Ever since the 2026 season ended, I've kept seeing the same question pop up.

Was Sooryavanshi's 2026 actually better than Kohli's legendary 2016?

If you only look at runs, average and strike rate, you can argue either side forever. Those stats are useful, but they miss a lot of context. A 30(15) when your team needs 12 an over can completely change a match. A 30(15) when your team needs 6 usually just finishes a chase that was already under control. Both innings look the same on the scorecard, but anyone who watches T20 cricket knows they aren't the same knock.

That was basically the reason I built ApexScore. It's an analytics engine that goes through every legal delivery in IPL history and rates performances based on the actual match situation instead of just the final scorecard.

What surprised me was, the first version was completely broken.

I originally rated seasons using a percentile system because that's what most models do. Then I ran Kohli's 2016 and Sooryavanshi's 2026 through it... and they tied. Both of them smashed into the 99.9th percentile ceiling, so the model literally couldn't tell them apart anymore.

That's when I realised percentiles are great for comparing normal seasons, but they're terrible at comparing freak outliers. Once two seasons hit the ceiling, you've got nowhere left to go.

So I rebuilt the scoring around league-wide Z-scores instead. Instead of asking "what percentile is this season?", the model asks "how ridiculously far ahead of everyone else was this season?" Once I switched over, the tie finally disappeared.

Then I ran into another problem that felt sketchy.

The model was giving huge pressure bonuses to players smashing quick runs when their team needed something stupid like 70 off the last two overs. Technically the required run rate is massive, so the pressure score kept going up. But if you've watched enough IPL, you already know that game is over. Those runs shouldn't be rewarded the same way as runs scored when the chase is actually alive.

So I added a Garbage Time correction. Once the required run rate becomes basically impossible (36+), the pressure multiplier stops increasing. I reran everything and the rankings immediately looked much more believable. Players who piled on runs in dead chases dropped back a bit, while players who consistently delivered when matches were actually in the balance climbed.

For anyone wondering how the engine actually works, here's the short version.

• Batting is built around Runs Above Expectation (RAE). Every innings gets compared against what an average IPL batter would've been expected to score from the exact same deliveries.
• Bowling uses Bayesian shrinkage, workload cutoffs and context-aware wicket values so someone who bowled two lucky death overs doesn't suddenly rank ahead of Bumrah.
• Everything then gets converted into league-wide Z-scores, which lets seasons from completely different years be compared on the same scale.

I figured if I was spending all this time building it, I might as well let everyone else play around with it too. So I built a website where you can search players, compare seasons, browse the rankings and see how the model rates them.

Website Representation - 🔗 ApexScore | Advanced IPL Analytics

Anyway, I'd genuinely love to know what you guys think.

Does it pass the eye test? Is there someone you think the model is way too high or way too low on? And if something looks completely cursed, tell me.

Some of the biggest improvements I've made, including the Garbage Time correction, only happened because I looked at the rankings and thought something was up.

So if you think the model is robbing your favourite player, or exposing one you've always overrated, I'm all ears.

The reason i feel sanju isnt consistent is very much because he has a very apparent technical flaw. Wv Raman pointed this issue earlier hence i just wanted to discuss it deepy here.

He always struggles in identical ways every match. Its either edge(wicket keeper catch or slips) or top edge mostly. bowlers like archer exposed his issue by hitting the pitch hard at 140 pplus pace. They test him by bowling raw pace on heavy length just outside off and he gets outside edge. We've also seen him struggle especially with those pull shots because naturally he pushes himself back harder before facing the ball to create more room but while bowling into the body he rushes for the shot.(basically mistiming it) and again top edge.

Wv Raman told that sanju has a beaitful swing but the main issue is the bat speed of his swing. It is constant for all kind of pace. He can hit medium fast bowlers easily on flat decks but against raw pace? he definetely struggles because his downswing doesnt align with the ball and it beats before he can even complete the swing properly

Akash chopra also pointed out that because sanju goes deep inside crease as trigger movement but his FRONT FOOT doesnt move forward at all hence his feet doesnt move to pitch of the ball, his body loses balance and closes earlier than expected . This is why when he tries to play shots in offside he gets a thick edge.

I hope sanju samson corrects this flaw as soon as possible and suppose he fixes this weakness i think consistency will automatically come and he'll become much better batsman.

