The IPL 2024 season is upon its most thrilling stage – the playoffs! The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are all vying for the coveted trophy. Each team has put in consistence performances to end up in top four. All these franchises boasts a solid set of players, and selecting the ultimate playing XI becomes an appealing thought experiment. Let’s delve into the possibilities and build the most formidable (although hypothetical) lineup for the high-pressure matches ahead.
IPL 2024: Best Playing XI from all four playoffs qualified teams
| Pos. | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2 | Travis Head | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 3 | Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 4 | Sanju Samson (C, WK) | Rajasthan Royals |
| 5 | Rajat Patidar | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 6 | Riyan Parag | Rajasthan Royals |
| 7 | Andre Russell | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 8 | Harshit Rana | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 9 | Yash Dayal | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 10 | Varun Chakravarthy | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 11 | T Natarajan | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
IPL 2024 Best XI from all 4 qualified teams
Top-order – Sunil Narine, Travis Head and Virat Kohli
At the forefront of this best XI lies a unique and aggressive top order. Sunil Narine, the KKR mystery spinner, has surprisingly flourished as an opener. He has struck fear with his unorthodox batting style, amassing 461 runs at a healthy strike rate of almost 183. Partnering him is the in-form Travis Head, the lynchpin of the Sunrisers’ batting line-up. Head has been a revelation, scoring 533 runs at a staggering strike rate of 201 (the best in the league with min. of 500 runs).
Anchoring this explosive duo is the resurgent Virat Kohli. After a slow start, Kohli rediscovered his mojo, finishing the league stages as the highest run-scorer (708 runs) with an extraordinary average of 64.36 and a strike rate of 155.
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Middle and lower order – Sanju Samson, Rajat Patidar, Riyan Parag and Andre Russell
The fearsome quartet of Sanju Samson, Rajat Patidar, Riyan Parag and Andre Russell boasts the middle and lower order of this best XI. After several inconsistent seasons, Samson has finally touched supreme consistency. The RR captain has emerged one of tournament’s third-highest run scorer with 504 runs at a huge average of 56.00.
Rajat Patidar, meanwhile, started the season poorly but was influential in RCB’s major turnaround. He was quite destructive, hammering five fifties, with a strike rate of almost 180. Youngster Riyan Parag finally enjoy his breakout season.
The 4th-highest run-getter with 531 runs finally repaid the faith shown on him by RR as his aggressive batting a major factor in Rajasthan’s success. And finally, the ever-dangerous Andre Russell provided valuable lower-order impetus for KKR. His all-round ability further enhanced by 15 wickets, a cluster of which came at crucial junctures. Russell operated at a strike rate of 185.00 (a total of 222 runs).
Bowlers – Harshit Rana, Yash Dayal, Varun Chakravarthy, T Natarajan
Spearheading this attack is a potent quartet of young Indian pacers and spinners. Harshit Rana, with his raw pace and ability to swing the new ball, has overshadowed Mitchell Starc at KKR. Rana has has taken 16 wickets at an impressive bowling strike rate of 12.81.
Meanwhile, Yash Dayal’s variations and wicket-taking prowess have been instrumental in RCB. He etched his name in history by dismissing MS Dhoni to seal the playoff berth for Bengaluru last week. Dayal has been the highest wicket-taker for RCB with 15 scalps.
The spin attack boasts the experience of Kolkata’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who continues to bamboozle batsmen. Incredibly, he is the highest wicket-taking spinner from the league stages as he mustered 18 wickets at an economy rate of 8.34.
Alongside him is the yorker-slinging T Natarajan, who has been instrumental for SRH, topping their bowling charts. The yorker specialist has scalped 17 wickets in only 11 outings. In the league stages, these four bowlers have been at the forefront of their teams’ victories, taking crucial wickets at key moments.
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