IPL 2025: Power Rankings - Episode 5

Looking at the best veteran and best youngster for each team this season

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We are finally down at the pointy end of the season, where everyone who isn’t a KKR fan is worried about their net run rate. And for the first time, there is finally a bit of sense happening on the table. But we are beyond the points here, we’re about the rankings, where should teams be based on strength of schedule and overall vibes.

This is your IPL Power List. We are here to make sense of the senseless and rank each team. But we have a theme each week. This time we’re looking at the best old fella and most impressive youngster.

Let us power rank.

1. RCB

RCB have finally broken their winless streak at home, defeating RR in a close game. Their perfect record on the road continues after the win against DC. Josh Hazlewood and Krunal Pandya have been the stars in their last two wins.

Hazlewood has taken the most wickets in IPL 2025, but he has also done it at a spectacular economy rate of 8.44 – the fourth-best of all quicks with at least 20 overs bowled this year. He has been outstanding in the powerplay as well as at the death. Speaking of experienced players, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal have also been really good for RCB in their respective roles.

Devdutt Padikkal was picked in the accelerated round, but he’s got a clear role definition since day one – batting at number three. The Karnataka batter has added 230 runs in 9 innings at an average of 29 and a strike rate of 154, often playing key, momentum-shifting knocks. Not many would have expected those numbers based on his IPL record in the previous three seasons. He has talked about Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik working on his game in the off-season. This is now his sixth IPL season, but Padikkal is only 24. Another youngster who has really come into his own in the last few games is the 21-year-old Suyash Sharma, who has kept the pressure on opposition batters with his economy rate.

Bengaluru have a pretty easy draw in their last four games. Can they go 4/4? It’s certainly not out of question, but even winning 3 should more or less put them in a comfortable position to qualify in the top two.

2. GT

The first innings was a carbon copy of the GT template this season, and we’ll talk about that in more detail later. But they were blown away by the 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who tonked a 35-ball ton – the second-fastest in IPL history. They lost with 25 balls to spare, so that definitely affects their net run rate a fair bit.

After being released by the Rajasthan Royals, Jos Buttler was signed for 15.75 crores. He has taken up the number three role, and has been ridiculously good. Buttler has scored 406 runs in 9 innings at an average of 81 and a strike rate of 168. His USP has been in the middle overs – he has scored 294 runs at a strike rate of 172 and has only gotten out twice.

Sai Sudharsan is currently the top run-getter of IPL 2025, with 456 runs at a strike rate of exactly 150. The left-handed opener has just one single digit score, crossing 30 every other time. His consistency and batting style reminds us of Virat Kohli’s 2016 season, but without the death overs hitting. The 25-year-old Shubman Gill, who is also the GT skipper, has been very effective too. He has scored 389 runs at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 156.

Even though they were defeated very convincingly by RR, they still have the second-best net run rate in the competition. A top two finish should still be the goal for a team with a 6-3 record in 9 games. They now have three relatively easy fixtures, and two trickier ones (v MI & DC).

3. MI

After a close win against DC a few weeks ago, MI have been on an absolute run – winning five games in a row. They defended 215 against LSG and chased 144 with 26 balls to spare against SRH. The five-time champions also have the best net run rate in the competition.

Suryakumar Yadav did not have the greatest start to the season, as he got stuck in a couple of innings. But his current numbers read: 427 runs at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 169. He hasn’t had a single score below 25 this year, so he has been ridiculously consistent while scoring at a fast pace. Trent Boult and Hardik Pandya have also had solid seasons with the ball, while Jasprit Bumrah also has 9 wickets at an economy rate of 7.5 (the best economy rate for all pacers with at least 20 overs bowled). Rohit Sharma too found some form in the last two games, getting a couple of 70s in successful chases.

Although Tilak Varma is now an experienced player in the IPL, he's still just 22. He had the same issue as Surya early in the year, playing two net-negative knocks in run-chases. But he followed that up with two brilliant half-centuries against RCB and DC. Since then, he hasn’t been required to do much work – which shows MI’s dominance.

MI play three opponents who are in the race for a top four spot, so compared to RCB (who have also played 10 games) their upcoming fixtures are certainly more challenging. But two of those games are at home, and they have a 4-1 record there.

4. PBKS

PBKS posted a 200+ total against KKR at the Eden Gardens, but the game was called off after just one over of KKR’s batting due to rain. Looking at the recent form of the KKR batters, perhaps rain denied PBKS a great opportunity to get another point.

Shreyas Iyer was the second-most expensive player at the IPL 2025 mega auction. The 2024 title-winning skipper with KKR has had a brilliant season so far, scoring 288 runs in 9 innings at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 182. Yuzvendra Chahal went for plenty of runs and took only two wickets in the first five games, but he has been very impressive since then. His combined figures in the last three games are 7/75 in 11 overs.

