IPL 2024: Teamwise Unsung Hero of the Tournament

Barring a mediocre final, the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) has produced some intense battles throughout the tournament. As many as six teams were in the hunt to seal the last two playoff spots almost till the end of the league phase. Later, the filtration narrowed down to one position and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won it. 

The trophy finally went to the most deserving candidate, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who finished as table toppers in the league stage. While many players grabbed the limelight with their batting and bowling exploits, there are some players who played a crucial role in every team but failed to remain the centre of attraction.

Here are the unsung heroes of all 10 teams in IPL 2024:

10. Abishek Porel (DC)  

Delhi Capitals (DC) had a decent campaign in the 2024 season, finishing sixth with seven wins from 14 matches. The spotlight was mainly on their skipper Rishabh Pant, who led the team from the front with over 440 runs, and opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who displayed some sensational power-hitting.

While Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar were also praised for their bowling efforts, Abishek Porel was the real unsung hero of the team. The southpaw proved that he is a complete team man. He batted from number 1 to number 6 and contributed effectively at all slots. Porel scored 327 runs in 14 matches at a healthy strike rate of 159.51, including two half-centuries. 

9. Yash Dayal (RCB)

For every setback, there is a comeback, as proved by Yash Dayal in the IPL 2024. Although many wrote him off, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had the guts to pick him and the 26-year-old emerged as one of the team's best bowlers in the 2024 season. In his redemption edition, Dayal took 15 wickets in 14 innings with his best bowling figure being 3/20. 

His standout performance came during RCB's last league match, a do-or-die encounter against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to qualify for the playoffs. RCB had to defend 17 runs in the final over with MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja at the crease. Dayal conceded a six off the first ball, but claimed Dhoni’s wicket in the very next ball and gave away just one run in the next four balls.