The IPL 2022 is set to commence on March 26 and the 10-team tournament will run till the end of May. The mega-auction that happened earlier this year saw over 200 players being sold to the 10 franchises, that includes the two new ones, Lucknow and Gujarat.
IPL 2022 is expected to be grander than the past couple of seasons any other as the tournament returns to India while a percentage of crowd is also expected in the latter stages. All the games will be played in the four stadiums across Mumbai and Pune.
Here’s a look at the best eleven ahead of the IPL 2022:
1. Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer took the IPL by storm last season when he turned around the fortunes of KKR in the UAE leg with his blockbuster hitting at the top, and propelled KKR through to the finals. Such was his impact that KKR decided to retain him leaving out some other high-profile cricketers.
Venkatesh has also been drafted into India’s T20I squad and could well be on the plane to the T20 World Cup as his power-hitting along with handy medium pace bowling provides a great balance to both KKR and the Indian side.
2. Ishan Kishan
One thing that has been made clear is that Ishan Kishan will play in the opening position going forward for MI and the Indian management also looked at him with the same lens. Kishan hammered two fifties at the end of the last season after being dropped mid-way, and is now one of the openers in the national T20 side. Having been bought for a massive amount in the mega-auction, Mumbai eye Kishan as a long-term prospect.
3. Virat Kohli
Kohli may have left the captaincy, and he may have not scored a hundred for more than two years, however, the spark in him remains firing. Releasing the captaincy pressure may prove effective for Kohli, and a season akin to the god-like form in 2016 is never out of contention from the ‘King’.
4. Suryakumar Yadav
A trusted Mumbai Indians batter and now part of India’s first-choice T20I eleven, Suryakumar Yadav has taken giant strides in the past couple of years. An excellent player of spin, Suryakumar has been at the heart of MI’s success in the past three seasons, and will continue to do so.
5. Glenn Maxwell
After years of frustration, Glenn Maxwell finally found his best place in the IPL – that is in the RCB eleven when he was a key contributor to RCB’s run till the playoffs. A spin basher and pace marauder, Maxwell also provides a handy spin-bowling option.
6. Rishabh Pant (C, wk)
Delhi Capitals chose the 24-year-old Rishabh Pant as their leader for the future ahead of Shreyas Iyer, a proven leader who took them to the final couple of seasons ago. Pant, now a first-choice wicket-keeper across formats in the Indian team, will look to do better on the personal and collective front this year than last year.
7. Andre Russell
Andre Russell hasn’t had the best of the past couple of seasons in the IPL. However, he remains one of the most destructive batters on the planet. And if his form in the Big Bash and the Bangladesh Premier League is anything to go by, Russell is fit and ready to take on the world again.
8. Ravindra Jadeja
Arguably the best all-rounder in the world currently, Ravindra Jadeja is one of the first names on any team sheet. He was instrumental in CSK’s success last season with getting a promotion in the batting line-up. He is in sizzling form with the bat, bowls tidily, and is a gun fielder.
9. Anrich Nortje
It’s a tribute to Anrich Nortje’s fast bowling that the Capitals retained him over compatriot pacer Kagiso Rabada. In the course of the last two IPL seasons, in which he wasn’t the first-choice pace initially, Nortje has developed miles and become one of the best in the business.
10. Jasprit Bumrah
Arguably the best all-format pacer currently, Jasprit Bumrah is a 4-over bank for Mumbai and India. A death overs specialist, Bumrah has also shown the knack of picking wickets with the new ball in the last four seasons.
11. Ravi Bishnoi
An emerging leg-spinner, Ravi Bishnoi recently got his India T20I cap. Bishnoi was surprisingly not retained by Punjab, and is considered one of the steals of the mega-auction when Lucknow bought him for 4 crore. Known for his sharp, quick googlies, Bishnoi could well have a breakthrough season this year that propels him amongst the finest artist of leg-spin bowling in the world.
Also Read: Mohammed Shami Revealed One Skill He Wants To Take From Jasprit Bumrah
