxwell failed more often than not, he held things together and injected the requisite impetus.

He was pretty decent behind the stumps as well. The lasting image will be of him dropping Buttler in Qualifier 2 but apart from that, he did everything to earn a national recall. No prizes for guessing that he will be the finisher in this side too.

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Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans)

19 wickets @ 22.15, ER: 6.59, 91 runs @ 22.75, SR: 206.82

Rashid Khan. That’s it. That’s the story. The leggie dominates almost every competition he plays in and while wickets might not have flowed as freely as it usually does, he was one of the most economical bowlers in IPL 2022. His economy rate was the fifth-best (according to the IPL website) and he finished as the eighth-highest wicket-taker. No bowler in the top 20 wicket-takers had a better economy rate than Rashid, highlighting his worth.

He also grew in stature as a batter, winning GT close matches against the Chennai Super Kings and SRH. He even batted at No.7 most times, hinting that his best as an all-rounder may be yet to come.

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Mohammad Shami (Gujarat Titans)

20 wickets @ 24.4; ER: 8

Gujarat’s highest wicket-taker in IPL 2022, Shami’s selection wasn’t as straightforward. Kagiso Rabada took more wickets than him. Josh Hazlewood had as many scalps as the Indian and Jasprit Bumrah returned to his marauding best towards the end of the league stages. But Shami kept picking wickets in the powerplay, ending up as the leading wicket-taker during that phase alongside Mukesh Choudhary.

He wasn’t bad in other junctures either. The pacer stuck to his basics and while he took a bit of tap at times, he never let his determination and attention to detail waver. And, like he did for the Titans, he will be tasked with breaking the game open early.

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Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

22 wickets @ 20.18, ER: 9.03

Umran was the story of IPL 2022, irrespective of whatever anyone might say. He bowled with real fire throughout and also added a bit of wicket-taking nous on the way. On most occasions, though, his pace forced batters into elementary mistakes and doing things that they might not have ordinarily done. Moreover, a pacer of his ilk is required to keep the batters honest and provide that X-Factor.

He has a tendency to leak runs, as his economy rate might suggest. But with as many as seven bowling options in this side, it is a no-brainer to have his searing pace in the mix.

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Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals)

27 wickets @ 19.51, ER: 7.75

The purple cap holder has no problems getting into this side too. He faced stiff competition from Wanindu Hasaranga but with Rashid being a certainty, there was no place for the Sri Lankan. Chahal tapered away as the tournament progressed but for a significant chunk of IPL 2022, he was simply unplayable.

He got the ball to drop, drift and dip, making batters look as amateur as possible. The leggie produced a slight rendition against Pandya in the IPL final, portraying that his genuine wicket-taking abilities are a must in any T20 side, including ours.