Orange Cap In IPL

Orange Cap In IPL History And Their Holders

The orange cap in IPL is an award given to the highest run-scorer in the Indian Premier League. A week after the inaugural season of IPL began in April 2008 the award was introduced. During the season the batsmen with most runs wears the Orange Cap while fielding. At the end of the tournament, the Orange Cap is awarded to the winner. In the inaugural season, Brendon McCullum became the first player to wear it while Shaun Marsh won the cap in first season of IPL. 

Let’s take a look at the winners of the Orange Cap from the first edition of the tournament to the most recent one.

2008- Shaun Marsh, Kings XI Punjab

616 runs at 66.84

Australian Shaun Marsh had a breakthrough year at the inaugural season of IPL scoring 616 runs at an average of 66.84. He made quite an impression as a left-handed batsman by smashing a century and five half-centuries. His strike-rate was 139.68, good one for the consistent player. In the same year, he made his limited-overs debut for his national side owing to his success in IPL.

2009- Matthew Hayden, Chennai Super Kings

572 runs at 52.00

The second season of the tournament took place in South Africa which wasn’t the good news for Indian batsmen. Only three Indian batsmen featured in the top 10. Matthew Hayden exploited the conditions perfectly and scored 572 runs. His strike rate was at 144.81 with an average of 66.84. With five half-centuries the burly opener became the second Australian to win this award.

2010- Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai Indians

618 runs at 47.53

The God of Cricket became the first Indian to win the Orange Cap at the end of IPL 2010. That year he also scored a staggering 1562 runs in Test cricket for India. His highest score was 89 not out. His batting average was at 47.53 and a strike rate of 132.61. Even though he was the leading run-scorer he could not see his team to the title in the finals against Chennai Super Kings.

2011- Chris Gayle, Royal Challengers Bangalore

608 runs at 67.55

Chris Gayle was called in for Dirk Nannes. After spending three humdrum years with KKR, transferring to RCB changed his fortunes. The explosive West Indian would be remembered for a long time for his explosive power hitting. In 12 innings he smashed 608 runs which included two centuries and three half-centuries. 

2012- Chris Gayle, Royal Challengers Bangalore

733 runs at 61.08

‘Gaylestrom’ as he was famously known struck for the second consecutive time and earned him a full contract with RCB. With seven fifties and one ton, he became the first Orange Cap winner to cross the 700-run mark. 

2013- Michael Hussey, Chennai Super Kings

733 runs at 52.35

Hussey claimed the Orange Cap by 25 runs while preventing Chris Gayle from completing a hat-trick of orange caps. He was dubbed ‘Universe Boss’ for this feat. He also became the third Australian to win the Orange Cap award.

2014 – Robin Uthappa, Kolkata Knight Riders

660 runs at 44.00

The seventh IPL season saw Robin Uthappa top the charts and the second Indian to win the award. His consistency and  great opening partnerships with skipper Gautam Gambhir helped Kolkata Knight Riders win their second IPL championship title. 

2015 – David Warner, Sunrisers Hyderabad

562 runs at 43.23

Another Australian and a left-hander, David Warner made it to the top of the list in 2015. He smashed seven half centuries to reach this feat with his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan. Sadly, his heroics couldn’t catapult his team to win the trophy.

2016 – Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore

973 runs at 81.08

2016 was Kohli’s year in all formats of cricket. He is easily one of the best Orange Cap holders in IPL history. He scored a record four centuries and seven fifties to reach 973 runs. His jaw-dropping strike rate of 152.03 and an average of 81.08 was impeccable. The colossal figures achieved by him will stand the test of time and will most likely be broken by the man himself.

2017 – David Warner, Sunrisers Hyderabad

646 runs at 58.27

A vital cog in Hyderabad’s side, Warner is rated very highly in IPL due to his scoring prowess. In a space of three years, this was a second win for him. With a single ton and 4 half-centuries to his credit, he amassed 646 runs at a strike rate of 141.81.

2018- Kane Williamson, Sunrisers Hyderabad

735 runs at 52.50

Slamming eight half-centuries, Kane Williamson was at his fluent best in the 11th season of IPL. His contributions with the bat helped his team to reach the finals for the second time in IPL. 

2019- David Warner, Sunrisers Hyderabad

692 runs at 69.20

David Warner became the only player to win this award three times. His thundering tally of 692 runs had nine fifty-plus scores. He also managed to score a single ton and had an average of 69.20 at a strike rate of 135.38.

IPL Auction 2020

The IPL Auction 2020 Highlight – IPL Teams Players Squad

On 19th December 2019, 332 players went under the hammer as the 8 teams scrambled to tweak their playing combinations at the IPL 2020 auction. 69 players were sold during the auction which included 29 overseas players. This was a mini-auction before the big reboot following IPL 2020 when teams will be disbanded and fresh players will be picked by the franchises.

