The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season came to an end on May 26, with Kolkata Knight Riders winning the trophy after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The Shreyas Iyer-led side was too good on the night in what was a one-sided final. SRH chose to bat and posted the lowest score in IPL finals history. They were shut down for a paltry 113. Every KKR bowler chipped in with Mitchell Starc leading the way.

In response, a fiery half-century from Venkatesh Iyer helped the Knight Riders seal the deal with 57 balls to spare. This is now the biggest ever in IPL playoffs/knockouts. The Knights also posted the joint-fewest losses in a season. KKR bowlers were terrific throughout the season and bowled well as a unit. Their batters were brilliant as well, and one saw different players take up responsibility during the season.

Credit should also go to SRH for a terrific season, as their batters dominated. Pat Cummins led the side well and gave his all. You also had several other individuals who stepped in from other teams and made their presence felt in the cash-rich league. Here, we present the best XI of the IPL 2024 season. The team consists of four foreign players and seven Indians. Also, a 12th player in the form of an Impact Player has been included.

IPL best XI of the tournament: Sunil Narine, Abhishek Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sanju Samson (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Harshal Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Pat Cummins (c), Jasprit Bumrah. Impact player: Nitish Reddy.

Sunil Narine (KKR)

Sunil Narine won his third Most Valuable Player award – the most by a player in IPL history. Narine was breathtaking in IPL 2024. He delivered with both bat and ball. Narine scored 488 runs from 15 matches at 34.85. He struck at 180.74. His tally included one hundred and three fifties. Narine hit 50 fours and 33 sixes. As per ESPNcricinfo, he hammered 281 runs in the power play at 56.20 (SR: 170.30). With the ball, Narine claimed 17 wickets at 21.64. He boasted the best economy rate (min 10 wickets) of 6.69.

Abhishek Sharma (SRH)

Abhishek Sharma was one of the best Indian uncapped players in the tournament. He was explosive at the top and looks like someone who isn’t far away from getting a call to the Indian cricket team set-up. The southpaw scored 484 runs at 32.26. He struck at a terrific 204.21. Abhishek smashed the most sixes in the tournament (42). He hit three fifties. He scored 343 runs in the power play overs, striking at 202.95.

Virat Kohli (RCB)

Virat Kohli finished the season as the top scorer. The 35-year-old picked up his second IPL Orange Cap award for an astonishing campaign. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru supremo helped his side reach the playoffs from a difficult situation. Kohli, who became the first batter to surpass 8000 IPL runs during the campaign, scored 741 runs at 61.75. He hit five tons and a six. He hit 62 fours and 38 sixes (SR: 154.69).

Jake Fraser-McGurk (DC)

Jake Fraser-McGurk was a livewire for Delhi Capitals in his debut IPL campaign. The young 19-year-old Australian played fearlessly and toyed with the bowlers. From nine matches, he scored 330 runs at 36.66. Notably, he clocked the best strike rate worth 234. He was awarded the Striker of the Year award. Fraser-McGurk smashed four fifties. He is one player who could be retained by DC ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025. He hit 28 sixes and 32 fours.

Sanju Samson (RR)

It was a close call for the wicket-keeping choice between Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant, but the former gets the nod for two reasons. Samson scored over 500 runs this season (the first time in his career) and helped RR reach the playoffs (Qualifier 2). Samson scored 531 runs from 16 matches at 48.27. He struck at 153.46. The tally included five fifties.

Venkatesh Iyer (KKR)

KKR southpaw Venkatesh Iyer played several match-winning knocks, but the two innings in Qualifier 2 and then the final stand out. He smashed fifties in both these matches and helped KKR earn massive wins. Iyer showed purpose with his batting this season and looked to be aggressive. He hit four fifties and ended up with 370 runs at 46.25. He struck at 158.79.

Andre Russell (KKR)

Andre Russell fits in this side for his all-round heroics. He started the season by scoring useful runs with the bat before chipping in with the goods when the ball was given to him. Russell didn’t get a chance to bat at the latter stages as KKR had two games washed out before the top order demolished SRH in Qualifier 2 and final. Overall, he batted in just nine innings from 14 matches, scoring 222 runs (SR: 185). With the ball, Russell was magical. He claimed 19 scalps at 15.52.

Pat Cummins (SRH)

Pat Cummins comes in as the skipper of this side. He led SRH perfectly and put his best foot forward. Notably, unfazed by the big-money move to SRH, the Australian skipper performed well with the ball. He claimed a total of 18 wickets at 31.44 and was the second-highest wicket-taker for SRH after T Natarajan (19).

Harshal Patel (PBKS)

Harshal Patel won his second Purple Cap award in IPL history after taking 24 wickets for Punjab Kings. The former RCB ace bowled well and claimed the most wickets at the death. He was one of the bright spots for Punjab who crashed out in the league stage. Harshal averaged 19.87 (ER: 9.73).

Varun Chakravarthy (KKR)

Varun Chakravarthy became the second KKR bowler to claim 20-plus wickets in a season on multiple occasions. He was the season’s best spinner with 21 wickets at just 19.14. His economy rate was 8.04. Chakravarthy picked the most wickets in middle overs (7-15) and formed a deadly combination alongside Narine.

Jasprit Bumrah (MI)

It was a close call between KKR’s Harshit Rana and Mumbai Indians ace Jaspreet Bumrah. However, the latter made the cut. Both Harshit and Bumrah were terrific. Bumrah was the standout player for Mumbai Indians in what was a dismal campaign for the five-time champions. He picked up 20 wickets from 13 matches at 16.80. Bumrah was economical and conceded at 6.48. He also bowled the most dot balls in the 2024 season. He was one of the three bowlers with a fifer this season.

Impact player: Nitish Reddy (SRH)

Nitish Reddy comes in to bolster the batting further as the Impact Player. He was awarded the Emerging Player of the Season. Nitish played 13 matches for SRH and showed why he is a future star to be in the reckoning. He smashed two fifties for SRH and struck at 142.92. He scored 303 runs at 33.66.

Reddy will come on as an Impact Player for Harshal in the playing XI.

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