Priyansh Arya, who is playing only his first season, has been one of the best batters of IPL 2025. The left-hander has 323 runs in 9 innings to his name at an average of above 35 while striking at more than two runs a ball. The hallmark of his game has been dominating the pacers by playing low-risk/safe high strike rate shots. His opening partner, Prabhsimran Singh, has also been very impactful, although he has a fair bit of experience in the IPL now.

Punjab have a relatively easier road ahead than Delhi, especially with their final league stage game being against Rajasthan. But the games against Delhi and Mumbai will be quite critical because all these teams are in the top four race, while Lucknow also aren’t entirely out of it.

5. DC

DC had RCB 26/3 while defending 162, but Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli’s century partnership played a key role in taking the visitors home. Delhi chased down a similar target in Lucknow, with Abishek Porel and KL Rahul getting half-centuries.

Batting primarily in the middle order, KL Rahul has scored 364 runs in 8 innings at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 146. While Kuldeep Yadav has certainly been their best player, KL Rahul ticks off the ‘best veteran’ requirement better. Mitchell Starc has also had his moments of brilliance, but he’s gone at slightly above 10 runs per over this season.

Tristan Stubbs has been absolutely magnificent. Batting at numbers five and six, he has scored 217 runs in 8 innings at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 164. He has only one single digit score, crossing 20 every other time. Abishek Porel (253 runs at an average of 30+ and a strike rate of 150+) and Vipraj Nigam (7 wickets in 9 matches at an economy of 9.34, plus adding some value with the bat) have also performed well.

Delhi have a tricky road ahead, as they play three in form sides – PBKS, GT and MI – to end their season. These matches will be really crucial in the context of the tournament, considering there are six teams with 10 or more points in the season so far.

6. LSG

Lucknow have suffered two losses against the teams that have done well this season. They started off well against Delhi at home, but a batting collapse followed by David Miller not breaking free meant that the visitors were able to chase it down comfortably. They lost to Mumbai by over 50 runs, which naturally hurts their net run rate significantly.

Nicholas Pooran had an outstanding start to the season, scoring 349 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 215. He then had three low scores, followed by a 15-ball 27 against MI on Sunday. Despite this recent slump, he is the sixth-highest run-getter in the tournament. The 29-year-old is an experienced T20 cricketer, having played close to 400 games in his career already.

Playing his first IPL season, Digvesh Rathi has been very effective, picking up 10 wickets in 10 games at an economy rate of 7.75. He has been more economical at home though, conceding 6.4 runs per over compared to 9.1 away. Much of that is because of the two games in Hyderabad and Mumbai, where he went at 10 and 12 an over respectively. But he takes a wicket per game in both cases.

Lucknow can still very well qualify, but they’re going to be up against three strong teams in their next three games. If they can manage to go 2 out of 3, and then defeat SRH, they would have a good chance of making the top four. Of course, this will also depend on the other results, and we still don’t know with certainty whether 16 points would be enough to qualify this year. Their net run rate is currently negative, and so that is an issue too.

7. KKR

KKR ended up sharing points with PBKS at home in their last game. They conceded 201 after PBKS won the toss and elected to bat first. They couldn’t take early wickets, as the Punjab opening pair added 120 in less than 12 overs. But they ended up conceding only 41 runs off the last 5.3 overs, so that’s a positive takeaway for them.

One player averaging 22 at a strike rate of 175 and taking 7 wickets at an economy rate of 7.75 is an incredible output. But because Narine had one of the best years in IPL history in 2024, it doesn’t feel as special. He has still been their most valuable player, all things considered. Ajinkya Rahane has also had a pretty decent season, striking at 178 in the powerplay. However, that drops to less than 120 after the first six overs.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been KKR’s second-highest run-getter this season, with 197 runs in 7 innings at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 149. The 20-year-old’s best has also come in the powerplay, scoring 72 off 40 balls without being dismissed. But from overs 7 to 16, he has 85 runs at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 127. Despite the post-powerplay numbers, it would be fair to say that no other youngster from KKR has been as impressive this season.

Kolkata can finish with a maximum of 17 points if they win their next five matches. But they play two of the best teams so far in the competition as of now – Delhi and RCB. If they win one of those games, and then win all of the other three, they could be in with a chance to make the top four, depending upon other results.

8. SRH

Defending a target of 144, SRH lost by a significant margin against MI. They then defeated CSK at Chepauk by 5 wickets and eight balls to spare while chasing 155. We still haven’t seen signs of their batting going at full throttle apart from the matches against RR and PBKS, but their bowling seems to have gotten relatively better off late, compared to their earlier matches.

