Picking a combined playing 11 of the teams eliminated from IPL 2024 ft. Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah
The group stage of IPL 2024 has witnessed some exceptional cricket. The tournament has been highly competitive and after 70 league matches, with four teams viz. Kolkata Knight Riders, SunRisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have qualified for the playoffs.
The fact that four teams i.e.Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants finished with 14 points reflects how competitive IPL 2024 has been.
On that note, here is a look at the combined playing X1 of the teams eliminated from IPL 2024:
#Openers - Ruturaj Gaikwad & Jake Fraser McGurk
Ruturaj Gaikwad had a breakthrough season with the bat for the Chennai Super Kings. Captaining his team for the very first time, Gaikwad finished as the second-highest run-getter at the end of the group stages of IPL 2024. He aggregated 583 runs at an average of 53 and a decent strike rate of 141.16 this season and smashed a century and four half-centuries in IPL 2024.
Jake Fraser McGurk had an impressive IPL debut. In nine IPL innings, the Aussie scored 330 runs at an astounding strike rate of 234.04. He was aggressive from the outset in every match he played and definitely the find of IPL 2024. Out of nine innings, four were 50-plus scores and he gave his team decent starts almost every time he walked out to bat.
#Middle order - B Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Verma & Nicholas Pooran
Sai Sudharsan is the lone player from the Gujarat Titans in this playing XI. IPL 2024 witnessed the growth and maturity of Sudarsan as a batter. He was a consistent run-getter at the top of the order and provided solid starts for his team. In 12 innings, he scored 527 runs at an impressive strike rate of 141.28 and an average of about 48. He scored a brilliant century against the Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad which was one of the highlights of the group stages of IPL.
Tilak Verma stood as a rock for the Mumbai Indians in the middle-order in IPL 2024. Despite his team having a torrid run during the entire season, Tilak slowly but steadily showcased his talent and made a statement that he is ready for a consistent run in the national team for the shortest format. For the record, Verma scored three half-centuries in 13 innings and had an impressive strike rate of 149.64 scoring 416 runs.
Nicholas Pooran once again proved his worth as a finisher this IPL. In 14 innings, he amassed 499 runs at an astounding strike rate of 178.21 and an exceptional average of 62.37. The South Paw smashed three half-centuries and a century in IPL 2024 and was an asset for the Lucknow Super Giants, especially in the death overs.
#Wicketkeeper and All-rounders - Rishabh Pant (C&WK), Axar Patel & Sam Curran
IPL 2024 was the first competitive outing for Rishabh Pant post his accident. The Delhi Capitals skipper did not disappoint. He was back to being his competitive self and scored 446 runs from 13 innings in IPL 2024. A strike rate of 155.40 and an average of 40.54 with the bat along with three half-centuries reflected that Pant is back to his best. Pant will be the captain and wicketkeeper of this team.
Axar Patel had a decent season as an all-rounder in IPL 2024. With the bat, he scored 235 runs in 12 innings at a decent average of 29.37 and a strike rate of 131.28. He provided finishing touches to the innings on several occasions. With the ball, he was equally impressive. His 11 wickets came at an exceptional economy rate of 7.65 in IPL 2024. He has been picked up in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024 based on his impressive performances in IPL 2024.
Sam Curran did everything that was expected of him in IPL 2024. He opened the batting, opened the bowling, bowled at the death, and also captained the team for nine matches after the injury to Shikhar Dhawan. As far as batting is concerned, he scored 270 runs at an average of 27 in 12 innings and had a strike rate of 123.29. He also picked up 16 wickets with the ball at an economy rate of 10.15 and was often the lone warrior for his team during IPL 2024.
#Bowlers - Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel & Jasprit Bumrah
Kuldeep Yadav is the lone specialist spinner in this playing XI. The left-arm Chinaman played 11 matches for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 and had an impressive economy rate of 8.65. He picked up 16 wickets and more often than not picked up wickets whenever the situation demanded.
A groin injury early on in the tournament prevented him from playing all the matches. However, he had a strong comeback post his recovery and was an integral part of the Delhi Capitals franchise in IPL 2024.
Harshal Patel had a complete turnaround in IPL 2024. From picking up just four wickets in the first four matches, Patel picked up 20 wickets in the remaining 10 matches and finished IPL with 24 wickets to his name. He is likely to win the Purple Cap this year and was one of the few bright spots for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. His economy rate of 9.73 was slightly on the higher side.
However, because he bowled most of his overs at the death and the number of wickets he picked up, Patel had an exceptional IPL 2024 and can be proud of the way he bowled.
Jasprit Bumrah was at his lethal best in IPL 2024. The Mumbai Indians pacer picked up 20 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.48 from 13 matches. He was exceptional with the new ball, in the middle overs, and also at the death. The fact that he bowled at an economy rate of less than 6.50 in an IPL season where big totals were scored for fun reflects the skills of the pacer.
Though Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom of the table, Bumrah was exceptional right through the season.