Jarrod Kimber, Shayan Ahmad Khan
We are halfway through the group stage of IPL 2024. So far, Rajasthan Royals are on top of the table with 12 points in seven matches. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders and defending champions Chennai Super Kings make up the rest of the top four.
The mid-season team of the tournament is about picking the best players in specific roles. That is how the most successful T20 teams operate. Also, there may be certain players who have had outstanding seasons but fail to make the cut because of team balance. There is a restriction of four overseas players in an IPL side, and we shall maintain that while picking the team here. We also use true values to contextualise the stats in a much more effective manner than by just looking at the raw numbers. (Note: the stats for true values are updated till the end of the 34th league game, when Lucknow Super Giants beat Chennai Super Kings at home on April 19.)
The openers (1-2): Travis Head and Sunil Narine
Travis Head has been the central figure of SRH’s attacking approach with the bat this season, with 324 runs at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 216. His best performance came against RCB, when he whacked a 39-ball ton at the Chinnaswamy. He has two more fifty plus scores against Mumbai Indians (62 off 24) & Delhi Capitals (89 off 32) that came at a strike rate way beyond 250.
Before the DC game, he had a true average of 133 and a true strike rate of 47. It means that he averaged 133 more and struck at 47 more than the average batter would in the Powerplay for the balls he faced. These already ridiculous numbers will get boosted further after his knock against DC, where he didn’t get out in the powerplay again and scored at a very high strike rate.
Sunil Narine averaged 4.57 in seven innings as an opener in the IPL from 2020 to 2023. However, he has been in outstanding form this season. He has scored 276 runs in six innings at an average of 46 and a strike rate of 188. He scored his first hundred in senior-level cricket against RR, and played high-impact knocks against RCB and DC. His bowling has also been very good, a major reason why he makes the cut ahead of Abhishek Sharma. He has picked up seven wickets at an economy rate of only 6.88, operating through the middle overs.
Narine’s true stats are also incredible. He is +44 on average and +29 on strike rate in this phase. But he has also been able to kick on in the middle overs, where he is -6 on average but +47 on strike rate. This is why his numbers also look more like that of a proper opener rather than a pinch-hitter looking to maximise the powerplay.
The middle order (3-7): Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Andre Russell & Dinesh Karthik
Sanju Samson has been superb at number three for RR. In a season where Yashasvi Jaiswal has not scored runs and Jos Buttler has scored the bulk of his runs from two hundreds, Samson’s role has been even more pivotal to their success. He has scored 276 runs at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 155, with three half-centuries. This season, the skipper has had an element of consistency along with his quick scoring abilities.
Shivam Dube has scored 245 runs at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 157. He has been an elite spin-hitter for CSK. So much so that MI bowled 37 balls of pace and just 1 ball of spin against him at the Wankhede. However, he has also improved as a pace-hitter, averaging 45 and striking at 152 against the quicks. He has been particularly destructive against the medium fast bowlers.
Riyan Parag has lived up to the faith shown in him by the RR team management. He has scored 318 runs at an average of 64 while striking at 161. He has been an elite number four, and has been particularly impressive in difficult situations. Although he usually builds his innings like more of an anchor-type batter, it has partly been down to the match situations. He also has the ability to ‘catch up’ very quickly after his slow starts. But he can go hard from the start too, like he showed in his 14-ball 34 against KKR.
All three have struck the right balance in the middle overs according to the true stats. Parag is +39 on average and +6 on strike rate, Samson is at +35 and +14 respectively, and Dube is at +66 and +11. They will get consistent runs, and at a scoring rate way above average through the middle overs.
Andre Russell has scored 128 runs in four innings at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 200. He has played two outstanding knocks. But the reason he makes it to the XI is also because of his bowling abilities. He has picked up six wickets at an economy of 10.55. While that is on the higher side, no other fast-bowling all-rounder offers this level of balance on both sides of the ball.
Dinesh Karthik has been among the few positives for RCB this year. The veteran wicket-keeper batter has 226 runs at an average of 75 and a strike rate of 205 – only Head and Abhishek score quicker than him among batters with at least 100 balls faced in the season.
