IPL 2022: Best Indian XI from the third week of the tournament

The 15th edition of the biggest cricketing extravaganza also known as the Indian Premier League (IPL) has begun in style with many matches going down to the final ball of the over to produce great results. The tournament has made some key players regain their form while also producing some new stars who would go on to represent their country shortly. IPL has always been a mix of bags with both Indians and overseas players showcasing their talent on the grandest stage. One could argue who has the upper hand in IPL i.e whether it is Indians or the foreigners when it comes to consistent performance and providing new talent every single year. This year has been no less fight as there have been some very good performances so far with many young players showcasing their talent while some regained their old form. However, it has been the Indians who have conquered the tournament so far and this article looks at the best Indian XI compiled by considering only the third week. Best Indian playing XI from week 3 of IPL 2022 1. Robin Uthappa Robin Uthappa. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Robin Uthappa has had a decent tournament so far with him majorly contributing to the team’s overall total. Uthappa batted at No. 3 in the IPL 2022 opener but after Devon Conway’s poor outing against the Knight Riders, the management decided to move Uthappa to the top to open with Ruturaj Gaikwad. After being promoted to open the innings, he showcased his class by striking a brilliant half-century against the Lucknow Super Giants. He then missed out on a couple of innings but managed to score big during the game against the Royal Challengers Banglore which happened in week three. He made an impactful 88 off 50 balls which made the side post a total of 216/4. If Uthappa continues this form then he may very well have a great season with the Super Kings while also being the front runner in getting the Orange Cap. It will be the second time if he gets the cap as he has done once before when he was with the Kolkata franchise back in 2014. 2. Prithvi Shaw Prithvi Shaw. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Prithvi Shaw has continued his aggressive batting nature by striking the ball freely without any peer pressure. He started off well by smashing a quickfire 38 off 24 deliveries against the Mumbai Indians but failed to score big in their second game as he was dismissed for just 10. He believed in his skill and came back strongly by striking a 34-ball 61 against the LSG and also secured another half-century this time against KKR on April 10th both of which were influential in Delhi getting off to a great start during the powerplay. Prithvi Shaw since last year has been playing somewhat similar to Virender Sehwag and his skill is working for the Delhi Capitals. His attacking gameplay may very well land him an opportunity to represent team India in the 2022 men’s T20 world cup which is about to happen in Australia. 3. Suryakumar Yadav Suryakumar Yadav. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Suryakumar’s comeback into the Mumbai team this year has been terrific with him contributing in all of the three matches he has played so far. His week three was also great as he played a vital knock against RCB, one which nearly saw MI cross the line and clinch their first victory of the season. Suryakumar Yadav who missed Mumbai’s first two games due to injury returned with a bang and has been prolific with the bat ever since. He has scores of two consecutive 50 plus in the first two games he played and has also scored a 30-ball 43 against the Punjab Kings. Suryakuamr Yadav’s freestyle play makes him one of the most dangerous batters in the current IPL season. Mumbai has had the worst start to the 2022 IPL but the fortunes can change if guys like Yadav who is one of their most dependable batsman steps in and gets the team going. 4. Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Former MI teammate and current Gujarat Titans’ captain Hardik Pandya is also having a great season with his team now at the top of the table with four wins in five matches. Hardik is leading from the front as he crossed 25+ runs in every match the Titans have played. Hardik was been out of form for quite a long time and was also not bowling due to his injury concerns. But this fresh season saw Hardik improve on his batting skills and also return to bowl, a department where he has been viewed as a game-changer. His scores listed as 33, 31, 27, 50, and 87 respectively in all of the five games prove how Pandya can also be an actual batsman rather than a finisher. His third week concluded with him bringing up his second fifty of the season by smacking a 52-ball 87 against Rajasthan Royals which ultimately was the reason for the team’s victory. 5. Shivam Dube Shivam Dube. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Shivam Dube has been in red hot form this season with him currently being in the top 5 list of leading run-scorers. After his single-digit score in the first game, he bounced back well by scoring 49 and 57 respectively in his next two outings. But the innings that earned him praise was the 95 he made against the Royal Challengers Bangalore back on the 12th of April. That inning was a slipper shot to all his doubters who thought CSK did a bad move in bringing in Dube for such a big amount. This is by far the best season Shivam Dube has had in his entire IPL career and he would like to hold on to it by producing some extraordinary performances in the upcoming matches. He hasn’t had much success with the ball but if he works on his bowling then it may lead to a breath of fresh air for the Chennai Super Kings. 