The MPL, which started as three squads of 10 in 2009, had grown to four squads of 15 by 2013. The MPL 2013 final was a match that will live-on in memories for ages to come; a match worthy of a finals billing. Shreenath, Nachi, Priyank, Rohith and Anuj with the bat, and Anil, GK and Dipesh, with the ball stood out in an epic.
As we take a step back and review the entire MPL season, we reflect on some very memorable moments and some outstanding performances. We will always remember the brilliant counter-attacks from Amol, taking on the X-Men and Incredibles in back-to-back matches. Same goes for the consistent top-order knocks by Pritish, which gave his team the ideal platform to bat the opponents out or chase down any target. Kaushik’s brilliance with the bat and ball day-in day-out. Rafeeq’s tally of 21 wickets, the most ever in a single MPL season.
Those are just a few examples of many such players who stood tall for their respective teams. The challenge then was, how do we recognize these players, their performance, and more specifically, their contribution in enriching the MPL season.
It was around this time that the NBA All-Star game was approaching. I coupled that with how the NBA, at the end of the season, recognizes the top five players across all 30 teams, coupled with the respective positions on the court, based on their performance through the season past. These five form the All-NBA team.
That was the key towards arriving with the listing below that carries the MPL 2013 ‘All-Star’ team. 11 of the best players from MPL 2013 based on their performances, the points accumulated based on their runs and wickets tallies.
That the list below will be controversial owing to the absence of certain names is a given. However, to credit the players who didn’t make the cut, it wasn’t an easy list to round-off. Most of you will agree that a number of the players in the 11 below have rightfully earned their spots. It was the remaining spots that were tough to select for.
Players who were in consideration, but didn’t make the cut were Anil (X-Men), Koundi (X-Men), Rohith (X-Men), Ganesh I (Justice League), Abhijit W (Justice League) Vijay (Avengers), Aravind (Avengers), Abhijit B (Incredibles).
That being said, here’s your MPL 2013 All-Star team. It has four batsmen, five all-rounders, and two bowlers.
- Amol (Avengers): 122 runs, average 20.33, strike-rate 100, highest-score 49, batting points 379.1
- Pritish (X-Men): 114 runs, average 16.29, strike-rate 67.46, highest-score 24, batting points 383.78
- Nachiket (Incredibles): 92 runs, average 15.33, strike-rate 78.63, highest-score 23, batting points 275.61
- Shreenath (Incredibles): 102 runs, average 14.57, strike-rate 100, highest-score 27, batting points 325.28
- Kaushik (Justice League): 106 runs, average 17.67, strike-rate 77.37, highest-score 25, batting points 392.95 || 7 wickets, economy-rate 3.98, strike-rate 16.71, best-bowling 3-15, bowling points 151.5
- Priyank (Incredibles): 93 runs, average 15.50, strike-rate 77.5, highest-score 30, batting points 291.78 || 8 wickets, economy-rate 4.11, strike-rate 13.5, best-bowling 3-12, bowling points 212.95
- Yashwanth (X-Men): 82 runs, average 11.71, strike-rate 80.39, highest-score 21, batting points 240.86 || 11 wickets, economy-rate 4.35, strike-rate 12.55, best-bowling 3-18, bowling points 216.47
- Chirag (Incredibles): 54 runs, average 13.5, strike-rate 78.26, highest-score 25, batting points 155.64 || 7 wickets, economy-rate 4.9, strike-rate 13.57, best-bowling 3-13, bowling points 156.15
- Rahul (Incredibles): 38 runs, average 6.33, strike-rate 108.57, highest-score 19, batting points 105.44 || 11 wickets, economy-rate 4.56, strike-rate 9.82, best-bowling 3-9, bowling points 273.98
- Dipesh (Incredibles): 12 wickets, economy-rate 4.44, strike-rate 8, best-bowling 3-3, bowling points 274.7
- Rafeeq (X-Men): 21 wickets, economy-rate 4.59, strike-rate 7.38, best-bowling 4-6, bowling points 409.74
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