TATA IPL 2022 season was a fun ride. It was all-in-all a complete package that entertained the community to its fullest. The BCCI and all the ground management deserve a lot of credit to pull this off in such circumstances. The players have been exceptional throughout. This season, Jos Butler gave us a masterclass in the true sense. We also saw the resurgence of Dinesh Karthik. The consistency of Rahul Tripathi was also on display. So, who were the top 10 batters of the season? Here’s an in-depth look:
**I have not judged the players as top 10 run-getters but the I have considered the most impactful performances**
10) Rahul Tripathi is one of the top 10 Batters in TATA IPL 2022:
Rahul Tripathi has been banging on the door of the national team for a very long time. He has been scoring runs season after season. The case with him is that he is never in the limelight. He has had seasons similar to Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan. Both of them were fast-tracked but Rahul is yet to get his due. He carried the burden of the SRH batting along with Abhishek Sharma. Both these batters kept the team in contention. His innings were the best when the team required them the most. He didn’t let SRH realize that Kane Williamson is out of form.
9) Shikhar Dhawan:
Season after season, my man from Delhi has walked in and has performed. He has scored 450+ runs for the 4th season in a row. It is very unfortunate that “Mr. ICC Shikhar Dhawan is not a part of the Indian National Team in the T20 format. He doesn’t have age by his side but he is supremely fit. And the demands of the shorter format are fulfilled by Shikhar. He is a gun fielder. He carried the Punjab Kings this season. Dhawan was the senior player and stepped up in that fashion.
8) N Tilak Varma Played for MI in TATA IPL 2022:
With Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan not being in the best of forms, the Mumbai Indians needed some batter who could take the team through. N Tilak Varma did exactly that. He put his hand up in the most important situations. He was the one who played the crucial knocks alongside Suryakumar Yadav. There was a lot of hype around his name at the start of the season and he stood up to the same. He was playing international grade cricket. He looked comfortable with the pace and the bounce too. His innings against the Rajasthan Royals will always be one for the ages.
7) Hardik Pandya led the Gujarat Titans to win the TATA IPL 2022:
If leading from the front can be described on the field it was done by Hardik Pandya. Sanjay Manjrekar in an interview said that Gujarat Titans may need a change of captaincy mid-season. Hardik Pandya and his performance have legitimately shut the mouth of such critics. Hardik walked in to bat at number 4 and number 3 for the Gujarat Titans. He was the player who took the game out of critical situations. The Titans always set a good platform for their finishers and Hardik played a big part in this. These are good signs for the Indian national team as well.
6) Shubman Gill:
Shubman Gill, the boy from Fazilka played a few innings with a slow strike rate but held one side. He was the anchor for the Gujarat Titans. His innings against the LSG team in the second game were heavily criticized but when LSG got bundled out for 90 odd runs in that match, the difficulty of the pitch got exposed. He twice scored his career-best this season. The “Gabba Gill” that we saw was on display in this IPL. He dealt well with the short ball and with the express pace as well.
5) Abhishek Sharma played for SRH in TATA IPL 2022:
Abhishek Sharma has risen from the dullest phase of his career. Ever since he began opening for Punjab at the domestic level, he is batting on a different parallel. He was picked for the Sunrisers Hyderabad at 6.2 Crores. They invested in him and he delivered. He scored 426 runs at a strike rate of 156+. This speaks volumes of the explosive attitude he has. He belongs to Shubman Gill’s batch. Abhishek’s performance is highly rated as his partner Kane Williamson was having a difficult time. So, with little to no support at the other end, he excelled. Abhishek tonked the pacers like never before.
4) Dinesh Karthik was a top Batter in TATA IPL 2022:
Dinesh Karthik has made a comeback to the national team at the age of 37! He is aging like fine wine, isn’t he? DK was the best finisher in the league. And for that title, he was competing against Dre Russ, Tim David, and David Miller. He also took home the title of the Super Striker for having a strike rate of 183.33. Some games where RCB lost all hope, were single-handedly won by Dinesh. He was on song. Vikrant Gupta before the start of the season addressed DK as a “Part-Time Player” and “Full-Time Commentator”. One season later, look ow the turntables!
3) David Miller:
The “Killer Miller” from 2013 showed up this season. The Gujarat Titans backed this finisher and he delivered with grace. He was hitting sixes over mid-wicket for fun. He had a “Yuvrajesque” touch to his batting. His performance in “Qualifier 1” and against the Chennai Super Kings will never be forgotten. The Titans relied on Miller and Tewatia to do the finishing for them and both of them did it very well. His 3 sixes against Prasidh Krishna, one of the top bowlers of the season, show that he was high on confidence. He also effectively countered spin.
2) KL Rahul:
KL Rahul has dominated yet another season. It has become a routine for him. “Eat, Sleep, Dominate the IPL, Repeat”. KL Rahul was toying with the bowlers for fun. He slammed 2 hundreds in one season against the Mumbai Indians. And it wasn’t a poor bowling lineup. It had the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Daniel Sams, and Murugan Ashwin. Rahul and his lofted cover drive were a treat to watch. So, was his “Noise-Off” celebration. He led from the front and had the Quinton De Kock by his side. Both these batters stepped up after a few failures in the initial few games.
Honorable Mentions:
- 1) Quinton De Kock
- 2) Jitesh Sharma/Liam Livingstone
- 3) Deepak Hooda
1) Jos Butler was the best Batter of TATA IPL 2022:
Jos was the boss throughout the tournament. Just have a look at the awards that this man won at the TATA IPL 2022:
- 1) Aramco Orange Cap (Most Runs)
- 2) Most 6s!
- 3) Most 4s!
- 4) Cred Powerplayer of the Season.
- 5) Most Valuable Player of the Season.
- 6) Dream11 Game Changer Award.
My man was firing this season. His stats speak for themselves. Imagine a batter coming close to Virat Kohli’s 2016 dream season! This was exactly what Jos Butler did. He scored 4 hundreds in 1 season. He was the power battery of the Rajasthan Royals’ batting.
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