6. Abhinav Manohar Abhinav is the kind of perfect hard-hitting player the teams would go after in the coming years. He was relatively new to this biggest cricketing carnival since this was his very first season for him. This didn’t hamper his confidence as he made sure to provide the performance the team looked for in him. He proved his worth during this week when his two vital knocks for his team with scores of 35 off 21 balls and 43 off 28 deliveries respectively helped in the team’s overall middle-order improvement. He is now playing the role of what the current Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya did when he was with Mumbai for the past six years. Abhinav with the current guidance and opportunity given could be groomed as a leading finisher in the upcoming years of IPL with him and probably be doing what MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik do to their respective teams in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. 7. Abhishek Sharma Abhishek Sharma. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Abhishek Sharma was promoted to the top of the order in this season of the IPL with him opening the batting along with SRH’s captain Kane Williamson. He started off slow but eventually justified his position in the Hyderabad playing XI with his scores of 75 of 50 against CSK and 42 of 32 against GT. This wasn’t the Abhishek Sharma people had seen in the last couple of years as he was predominantly used at the lower order to finish the innings by playing a quickfire knock and was also used in the bowling department with him as a left-arm spinner bowling quite a few overs. Since Abhishek was already playing a finisher kind of role during the last two years, he has been placed at No. 6 or 7. This is also because of his adaptability and due to the unavailability to rank him at the top with the top orders hard to change. 8. Washington Sundar Washington Sundar. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Apart from the first match, Washington Sundar has been so effective with the ball since he is picking wickets and also being economical at the same time. He went for 47 runs in his three overs against RR but contributed with the bat after scoring a quick cameo of 40 which came in just 14 balls. Since then, Sundar has bowled well in the powerplay and middle overs with him picking four wickets ( 2 per each match) out of the next three games he played. His final game had him bowl three overs and concede just 14 runs before getting injured. The SRH management would be looking for Sundar to recover quickly as his presence in the team would make for some great results with him contributing well in both batting and bowling since regarded as one of the best slow bowlers in recent times. 9. Harshal Patel Harshal Patel. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Harshal Patel also known as ‘Purple Patel’ was the match-winner for RCB last year. He continues his dominance this year too with his economy being brilliant along with his ability to pick up wickets at regular intervals. He has been economical and has helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) dominate the middle overs. In his second-last appearance, he returned with figures of 2-23 in four overs which helped RCB beat MI quite comfortably. However, the sudden demise of his sister made him unavailable for RCB’s next game vs CSK. He returned to action during RCB’s game against Delhi Capitals on Saturday. His strong performance last year made him earn his maiden India call-up and he would be looking to remain with the Indian squad by performing better in this year’s IPL too. Harshal Patel will hope to continue the good run with an eye on the T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place later this year. 10. Arshdeep Singh Arshdeep Singh. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Arshdeep Singh was one of the two players to be retained by the PKBS franchise along with Mayank Agarwal for this season. He is proving to others what he is capable of by taking responsibility as Punjab’s main fast bowler and delivering in crucial situations. Even though he has picked only two wickets out of the five games, he has been rather good in not leaking away many runs. He bowled four overs only to give away just 31 and 29 runs during their last games against the Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians respectively. One must understand that bowling economically without getting wickets is also as important as a bowler picking wickets in the shortest format. Arshdeep Singh’s skill of bowling a variety of deliveries has provided him with the success that he would like to continue in the years to come. 11. T Natarajan T. Natarajan (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) T Natarajan is back after injury to cement his place as a deadly death overs bowler. He has been the main go-to bowler for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) this year with him picking two wickets in every single match the franchise has played so far. He is also so lethal during the final few overs which makes it hard for the batsmen to score runs. This is the norm in this season and can also recently be seen against the Gujarat Titans where he showcased his death bowling and yorker skills by implementing a run-out and taking the wicket of Rashid Khan who was bowled through the leg side. He was labelled as the yorker king when he toured Australia back in late 2020 where he produced some excellent bowling performances. We can sense the same Natarajan in this year’s IPL which may very well lead to him coming back into the Indian side.

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