IPL 2024: Best XI of the tournament

Kolkata Knight Riders were crowned the Indian Premier League champions for 2024 after their comprehensive win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. This meant that KKR have won the title for the third time in their IPL history and achieved it with eight wickets in hand and over nine overs to spare. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad saw their campaign end in tears despite playing some top-notch cricket. Pat Cummins’ decision to bat first didn’t pay off as the team was bowled out for 113 runs. It was a season to remember for the men in orange who had made history with their batting setting the highest team total twice.

This season, most of the players have given it their all with some outstanding performances with the bat and ball. Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli led the way with the bat with yet another high-scoring season. With the ball, it was Harshal Patel who ended the campaign as the leading wicket-taker.

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Here we cast a closer look at the IPL 2024 season’s team of the tournament.

Openers – Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

West Indian star Sunil Narine was the key player for Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL 2024 season. Narine who turned 36 on the day of the final scored 488 runs with the bat with a century and also picked 17 wickets with the ball. Virat Kohli scored 741 runs for the season to be the best batter of the campaign with an average of 61.75 and his best strike rate in IPL history of 154. The former RCB skipper also hit 1 century and five half-centuries this campaign.

Middle-Order- Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals), Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals), Heinrich Klaasen (Sunriders Hyderabad)

Sanju Samson came into the IPL 2024 season with huge expectations of leading his side to their 2nd IPL title win. The 29-year-old managed to impress everyone with his early season form which also got him a call-up for the T20 World Cup squad. Samson though lost his form in the back-end of the season and ultimately saw his team crash out of the tournament after a loss to SRH in the 2nd qualifier. Sanju Samson ended the season with 531 runs from 16 matches and earned a fair amount of plaudits for his captaincy as well. 

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Riyan Parag (RR)

It is safe to say that the IPL 2024 season has been the best for Riyan Parag and his performances have been standout and phenomenal. The youngster who had copped a lot of flak last year, scored 573 runs from 16 matches with four half-centuries with an average of 52 and strike rate of 149.

Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

The South African star was at his best the entire season and was one of the most destructive batters for his side. Klaasen ended the season with 479 runs with a whopping 38 sixes and a strike rate of 179 and almost carried his team to the title. 

All-rounders- Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders), Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir would have been pleased with the way Andre Russell found his form during the recent season of IPL 2024. The Jamaican ended the season with a total of 22 runs but his strike rate of 185 was one of the best this year. Not content with scoring runs, Russell also picked 16 wickets with the ball with his most memorable spell coming against RCB in their close win.

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Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

The Australian skipper broke several records at the auction table and he was soon made the captain of the SRH side for the IPL 2024 season. Pat Cummins sadly ended up as the runners-up as his side lost the finals to KKR. With the bat, the 31-year-old scored 136 runs while picking 18 wickets with the ball and leading by example.

Bowlers- Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians), Harshal Patel (PBKS), Varun Chakravarthy (Kolkata Knight Riders), T Natarajan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

The only Mumbai Indians star to make it to the team of the tournament, Jasprit Bumrah bowled his heart out for his team. The 30-year-old finished third in the wicket-takers list with 20 which also included a fifer and bowled with an economy rate of 6.48 which was the best for the season.

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Harshal Patel (Punjab Kings)

Just like Jasprit Bumrah for the Mumbai Indians, veteran pacer Harshal Patel was the best for his Punjab Kings side. The 33-year-old began the season slowly but ended up picking 24 wickets for the season to end as the best bowler of IPL 2024. His memorable moment of the campaign was his slower ball to MS Dhoni which foxed the former India and CSK skipper and dismissed him for a duck.

Varun Chakravarthy (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Shreyas Iyer bestowed all his faith on Varun Chakravarthy when he wasn’t in the greatest of forms. The 32-year-old didn’t let his captain down as he picked 21 wickets for the season and helped his team win their third IPL title.

T Natarajan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Playing his first full IPL season after years of struggles with injuries, Natarajan picked 19 wickets from 14 matches for SRH. The left-arm pacer was back to his best as he mixed the pace well and even bowled a few good yorkers for which he is known and played a key part in SRH making it to the finals.

Apart from the above XI players, certain other players gave their best in the tournament. Indian cricket has found a new sensation in Abhishek Sharma (SRH) and IPL 2024 has been the right platform for Sharma to showcase his vast array of talents. The 23-year-old scored over 480 runs for the season and became one of the best hard-hitting batters. SRH would have wanted the youngster to fare well in the games that mattered but his overall performance this year holds him in good stead with a bright future looming. 

Travis Head (Sunrisers Hyderabad)- When Kavya Maran won the race for the signature of Travis Head during the IPL 2024 auction, many expected the Aussie to have a huge say with the bat. In his very first game of the season, he put the MI bowlers to the sword with a blazing fifty. His biggest moment of the season came when he scored a 39-ball century against RCB in front of a shell-shocked Chinnaswamy stadium. Travis Head marked his return to IPL in fine style by scoring 567 runs with the help of four half-centuries and a prolific century against Bengaluru. 

Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders)- The last time KKR came close to winning the title was in 2021 under the leadership of Eoin Morgan. That was the same season when Venkatesh Iyer came into the reckoning and soon made his way into the Indian team. IPL 2024 will be the season where the resurgence of Venkatesh Iyer took place as he played a critical role for his side with the bat to help KKR win their 3rd IPL title. The 29-year-old ended the season with 370 runs with the half-century in the final being the icing on the cake. 

On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer was also instrumental in leading the KKR side to their 3rd title victory. Though Iyer couldn't prove to be outstanding with the bat, his captaincy tactics were lauded by many throughout the tournament.