February 22, 2025

Positives From The IPL

By Slogger
First publised on 2022-05-31 09:37:15

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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.

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The 15^th edition of the two-month long Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 ended with newbies Gujarat Titans winning the title. It was after a period of two years that the entire tournament was held in India and although the virus scare was there, there were no major hiccups. It was also after two years that it was held with stadiums filled to capacity although it was restricted to just four cities - Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. But the interest displayed by the crowds was phenomenal and it once again showed that IPL is the best and the most-watched cricket league in the world.

For India, there were many positives from IPL 2022. The way Hardik Pandya performed was the biggest positive. He showed himself to be a better bowler, a better batter and most importantly and surprisingly, proved to be a great captain, by moulding a team which no one gave a chance into a winning combination. It also showed how K L Rahul and Sanju Samson have improved their game and become better in the format. Dinesh Karthik also showed why he cannot be written-off just yet with sterling performances that make him a valuable finisher. The biggest disappointment though was the awful form of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. With the T20 World Cup coming up, this must be giving headaches to the selectors.

Then, the emergence of many youngsters as quality pace bowlers in Indian conditions was a huge plus. While Umran Malik emerged as a tearaway who can consistently bowl close to 150kmph, left-armer Mohsin Khan, Kuldeep Sen and Arshdeep Singh also proved their mettle as bowlers to be reckoned with. They will add to India's already strong bench strength and will get their India cap sooner rather than later. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal also showed why they matter in this format with the latter weaving his magic consistently to get 27 wickets at an amazing economy rate of 7.75. As always, IPL 2022 has given India many young players who will serve the country well in the days to come.