Who were the best performers of the IPL 2022 season?

There was so much joy and excitement that the IPL 2022 brought that looking back it's quite hard to put a finger to the most interesting development or better yet, the finest cricketing moment of the world-famous T20 league.

Just who'd have thought that Lucknow and Gujarat would go on to perform as well as they did, a first timer actually lifting a crown in its maiden appearance?

IPL

Rahul, Killer Miler, Tewatia, Chahal, Dhawan, Hetmyer, Pandya, Tilak Varma among the many impressed and gave us much to cheer about. Yet, there were some like Kohli, Pollard, Sharma, Jadeja that didn't quite excite and left us rather miserable.

But all of that said, which performers truly set the 2022 edition of the world-renowned IPL on fire given their sheer brilliance?

IndiaTimes has that covered for you!

Jos Buttler

Twitter

Chances are, if someone were to conduct a poll as to how many times did the IPL commentators use the expression, "Jos, the boss", then it would simply run into an insane number.

The kind of number one may not recall with much ease.

But then, it's insanity with the bat with which Buttler bossed the IPL- didn't he?

The scorer of several centuries in the just-concluded season, Buttler was, quite simply, the best batsman of the season as also a huge reason that Rajasthan reached the royal stage of the contest: the finals!

That the soon-to-turn 32 batsman scored runs even in the final, 39 of them, was further confirmation of his desire to keep performing for his fabled IPL franchise.

Though implicit in his powerful batting was the sublime ability to pick the length of the ball quickly, an ability that put him in a different league of IPL batsmen this time around.

Moreover, Jos, the boss earned comparisons with Kohli, who back in 2016, performed at his very peak best. Not a bad figure of batsmanship to be compared with, right?

863 runs- 17 matches- 4 fifties- 4 centuries- strike rate of 149

Dinesh Karthik

Twiiter

A revival in Dinesh Karthik's career, as exemplified by a recall in the Indian set up for the white-ball series against South Africa is an absolutely terrific piece of news for just about everybody who cares about Indian cricket.

The bold and determined cricketer whose game isn't about any theatrics or a sense of exhibitionism, DK, as he's famously called, kept it simple this time around, which meant dealing in sixes and boundaries for the better part of his IPL campaign.

That he scored 132 runs this season through just sixes and not to forget, a further 108 by way of just boundaries proved the fact that this was no ordinary bat; but a serial hitter of big blows!

But it was the contest against the Delhi Capitals where the dogged right hander cut loose, blasting a 34-ball-66 against the Rishab Pant-led side to leave Delhi in shock, not awe.

Karthik, who's once again found his touch, also has fitness on his hands that could help him go longer than he'd have expected in international cricket.

330 runs- 16 matches- 10 not outs- 1 fifty- strike rate of 183

David Miller

Twitter

David Miller, who's known for his penchant for going big at just about any stage of a white-ball contest, truly reinvented himself in this IPL edition. And may perhaps have even given a new burst of life to a T20 career that was perhaps in an urgent need of some makeover.

Utterly unafraid to put the bowlers to the sword and go big, Miller did take some time on a few occasions to get going but when he did, he ensured that he took his team all the way.

The key man responsible for thrusting Gujarat Titans into the finals of the IPL 2022, Miller went big in the contest against Rajasthan on May 24. It would turn out to be a contest that Samson and his team would take a long time to forget.

It was during this utterly gruesome knock of 68 unbeaten runs that Miller reserved his best for the final over run-chase, an occasion where he plundered Prasidh Krishna for 3 back to back sixes, each of which came of a delivery pitched in his arc and sent several rows back over the on-field boundary.

That Miller reached another vital fifty in this tournament whilst only facing a touch over 6 overs was in itself, evidence of the massacring form he was in.

Though rather interestingly, Miller remained unbeaten against the very side and once again featured among the runs in the big final stage, which was just hours ago.

Even as his Titans didn't need too many of his runs, Killer Miller, as he's called, was responsible for 32 of the 131 runs his Pandya-led side needed to win.

It's really true about David Miller when they say that if "it's (the ball) is in the V, it's in the tree!"