Australian players attracted the most number of bids at 12, while England was a close second at 7 players being sold. Pat Cummins from Australia was sold to KKR for a record Rs. 15.50 crore, the most expensive foreign player ever bought. Piyush Chawla became the most expensive Indian player who was bought at a huge price of Rs. 6.75 crores by CSK. Glen Maxwell and Dale Steyn were bought back by their respective teams Kings XI Punjab and RCB.  

Delhi Capitals was involved in intense bidding with Royal Challengers Bangalore to acquire Pat Cummins, eventually; Kolkata Knight Riders ambushed both the franchises and bought Cummins. It will be interesting to see his performance this season. He was last featured in the 2017 edition for the Delhi franchise.

Glen Maxwell was the second most expensive buy for Rs. 10.75 crore by Kings XI Punjab. Earlier last year Glen Maxwell had taken a short break due to mental health issues. KXIP needed an overseas allrounder, it will be interesting to see what Maxwell brings to the team after his short break.

Let’s see how all the teams fared at the end of the IPL auction 2020. Starting with Chennai Super Kings.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK)

After last season’s routine run to the final everything looks hunky-dory with this franchise. But there could be a storm brewing for the team as MS Dhoni moves slightly towards the retirement arch. One other problem with the squad is that it’s mostly old players except for Deepak Chahar, who is a viable player for retention next season. With Rs. 14.6 crore in its kitty and 5 slots empty, which includes 2 slots for overseas player bought only 4 players.

Piyush Chawla was their most expensive buy at Rs. 6.75 crores, he was also the costliest Indian player bought at the auction. Australian pacer Josh Hazelwood was bought for his base price of Rs 2 crore. These purchases have strengthened Chennai’s bowling attack. Englishman Sam Curran was picked for Rs 5.5 crore and R Sai Kishore for Rs 20 lakh. Curran is a good all-rounder and can fit in well with the team for overseas games. Whereas Kishore stands uncapped and will make his debut in this season of IPL. 

DELHI CAPITALS (DC)

Delhi Capitals had an impressive season last year which came to an end at the playoffs. Easily one of their finer seasons in recent times. With 11 slots empty, including 5 slots for overseas player and Rs 27. 85 crores in their kitty they had decisions to make. Delhi needed a reliable finisher for their death over woes.  Shimron Hetmeyer the West Indies batsmen and a finisher was their most expensive buy at Rs 7.75 crore.

They also bought Australians Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey. Marcus an all-rounder and Alex a wicketkeeper are good choices to add to their already strong team. Two England members were also purchased, Chris Woakes and Jason Roy for Rs 1.5 crore. 3 Indians were also bought namely Lalit Yadav, Tushar Deshpande, and Mohit Sharma. Delhi needed a little improvement in the seam bowling department, Woakes and Stoinis will hopefully complete that requirement. 

KINGS XI PUNJAB (KXIP)

An amount of Rs 42.7 crore is reflective of both profound changes as well as an empty trophy cabinet. Last season KXIP finished 6th on the points table with an underwhelming performance. With R. Ashwin gone they needed a new captain and gaps in their bowling department needed to be filled.

They also needed a finisher after they released David Miller. Before the auction, they released seven of their players and the highest amount in their purses among the 8 franchises. With 9 slots to fill including 4 overseas players, they managed to fill each spot and bring their team to a 25-member squad. Glen Maxwell was their costliest buy at Rs 10.75 crores to strengthen their batting woes. Sheldon Cottrell, the West Indies pacer was bought for a whopping Rs 8.5 crores, his pace bowling will bring extra oomph to the team. James Neesham was another popular buy, a much-needed all-rounder for the team.

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)

The two-time champions had an underwhelming last outing unable to reach the playoffs. With 11 slots empty and Rs 35.65 crore in its kitty KKR bought 9 players. Pat Cummins was the most expensive buy at a record Rs 15.50 crore. The team needed a leader for the pace attack and Cummins is the perfect fit. The world cup winning captain of England, Eoin Morgan sold out for Rs 5.25 crore. Morgan will bring stability to the middle order batsmen. Australian all-rounder Chris Green was also picked up for Rs 20 lakhs, his allrounder abilities will be a good backup for Russel. Other players bought were Varun Chakaravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Nikhil Naik, Pravin Tambe, and M Siddharth. Three players are uncapped, so it’s a fairly young squad and it will be interesting to see what they can bring to the team.