Heinrich Klaasen hasn’t been at his best this IPL, but he has still added 288 runs in 9 innings at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 156. Head is at 261 runs at 29/159, so he’s not massively behind either. But it’s fair to say neither of them have been as great as we would expect. The difference between them though is that Klaasen has just one single digit score, crossing 20 eight times. Head’s highs have peaked higher, but he also has more low scores.

Similarly, Abhishek Sharma hasn’t been able to replicate his heroics from last year. But he does have one of the best knocks in the history of the IPL while chasing 246 against Punjab, plus a 40 off 28 and a 24 off 11 balls. Aniket Verma has also shown promise as a spin basher. He has scored 190 runs at an average of 27 and a strike rate of 161, hitting 9 fours and 16 sixes.

SRH are currently at 3 wins and 6 losses, so a maximum of 16 points is possible. Coach Daniel Vettori has talked about RCB’s comeback last season and them trying to take some inspiration from it. Going on a 5/5 run would mean their bowling has to step up big time, while the batting unit as a whole also has to be brilliant more consistently. They play three teams in the top half of the table, and two in the bottom half. So it does sound quite difficult at the moment.

9. RR

RR could very well have gone 2-0, but they failed to chase 18 off the last two overs against RCB. But they followed that up with a massive win against GT. Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s audacious strokeplay resulted in 7 fours and 11 sixes in his 38-ball stay at the crease.

In truth, none of the older players have been that great for the Rajasthan Royals. Jofra Archer has his moments of brilliance though. He has taken 10 wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 9.57. Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana and Sandeep Sharma have also put in some good performances, but again they haven’t been as consistently impactful as RR would have liked.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi said hello to the IPL with a six over covers off Shardul Thakur. He finished with 34 off 20 balls on his debut, followed by 16 off 12 versus RCB. The rest, as they say, is history. He now has 16 sixes off 70 balls so far in three matches. But let’s not forget Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been RR’s most consistent player all the way through, scoring 426 runs at an average of 47 and a strike rate of 153.

Can RR still pull off what seems like an improbable comeback? They will have to win every game, and despite today’s win, their net run rate is still only -0.35. They could end up looking back at those close losses if they do not qualify.

10. CSK

CSK were 114/4 in 12.4 overs when Dewald Brevis was on a roll. After Kamindu Mendis took a brilliant catch to get him out, the hosts could only add another 40 runs for the loss of six wickets in the next 7.1 overs. SRH were 54/3 when Klaasen got out in the 9th over, but they eventually won the game comfortably enough.

Ravindra Jadeja has taken 6 wickets in 9 games at an economy rate of 8.23. However, he hasn’t completed his quota of four overs in a single game yet, bowling slightly more than two and a half overs per match. He has also scored 166 runs at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 126, which isn’t remarkable by any means. But when we factor in his all-round value, he has most probably still been CSK’s best veteran. MS Dhoni also has 140 runs at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 143. But some of those runs came when the games were basically over. He has effectively played two good knocks – versus LSG and PBKS.

Noor Ahmad has been one of the best spinners in IPL 2025. He has taken 14 wickets at an economy of slightly above eight. Of all bowlers that have bowled at least 20 overs, the left-arm wrist-spinner has the second-best strike rate (13.2) after Sai Kishore (12.4). 12 of his 14 wickets have come from overs 7 to 16, and he is more economical against LHBs (6.58) than RHBs (8.97).

CSK probably still have a mathematical chance, though it must be really, really low. They can’t lose any games, and they also have to hope a lot of things go their way. Plus, they need to boost their net run rate significantly. They play three teams in the top half of the table so winning 5/5 by good margins sounds like a really hard task.

So let’s look at our list:

Gujarat shook me in the last game. I had them as number one and now I've slipped them down. The reason being that if I had a worry, it was them batting a bit slow to keep wickets in hand. And we saw how that can be blown away. Plus, with Josh and Krunal reborn as strike bowlers, I don't have many RCB issues. Mumbai have been on a charmed run, but I'm pretty sold on them as a team. It was a toss up between Delhi and Punjab. I think I just like Punjab more because of their openers. But they're the same tier and there’s not much between them.

Lucknow are a tier below, and I'm selling them. I don't see this as a playoff team. And their schedule is harsh. I still think there some things that can go right with Kolkata. But I've lost hope we'll see it now. Sunrisers and Rajasthan are interchangeable, but Chennai feel like the only team that is done emotionally and in cricket terms.

That's it. A power list. For you, the people. Being that this list is impeachable, just tell me what your favourite fruit is in the comments.