IPL 2024: Comparing the Senior vs Junior Players Best Playing 11

Captains Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant face-off as we look at the best senior vs junior players playing 11 comparison for IPL 2024.

It has been more than three weeks into IPL 2024, and more than the senior players who have been playing in the tournament, it is the junior players who have impressed everyone with some amazing performances so far. So, be it Abhishek Sharma for SRH, Riyan Parag for RR, or Mayank Yadav for LSG, it has been a great tournament for young players so far.

One thing we definitely have to agree that the impact player rule has actually been a boon to the tournament and Players rather than a bane. It has given an opportunity to new and emerging players, who otherwise wouldn’t have found themselves in the first-choice playing 11. The impact player makes teams play an additional Indian bowler or a batter, which kind of makes things so interesting.

With so many Emerging talents already visible, how about we do a comparison of senior or experienced players vs the junior or young players 11 for IPL 2024? Well, to classify these payers, we will consider age as the divisional criterion. So, anyone whose age is above 25 will fall in the senior category, and anyone whose age is 25 or below will fall in the junior Category.

Again, to come up with the analysis, we will predominantly give preference to the current IPL form for all players, especially young ones. However, there could be an exception for someone like Suryakumar Yadav, who may not have contributed much so far with the performance, but is one of the greats going around. Also, we will stick to the standard maximum 4 overseas players rule, and have at least 5 bowling and 7 batting options.

Openers:

Team Junior 11: Shubman Gill & Yashasvi Jaiswal

Team Senior 11: Sunil Narine & Virat Kohli 

If we have to talk about the best top-order when it comes to young players, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the first two names that come to mind. Gill and Yashasvi, both aged below 25 have been terrific in the IPL in the last few years. While they have started the 2024 IPL on a low, it doesn’t take away the fact that they are quality players, and it is only a matter of time before they start exploding.

For senior 11, we got to stick to the strategy of playing Sunil Narine as the opener. He has been in terrific form in IPL 2024, and with bowling as an add-on, it’s a no-brainer to select him. Partnering him shall be Virat Kohli, who seems to be having a 2016 replica dream run in IPL 2024 so far. With Sunil Narine as the attacking option, and Virat Kohli with his orthodox hitting ability, it seems a pretty dangerous opening pair. 

Middle-order:

Team Junior 11: Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan & Riyan Parag

Team Senior 11: Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant & Rinku Singh

Coming to the middle-order, we have Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, and Riyan Parag as a potent middle-order. All three are having a fantastic run in IPL 2024, and have lived up to the promises. All three are playing an important role in their franchise. While Abhishek Sharma has been among the runs for SRH, Sai Sudharsan has been playing a similar role for GT, and Riyan Parag has been doing it quite well for RR. 

For senior 11, Suryakumar Yadav may have played only one game so far, but there is no better T20 batter than him at the moment. In addition, Rishabh Pant gets into the squad as the keeper batter. Pant’s return to cricket has been really good so far, and he seems to be already in contention for the World Cup squad. Other than these two, Rinku Singh seems an ideal batter for the number 5 position as he can take up the dual role of consolidating as well as finishing. 

Finishers:

Team Junior 11: Tristan Stubbs & Nitish Reddy

Team Senior 11: Heinrich Klaasen & Andre Russell

Coming to the finishers, the senior 11 are miles ahead of the young 11. Heinrich Klaasen and Andre Russell are such big names that no team in the entire world can match their hitting abilities. With these two there, the young 11 looks amateur with the likes of Tristan Stubbs and Nitish Reddy. However, there is potential in young 11, and with time, we will see them make a name for themselves.  

Bowlers:

Team Junior 11: Mayank Yadav, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana & Gerald Coetzee

Team Senior 11: Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh & Rashid Khan

Talking about bowling, both teams have exciting talent and bowlers to compare. The senior 11 has the likes of benchmark pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, benchmark spinner Rashid Khan, quality spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, and left-arm pace of Arshdeep Singh. It is a dream bowling lineup for any team, and if not for Overseas players’ restriction, Trent Boult for Arshdeep Singh would have been just perfect. 

For Team Young 11, the bowling lineup has two quality overseas pacers in the form of Gerald Coetzee and Matheesha Pathirana. These two are brilliant death ball bowlers, and supporting these two is the pace sensation Mayank Yadav. Mayank has been the find of the season of far, and he seems to be a long-term prospect. Meanwhile, the spin department shall be led by Noor Ahmad, who seems to be the counterpart of Rashid Khan.  

Impact Substitute:

Team Junior 11: Harshit Rana

Team Senior 11:  Mohit Sharma

Finally, comparing the impact player, both teams may have five bowlers currently including all-rounders Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Nitish Reddy, the impact player rule allows them to play an additional bowler. While Team Young 11 has Harshit Rana, who has started the tournament with a bang, Team Senior 11 has Mohit Sharma, who will lead the death overs duty for the team. Both are quality bowlers, and add strengths in different scenarios. 

IPL 2024 – The Current Best Junior Players 11 of the Season:

Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Riyan Parag, Tristan Stubbs (wk), Nitish Reddy, Noor Ahmad, Mayank Yadav, Gerald Coetzee, Matheesha Pathirana & Harshit Rana (Impact)

IPL 2024 – The Current Best Senior Players 11 of the Season:

Sunil Narine, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rinku Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal & Mohit Sharma (Impact)

Thanks for reading! What’s your favorite team from junior vs senior players 11 of IPL 2024? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com.

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