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IPL 2024 is done and dusted with the Knight Riders rampaging their way to a third title. But the runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad were the talk of the town through the IPL with the attacking brand of cricket. Along the same lines, there was a noticeable change in how players approached the game this season with intent and impact being the key words. So we went a step further in ranking the most impactful players in IPL 2024. Before we head into the players themselves, the way impact was defined is the total numbers of Sixer match points accrued by each player divided by the number of total balls they were involved in with both bat and ball, judging everyone fairly and equally. So without further ado, here are THE guys everyone feared in the IPL this season.
West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran, not Sunil Narine or Virat Kohli, was in fact the most impactful player in the IPL this season. Pooran was sensational for the Super Giants, scoring 499 runs at a strike rate of 178.21, often bailing them out of trouble. Pooran has a Sixer Impact Rating of 2.45, the highest among all players who have played 240 balls or more with bat and ball. With the retentions coming up next year, Pooran is likely to stay a Super Giant for the foreseeable future.
Who else if not Abhishek Sharma? The left-hander maverick opener was brilliant with the bat as he led the charge alongside Travis Head for the Sunrisers. He revolutionized powerplay batting this season with 484 runs at a staggering strike rate of 204.22 and a Sixer Impact Rating of 2.28. Abhishek never played more than 30 balls in an innings, which makes his accomplishment all the more impressive. He also added value with the ball, impressing against the Royals in Qualifier 2. What if we told you that both Pooran and Abhishek were part of the Sunrisers in 2022? Imagine that pairing going all guns blazing this season!
There’s something about left-hand batters, right? First Pooran and Abhishek and now we have Chennai’s middle-order batter Shivam Dube next on the list. Dube was particularly heavy on the spinners, even forcing Hardik Pandya and MI to not use any spin against him in their only encounter in April. Even though Dube’s form tailed off in the end, he was able to achieve an Impact Rating of 2.27 with 396 runs to his name. Dube’s spin-hitting prowess is now well-renowned, even earning a spot in India’s T20 WC squad. Can he translate the same impact on the international level? Only time will tell.
Moving on to another Indian cricketer who made the T20 WC squad, Rishabh Pant made a successful return to cricket after a horrific accident over an year ago. While Pant started slow, he slowly regained his form of old. He scored 446 runs at a strike rate in excess of 150 with a Sixer Impact Rating of 2.26. He was brilliant against both pace and spin with a couple of fifties to show for his efforts as well. With Pant returning to form seamlessly, Team India seems set for the short-term at least.
Rounding off the list is one of India’s brightest young talents in Tilak Varma. Tilak, who plays for the Mumbai Indians, was one of the few bright spots in Mumbai’s dismal campaign this IPL season. Tilak had a career-year with 416 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 150. He even scored three fifties although none of them translated to a win in the end. He had a Sixer Impact Rating of 2.23, which does hold him in good stead going into the next cycle of retentions. With age on his side and place in future Indian squads on the horizon, Tilak is one to keep an eye out for in the coming days.
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