For that is where the delivery tends to go eventually when connected from the middle of the blade.

481 runs- 16 games- 2 fifties- 9 not outs- strike rate of 142

Liam Livingstone

Twitter

Quite easily one of the most dangerous strikers of the white ball at present, Liam Livingstone was among the few positives much like Shikhar Dhawan and Arshdeep Singh that could keep Punjab in the tournament for as long as the franchise lasted.

While there was massive disappointment in that the Mayank Agarwal-led side finished, yet again, on the sixth spot on the table, what was anything but disappointing was the bravery shown by Liam Livingstone in the 2022 edition of the world-famous league.

Livingstone produced a scorcher with the bat in the game versus the Gujarat Titans when he blew Shami out of the park with a 117 meter long six, something that other noted destroyers of the bat, whether Pollard, Hetmyer, Russell failed to do.

That he fit four half-centuries was further indication of Livingstone's dangerous touch with the bat.

437 runs- 14 games- batting average 36- strike rate 182

Kuldeep Yadav

IPL

Well and truly speaking, the just-concluded 2022 edition of the IPL was nothing shy of a career-saving act for Kuldeep Yadav of Delhi Capitals.

For someone who didn't quite feature in as many internationals for India towards the conclusion of the 2019 ODI world cup, Yadav was approaching a dead end in his national journey, which is where something had to give.

And in came the 2022 IPL edition, wherein the wily left-arm Chinaman emerged with several key wickets, including no fewer than two four-fors to resuscitate a fledgeling career.

It's hard to believe that at one point, Yadav, who hails from Kanpur, aspired to become an express fast bowler, much like Zaheer Khan, a cricketer he thoroughly admires to this day.

His memorable spells against the likes of KKR proved to be a turning point in this IPL season (4 for 35) and paved the way for the man to return to the headlines that had eschewed him all this while.

21 wickets- 14 matches- bowling average of 19- best of 4 for 19

Avesh Khan

Rediff

Truly speaking, Avesh Khan with his useful medium pacers was one of the biggest reasons why Lucknow Super Giants reached the critical playoffs stage of the IPL 2022.

Attacking well with Mohsin Khan in tandem, Avesh Khan emerged as the bowling trump card for a Lucknow franchise that many may not have taken all that seriously given they were debuting in 2022.

But Khan, who has two international caps for India against his name, often beat the best batters out there, including the likes of Faf, Kohli, Agarwal, Warner by sheer pace.

He was hard to score off and kept a tight lid on the run rates and didn't cut any corners given his rhythmic and captivating bowling action.

He has the makings to forge a bright and capable career for India and at 25, his best days are ahead of him.

18 wickets- 13 matches- best of 4 for 24, bowl avg of 23.

Rahul Tripathi

Twitter

One has wondered for the longest time as to when might the brilliantly-talented Rahul Tripathi get his much-vaunted India break? It's something one is still wondering in a rather dazed and confused state. That's despite the famous Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman having scored dollops of vital runs for a camp that featured several hitmakers- think Pooran, Markram, Williamson.

There's little doubt that this time around, i.e., the IPL 2022, Tripathi took the charge of scoring the bulk of his team's runs on his own shoulders, going about it diligently.

He attacked just as well as he engaged in gap finding on either side of the wicket. He stepped down to the spinners beautifully and made light work of some of the best names that there are in the IPL arena- whether Chahal, Ashwin, Kuldeep, Hazlewood, Avesh Khan and the likes.

He was also an able mid-inning repairer when things didn't go the way of his SRH camp, such as the game against Mumbai, where at the fall of Abhishek Sharma's wicket, which was inside the third over, Tripathi came and changed the complexion of the contest on his own.

But implicit in the determined right-hander's batting was the way he inspired others in the SRH camp to score well, one of the notable names being Priyam Garg.

413 runs- 14 games- 3 fifties- highest score of 76- strike rate of 158

Rajat Patidar

IPL

Patidar fired some useful hits and rather well-timed ones for the RCB contingent in the business end of the tournament, which is where the bats of Kohli, Maxwell and Faf suddenly stopped talking.