According to the true stats, Russell is getting out more than he should but he also scores at a strike rate 12 quicker than normal. However, he makes up for it by not being dismissed in overs 12-16.
The batting order is not set in stone. If the team loses their second wicket at the 15th over mark, one of Russell or Karthik could walk in to bat. It would also be optimal to utilise Dube against spin and Parag against pace.
Bowlers (8-11): Kuldeep Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah & Yuzvendra Chahal
Jasprit Bumrah is in the middle of having one of the highest impact seasons by any player in IPL history. The fact that he has the most wickets while going at less than 6 runs per over and bowling in all phases speaks for itself. 13 wickets at an average of 12.85 and an economy of 5.96 is simply ridiculous.
Kagiso Rabada is also silently having a great season. He has taken 10 wickets at an average of 23.3 and conceded runs at 8.32 runs per over. He concedes less than 9 runs per over in each phase of the game. He is not an outlier on true stats, but he is a plus bowler who can bowl whenever required.
Kuldeep Yadav has been an attacking spinner but he has also shown that he can contain the runs. 10 wickets in five matches at an average of 15.2 and an economy of 7.60 is mindblowing for a spinner in what has been the highest-scoring season in IPL history.
Yuzvendra Chahal continues to be brilliant in the IPL. He has been among the top-wicket takers season after season, and that has not changed this year either. The wrist spinner has picked up 12 wickets at an average of 18.1 and an economy of 8.35. 10 of those wickets have been picked up in the middle overs.
Bumrah and Rabada could use the new ball. Kuldeep and Chahal can take care of the middle overs along with Narine. The ace pacers can come back at the death. Chahal has also been used at the death at times this season.
Impact sub – Ashutosh Sharma
(Subbed in for Yuzvendra Chahal, if the team bats second. Vice versa if they bat first)
Ashutosh Sharma has been the find of the tournament. The 25-year-old PBKS batter has been consistently brilliant in difficult scenarios in all four matches. He has scored 156 runs at an average of 52 and a strike rate of 205, and is the sixth quickest-scoring batter among the 62 who have faced at least 50 balls this season. Clearly, the true stats also have him as an outlier.
So here is the team then:
Sunil Narine, Travis Head, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal/Ashutosh Sharma
Honourable mentions – Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Shashank Singh, Matheesha Pathirana and Pat Cummins
Abhishek would have been a lock in the playing XI if not for Sunil Narine. The left-hander has scored 257 runs at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 216. Quite frankly, that is just absurd. His partnership with Head has just been scary.
Heinrich Klaasen would walk into any T20 team in the world. In fact, he has a very solid claim to be the best T20 batter in the world at the moment. The right-hander from South Africa has scored 268 runs at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 199, and is a destroyer of spinners.
However, when we consider the overseas limit and balance of this particular team, it makes more sense to cover more bases. If Abhishek and Klaasen make it to the team instead of Narine & Dube, you miss out on the bowling value of Narine.
Shashank Singh has also been brilliant in a challenging role at No.6 and No.7. His partnerships with Ashutosh have been the highlight of Punjab Kings’ batting this season.
You could argue Matheesha Pathirana has had a better season than Kagiso Rabada. The Sri Lankan pacer though, does not bowl with the new ball. Rabada has been an excellent option in all phases of the innings.
Pat Cummins has been simply exceptional. However, he has bowled seven overs in the Powerplay while Rabada has bowled 13. If Cummins took the new ball more often, he could also make a stronger case of being in the side.
You could substitute one of the honourable mentions for players in the twelve without materially affecting the team. There have been so many exceptional performances that there are going to be more claimants than spots available. Even so, the players selected should cover most bases and situations, and are versatile enough to adapt to any conditions. It only remains to be seen how many make it to our end of season team of the tournament.
Stats from Howstat and Cricmetric, as of 20th April. True stats by Varun Alvakonda, via Cricsheet, as of 19th April.