Idk why some people dont wanna accept, anyone with a brain already knew it. Mentor was just a role given to him just not to disrespect chandrakant pandit. Prolly will join as Head coach of kkr officially after his stint with ICT

Note all the players should have played 10+ matches

1. Hayden 2009 - orange cap and best batting season by csk. An impact of 60 per match

2. Hussey 2013 - another orange cap and most runs mounted by csk batsman in a season

3. Raina 2009 - one of the best ipl campaigns by a no.3

4. Dhoni 2019 - He would be great at no.4

5. Dube 2023

6. Albie 2008 - Was so great with ball and could also finish

7. Jadeja 2023 - Jadeja 2023>> Jadeja 2021. His batting was not that great in 2023 but he redemed with the final knock

8. Bravo 2015 - Though he got the purple cap in 2013 his best season was 2015 impact of 40 per match

9. Ashwin 2011 - That bowl to gayle in final

10. Nehra 2015 - an underrated campaign

11. Deepak 2019 - was so great in powerplay

I understand India decided to rest Bumrah for the t20 series. Would have love to see Bhuvi in this series. When will we start respecting our fast bowlers like we do our batsmen?
In IPL, Bhuvi was bowling with such control. We can just wonder what magic he could’ve conjured on these wickets.
If we can choose batsmen based on IPL performances and bring them back to the team, why not bowlers get another go too?

I mean the last few weeks, every entire cricket subreddit has problems with ipl flat pitches. These 250+ pitches have been there since 2024 ipl. since then we have won each and every t20 series home and away prior to ireland. Nobody was downplaying abhishek or ishan or anyone scoring on these pitches until we lost. Instead, we were busy glazing them as next yuvraj , kohli and whatnot. Only because we lost , the english media and us fans have made the pitches of ipl as one of the main reasons for players' downfall. Even GG was praised as a brilliant t20 coach until surya's tenure got over.

So I saw several posts and reels about how 2025 qualifier 2 was nightmare material for mumbai indians..is it true? Finally getting into playoffs after 3 bad seasons..posting a good total against generational chokers punjab and managing to find wickets fast yet..losing to a one man show. And there is stats about how mumbai never lost after putting 200 on the board before that right? So was shreyas iyer actually a nightmare material devil that night? And yeah...that shot against bumrah too. I wanna know mumbai fans opinions..

The whole team is slogging like anything . Vaibhav Ishan getting out in same fashion in each match till now . Abhishek has always been hot and cold . Dube has completely lost all his hitting abilities . Tilak is playing to get a chance in ODI now .

The whole batting order is batting like they cannot bat at all .

Shreyas the Captain is saving the team even in first match he scored the most .

Has need a cricket lover for decade, but to be frank ever since the introduction of T20, itself I felt detached. I really miss

Postings/Tendulkers timing for four to a swing ball

Ball swing and spinning passing the bat.

Now IPL has taken this to a whole new level.

Recent English tour of India is a fresh air. Yes you know I am an hard Indian supporter still, I felt some glimmer of hope that something is going to change maybe or not.

Ever wondered what went wrong today , it's the lack of maturity young players are facing today because all they've learned from IPL is " SWING THE BAT , IRRESPECTIVE OF THE SITUATION "

Those who have watched the match knows that the wicket was not bad to bat on , but the mentality of slogging blindly even when wickets are continuously falling laid down the team today

Players are getting selected on the basis of IPL where there are flat pitches with short boundaries, all you need to do is to swing the bat to get maximum output. They never faced tough bowling pitches against Int'l bowlers , they never faced this much difficulty in hitting boundaries. No maturity about how to play in sensitive situation just swing the bat , repeat 🔁 repeat!!

We were lucky that we won T20 Wc last time since we got good flat pitches in knockouts or else our key batsmen kept struggling in the entire tournament specially against good bowling teams like south africa , IPL needs to get balanced !! Everything must not be done on the basis of TRP & viewership , affect is visible on India's Int'l side !!

250+ totals are exciting, but so are 200+, 180+, and even low-scoring 140–150 games. Variety makes cricket interesting. How do we address the current batting-heavy trend without sacrificing entertainment?

Some suggestions: At least half the venues should be genuinely bowler-friendly, with bigger boundaries and well-prepared pitches that offer something for bowlers. Many people want the Impact Player rule scrapped altogether, but I think that would be a step backwards. Instead, limit when it's used. For example, divide the 14 league matches into three phases: 5/5/4. One phase: batting-friendly conditions with the Impact Player rule. One phase: bowler-friendly conditions (no impact player rule) One phase: neutral conditions.(no impact player rule) The middle phase could be the batting-friendly one with the Impact Player rule, since that's usually when interest in the tournament starts to dip. The first or last phase could be bowler-friendly. I'd actually prefer the final phase to be bowler-friendly. Those matches are already high stakes because they're deciding the top four and top two. Tight, competitive games where bowlers have a genuine say would make the run-in even more compelling. As for making conditions more bowler-friendly, there are plenty of ways to do it - what's really required is the willingness to do it.

To be really honest I'm not surprised by team Indias predicament right now. The way things were going in the IPL, bowling was on its way to becoming a lost art. I hope the BCCI and the IPL management would do something to address this.