For a player who wasn't even certain to be picked in the final eleven this season into ultimately being the destroyer of LSG's hopes, given his smashing 112, a knock that would be followed by a 58 versus Rajasthan, Rajat Patidar was the silver lining in the sky for Bangalore.

Gladly, with his rich vein of form, the RCB finally got another promising batsman who could up the ante of runs and keep the team in the game when the big guns like Kohli and Faf simply couldn't.

How well does this augur for their chances the next season? Probably that' something that the die-hard RCB lover has already begun thinking about?

404 runs- 12 matches- batting average of 40- strike rate of 144

Obed McCoy

IPL

Given the fact that his own mother had been nursing a medical condition for quite some time, that McCoy kept persisting hard for his Rajasthan Royals despite the uncertainty prevailing at his home, was remarkable and indeed, inspirational.

Can it ever be easy to focus on live cricketing action knowing well that a parent is down sick?

But McCoy, who peaked at the latter end of the tournament, was a figure of poise and focus for RR. His cutters and swingers often proved to be the bane of many a batter in the IPL.

And it were his useful bowling contributions in the death overs, where he faced tremendous pressure, having been brought into the attack towards the very end that McCoy truly aced the challenge.

Think of the 2nd qualifier contest versus the RCB, where the left-arm medium pacer's three-for included the key wickets of Faf, Lomror and Harshal Patel.

Not someone who bowls at express pace, McCoy's trump card is that he's a thinking cricketer who loves to mix up the deliveries in each over, often creating doubt in the minds of his opponents.

11 wickets- 7 matches- best of 3 for 23

Umran Malik

Twitter

They were right about Umran Malik when seeing his backbreaking pace that almost always upset the batsmen's rhythm or skittled the stumps that the "Jammu and Kashmir Express" had left the station!

If there's been a serious fast bowling find for team India all thanks to the IPL, one that could sculpt a long and hopefully, sustained career in the international waters, then it undoubtedly has to be Umran Malik.

Malik with his breezy pace and the ability to slot in the toe-crushing yorkers took many an established bat by surprise.

He was fast, furious and ruthless in this IPL and got several ducking for cover.

One of the prime reasons why a star-studded Sunrisers Hyderabad team flexed its muscle for as long as it could despite not reaching the final four on the table, which was such a huge disappointment.

But while there's little to doubt about Malik's ability to usurp batsmen with his raw pace, what he must take care of, as also asserted by the likes of Shoaib, Ganguly and even Mohd. Shami, is how well can the right-arm pacer take care of injuries and hence, his body.

That's down to the fact that cricket, eventually, is a physically taxing sport for the fast bowlers- is it not?

But Malik is all of 21 and it's expected he will listen to what's been instructed to him for his own good. Moreover, if the revered BCCI cultivates his talent and helps him become the best version of himself, then there's nothing that can stop him in the future.

24 wickets- 17 matches- best of 5 for 25

Rovman Powell

IPL

Powell, who truly took everyone by surprise this time around in IPL 2022, had already proven his potential thanks to a whirlwind century in the 2018 world cup qualifiers for his West Indies, where his 100-ball-101 stunned Ireland and earned much plaudits from the Caribbean contingent.

Someone who can put together a proper whack on the cricket ball, Powell is bold, fearless and backs himself to go for the big shots.

But even as the IPL is now over, there'd be many who could still be thinking as to what may have happened had the delivery that pitted his downfall in the contest versus Rajasthan Royals been adjudged a no-ball by the umpire.

He hit 5 sixes during an absolutely crazy knock of 36 that came off merely 15 deliveries and more interestingly, took his Windies co-player McCoy to the cleaners.

But once promised a permanent spot of number 5 by his captain, Powell didn't really disappoint his team, often producing solid blows when only a scant measure of overs were left from which to capitalize.

The determined Jamaican will use this edition's success to further build his IPL career and may hopefully go on to represent the West Indies for a long time. After all, would they like to lose out on a cricketer that can change the complexion of a white-ball contest single-handedly?

250 runs- 12 matches- 2 not outs- 1 fifty- strike rate of 149