MUMBAI INDIANS (MI)

The defending champions have a strengthened team and there is no such glaring problem with the lineup. The only thing they needed to concentrate on was a backup for their veteran player Lasith Malinga. With 7 slots to fill and Rs 13.05 crores, they bought 6 players. Nathan Coulter-Nile was their most expensive buy at Rs 8 crores, followed by Chris Lynn at his base price of Rs 2 crores. To strengthen their bowling attack, they bought in Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, and Digvijay Deshmukh. Their batting is already strong being led by captain Rohit Sharma. Newest additions are Saurabh Tiwary and Lynn. Lynn being a big hitter and Coulter-Nile a bowling allrounder makes the team stronger and will make for a good defense against the opposition.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS (RR)

Rajasthan Royals finished seventh last season, not a very good position to finish off a season. With Rs 28.9 crores in its kitty and 11 slots empty the franchise had some decisions to make. The main issue with their team is finishing, with both ball and bat. They need a good finisher as well as a good death bowler. For their batting woes, they picked up Robin Uthappa for Rs 3 crores, their most expensive purchase. David Miller was purchased at his base price of Rs 75 lakh.

Considering his talent, he was a budget buy for the team. Jaydeep Undakat was bought for Rs 3 crores for their bowling problems. Andrew Tye, Tom Curran and Oshane Thomas were the overseas players bought. RR invested in young talent and picked up Yashasvi Jaiswal, 17 yr old batting sensation. Allrounder Anirudha Joshi and wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat were picked up for Rs 80 lakh which was their base price.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE (RCB)

After another disappointing season RCB needed to take decisions to improve their team for a chance at winning the coveted IPL trophy. They had a purse of Rs 27.9 crores and 12 slots to fill which included 6 overseas slots as well.

What they needed were top class bowlers as last season they took the second-fewest wickets (14) in the tournament. Australia’s Kane Richardson and Sri Lanka’s Isuru Adana were bought for Rs 4 crores and Rs 50 lakhs respectively for their bowling woes. Dale Steyn was a surprise buy for them at the end of the auction at Rs 2 crores. Chris Morris at Rs 10 crores was their most expensive buy and their most expensive player in the IPL 2020 auction. Money was also invested in young talent when Pavan Deshpande and Shahbaz Ahamad were bought for their base prices. In form Australian Joseph Philippe who is a wicketkeeper-batsman was a surprise buy at Rs 20 lakhs.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD (SRH)

SRH has been a consistent performer since its debut in 2013. With Rs 17 crores in their kitty and 7 slots to fill this included 2 overseas members. Their star player Shakib Al Hasan who is an allrounder will be missed as he is serving a ban for not reporting a fixing approach. They needed to concentrate on a finisher as their death over scoring has remained a problem since the last four seasons. They acquired the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Fabien Allen who are good all-rounders. Money was also invested in young talent when Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, and Sanjay Yadav were bought. SRH happens to be the strongest team on paper; it will be interesting to see how they perform at the 13th season of the IPL. 

IPL Auction 2020

Vivo IPL 2020 Player Contract Extensions Announced

Ahead of the IPL player auction every year, IPL franchises release, trade or retain some players to achieve a team that can help win them the IPL trophy. Each squad has 18-25 members with 8 overseas members allowed per squad. 

Last December before the big player auction finalists Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians as well as the ever-consistent Sunrisers Hyderabad chose to retain most of their players. They had very few slots to fill as the main players were already present in their squad. Teams who have struggled (Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab, and Royal Challengers Bangalore) to make it to the finals were looking to completely revamp their squad. Delhi Capitals who had a good run last season also opted to revamp their squad instead of retaining old players.  Players that have had a good season with the franchise are usually up for IPL retention.

Let’s take a look at the big names retained by the eight IPL franchises

VIRAT KOHLI (ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE)

Bangalore did not have a great run at the IPL last year, but the same cannot be said about their captain Virat Kohli. On the contrary, he has had a splendid year across all formats of the game both at home and away, all the while leading the side. He is also one of the most expensive retained IPL player 2020 by the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rs 17 Crores. His never say die attitude and phenomenal batting powers made it easier for the franchise to retain him and also the money was well spent. He is also the costliest IPL player to be retained.

ROHIT SHARMA (MUMBAI INDIANS)

He is famously dubbed the “Hitman” and very rightly so as he is a very dangerous batsman when it comes to the limited over games. A testament to this is the three double hundreds he has to his name. Retained by the Mumbai franchise he is one of the most expensive players at Rs 15 Crores. Last year he had a wonderful international outing with an average of 24 in T20’s and above 50 in tests and ODI’s. He has also led the Mumbai Indians team to a record 3 trophies.  His teammate and pacer Jasprit Bumrah also made it to the IPL retention list.

MS DHONI (CHENNAI SUPERKINGS)

Dhoni is rightly the prodigal son of Chennai. After a two-year ban on Chennai when they came back in the 2018 season their first order of business was to secure Dhoni. They bought him for a whopping Rs 15 Crores and have retained him up till now and will do so in the future. In the next season hopefully, they are looking forward to a third win at the tournament. 

