Five players in contention for MVP in IPL 2022

These players keep their team's fortunes hanging in the balance right through the tournament.

A point system was introduced in 2013 to find out the most impactful player during the tournament. As per the points system: Every four gives 2.5 points, while every six gives 3.5 points to a batter. Each wicket awards a bowler 3.5 points, and a dot ball gives 1 point. For each stumping or catch, a fielder gets 2.5 points. Since then, the same scoring system has been in use to find the MVP of the season.

While it's difficult to predict whether a bowler or a batter will be the most favorable contender. Here's the list of our favorite five players who have played an impactful inning for their teams so far, and one of them might be the winner of the MVP title:

Umesh Yadav

The 34-year-old pacer has made a terrific comeback in shorter format games with the 15th edition of IPL. He has consistently gotten breakthroughs for his team by smacking a ball of fire while bowling with a new ball. He has scalped most wickets until now in IPL with best figures of 4/23. He's averaging 9.33 runs and an economy of 5.25. With such impressive wicket-taking performances, he's definitely a strong contender for the purple cap and MVP award.

"Umesh Yadav has been simply outstanding. I was lucky enough to play with Umesh when I was still playing the game back then, and I knew how good a bloke he was and how much of a talent he was, especially with the new ball if there was assistance," said McCullum. 

Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler has been a freak in limited-over cricket. He is one such batter who makes batting look so comfortable on the crease irrespective of the format he's playing. Ever since he has become part of IPL, he has been playing for Rajasthan Royals. The player currently tops the list of Most runs scorers this season. The player has been emitting fire with his bat, playing with a strike rate of 143.35. Having played three matches, he's averaging 102.50 runs and has scored a total of 205 runs in three matches. This includes his much impressive knock against Royal Challengers Bangalore; with the complete team stumbling, the opener went on to smash 70 off 47 to remain not out. He also became the first player to score a ton in a face-off against the Mumbai Indians this season. Among batters, he's undoubtedly one of the favourites to win the award.

Avesh Khan

The most expensive uncapped buy of Lucknow Super Giants is proving his worth well by shouldering most of the responsibility for the team in death overs. The 25-year-old pacer finished second in the purple cap race last season, and from the start of this season, he's the third most wicket-taker, scalping seven wickets in 3 matches. He's having the best figure of 4/24 and an economy of 8.14 until now. The player has taken many match-winning wickets in the death overs, leaving a mark of his impact on the team. If he continues to do so for his franchise, he's certainly in the race for the MVP award with fellow players.

Ishan Kishan

Being the most expensive buy for his franchise, the young talent has so far proved his worth with every ball played to save his team. He currently stands second on the list of Most runs’ scorers, just below Jos Buttler. Though Mumbai Indians is having a challenging time this season, having failed to win even a single game, Ishan Kishan has tried to score as much for his team with an attacking attitude. He has scored 149 runs in just three matches averaging 74.50 runs. He has the highest score of 81 (not out) and played with a Strike rate of 133.03. With his natural aggressive intent, the batter is likely to add more numbers and therefore stands a chance to win the MVP this year.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has been one of the most underrated players in cricket history. After being dropped from the Indian squad in 2019, the player has come up with a complete transformation in IPL 2022. His impact has been such for his new franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore, that fans couldn't stop hailing him as one of the best picks of the franchise for the team. He has been playing blinder match-winning knocks for RCB, especially the one played against Rajasthan Royals. He has scored 90 runs for the team in three matches despite coming in a lower-middle position and has been playing with a strike rate of 204.54. His impactful performance is evident in the way fans and teams appreciate his form, and he will be loved as the most valuable player of this season.