DAVID WARNER (SUNRISIERS HYDERABAD)

David Warner is one of the most expensive players to be retained by Hyderabad. Warner has pressure to perform well for the team as the team has paid a hefty amount to retain him back. The franchise had even retained him back when he was facing a ban due to the ball-tampering case. 

BEN STOKES (RAJASTHAN ROYALS)

Ben Stokes was roped in by Rajasthan Royals for the 2018 IPL season and has been retained ever since. He is a destructive batsman when it comes to the limited over game. He also played a crucial role in helping England win their maiden ICC World Cup. At Rs 12 Crores he was one of the most expensive players to be bought in the 2018 season. 

DINESH KARTHIK (KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS)

Dinesh Karthik was one of the big names to be retained for the upcoming season of IPL. The franchise announced that he would also be leading the team with newly acquired Eoin Morgan as the vice-captain. 

SHIKHAR DHAWAN (DELHI CAPITALS)

The Delhi franchise chose to retain its top opener, Shikhar Dhawan. Fondly known as ‘Gabbar’ he is the star opener for the franchise and has had a very consistent performance since the inception of IPL in 2008. He plays well both against pace and spin.

K. L. RAHUL (KINGS XI PUNJAB)

Punjab chose to retain K L Rahul who has been on a roll in the current cricketing season. He could also be made captain after R Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals. Rahul can be a potent player when in form and a nightmare for the opposition players. 

Vivo IPL 2020 Player

971 Players Register for Vivo IPL 2020 Players Auction

Ahead of the IPL 2020 players auction every year, IPL franchises release, trade or retain some players to achieve a team that can help win them the IPL trophy. Each squad has 18-25 members with 8 overseas members allowed per squad. 

Last December before the big player auction finalists Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians as well as the ever-consistent Sunrisers Hyderabad chose to retain most of their players. They had very few slots to fill as the main players were already present in their squad. Teams who have struggled (Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab, and Royal Challengers Bangalore) to make it to the finals were looking to completely revamp their squad. Delhi Capitals who had a good run last season also opted to revamp their squad instead of retaining old players.  Players that have had a good season with the franchise are usually up for IPL retention.

Let’s take a look at the big names retained by the eight IPL franchises

VIRAT KOHLI (ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE)

Bangalore did not have a great run at the IPL last year, but the same cannot be said about their captain Virat Kohli. On the contrary, he has had a splendid year across all formats of the game both at home and away, all the while leading the side. He is also one of the most expensive retained IPL player by the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rs 17 Crores. His never say die attitude and phenomenal batting powers made it easier for the franchise to retain him and also the money was well spent. He is also the costliest IPL player to be retained.

ROHIT SHARMA (MUMBAI INDIANS)

He is famously dubbed the “Hitman” and very rightly so as he is a very dangerous batsman when it comes to the limited over games. A testament to this is the three double hundreds he has to his name.  Retained by the Mumbai franchise he is one of the most expensive players at Rs 15 Crores. Last year he had a wonderful international outing with an average of 24 in T20’s and above 50 in tests and ODI’s. He has also led the Mumbai Indians team to a record 3 trophies.  His teammate and pacer Jasprit Bumrah also made it to the IPL retention list.

MS DHONI (CHENNAI SUPER KINGS)

Dhoni is rightly the prodigal son of Chennai. After a two-year ban on Chennai when they came back in the 2018 season their first order of business was to secure Dhoni. They bought him for a whopping Rs 15 Crores and have retained him up till now and will do so in the future. In the next season hopefully, they are looking forward to a third win at the tournament. 

DAVID WARNER (SUNRISIERS HYDERABAD)

David Warner is one of the most expensive players to be retained by Hyderabad. Warner has pressure to perform well for the team as the team has paid a hefty amount to retain him back. The franchise had even retained him back when he was facing a ban due to the ball-tampering case. 

BEN STOKES (RAJASTHAN ROYALS)

Ben Stokes was roped in by Rajasthan Royals for the 2018 IPL season and has been retained ever since. He is a destructive batsman when it comes to the limited over game. He also played a crucial role in helping England win their maiden ICC World Cup. At Rs 12 Crores he was one of the most expensive players to be bought in the 2018 season. 

DINESH KARTHIK (KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS)

Dinesh Karthik was one of the big names to be retained for the upcoming season of IPL. The franchise announced that he would also be leading the team with newly acquired Eoin Morgan as the vice-captain. 

SHIKHAR DHAWAN (DELHI CAPITALS)

The Delhi franchise chose to retain its top opener, Shikhar Dhawan. Fondly known as ‘Gabbar’ he is the star opener for the franchise and has had a very consistent performance since the inception of IPL in 2008. He plays well both against pace and spin.

K. L. RAHUL (KINGS XI PUNJAB)

Punjab chose to retain K L Rahul who has been on a roll in the current cricketing season. He could also be made captain after R Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals. Rahul can be a potent player when in form and a nightmare for the opposition players.