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Younger is better
Srinivas Bhogle, Purnendu Maji and Arthur D'Silva
May 12, 2008

The T20 is often described as a young man's game; if you cross 30 you are supposed to be too old!

Is this hypothesis true? Is younger indeed better?

Over the weekend we compared the performance of the top 50 young players (aged up to 29), with the top 35 older players (aged 30 or more) in the first 28 matches of the DLF IPL.

More specifically, we looked at our two specific indices: MVPI and PVI.

The most valuable player index (MVPI) converts the batting, bowling and fielding performance into a total 'run-equivalent'. So the higher the MVPI, the better a player is performing.

The paisa vasool index (PVI) is obtained by dividing the money paid to a player so far by the player's MVPI. So the lower the PVI, the greater the value offered by the player.

Our analysis indicates that the best young players win on both counts: they contribute more and cost much less.

We found that the best young players have a MVPI of 176, while the best older players have a MVPI of 127, i.e. almost 50 "runs" less.

We also found that the best young players are three times cheaper than the best older players; the paisa vasool index of young players is 821, and that of older players is 2410.

Tables 1 and 2 provide the details.

Table 1: The performance of 50 top players below 30 in the first 28 DLF IPL matches

PlayerTeamFromMMVPIMAPVIAge
Shane WatsonRRAUS7417.6667715027
V SehwagDDIND7399.66677104329
Gautam Gambhir [Images]DDIND7323.33337112126
Rohit SharmaDCIND7309.33337121220
Irfan Pathan [Images]KXIIND73027153123
MS Dhoni [Images]CSKIND82548337526
Yuvraj Singh [Images]KXIIND72497213626
B McCullum KKRNZ4247.3333480926
Yusuf PathanRRIND7239799425
Zaheer Khan [Images]BRCIND8238.33338107929
Praveen KumarBRCIND822587621
Suresh RainaCSKIND8223.33338166321
Shikhar DhawanDDIND721277122
Robin UthappaMIIND7207.33337192922
Dwayne Bravo [Images]MIWI6204.6667631424
Albie MorkelCSKSA5198.33338187327
Piyush ChawlaKXIIND7195.33337102419
Manpreet GonyCSKIND819388924
Ross TaylorBRCNZ4190518824
Shahid Afridi [Images]DCPAK6182.33336158728
RP SinghDCIND71827240422
Prasanta SahaKKRIND6181.333378323
Shaun MarshKXIAUS3175.333378625
Ashish NehraMIIND717078829
Sohail TanvirRRPAK4151.3333523623
Yo MaheshDDIND6150.6667710020
Rajat BhatiaDDIND6150.6667710028
Dhawal KulkarniMIIND7147.6667793919
Harbhajan Singh [Images]MIIND3147.3333397028
Ravindra JadejaRRIND7139.3333796719
Graeme Smith [Images]RRSA5136596027
James HopesKXIAUS4134.3333794929
Swapnil AsnodkarRRIND3132.6667792324
Ashok DindaKKRIND7128780624
S Sreesanth [Images]KXIIND7125774025
Abhishek NayarMIIND7124773624
Ishant SharmaKKRIND7119772219
Laxmi ShuklaKKRIND7116770127
S Vidyut CSKIND3114.6667874026
S BadrinathCSKIND8112.6667867827
Pragyan OjhaDCIND7112772121
Joginder SharmaCSKIND7111.6667862824
Virat KohliBRCIND8107.6667865519
Dale SteynBRCSA5101.3333654424
Umar GulKKRPAK398.66667549624
Vikram SinghKXIIND594.33333754123
Farveez MaharoofDDSL394758523
Mohd AsifDDPAK689.66667644225
Dinesh Karthik [Images] DDIND785.33333711523
Munaf Patel [Images]RRIND780.66667712225

DD: Delhi Daredevils | CSK: Chennai Super Kings | DC: Deccan Chargers | RCB: Royal Challengers Bangalore | RR: Rajasthan Royals | KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders | KXI: Kings XI Punjab | MI: Mumbai Indians

M: Matches played | MVPI: Most valuable player index | MA: Matches available | PVI: Paisa vasool index; dollars paid for every run equivalent scored

Table 2: The performance of 35 top players aged 30 or more in the first 28 DLF IPL matches

PlayerTeamFromMMVPIMAPVIAge
Adam Gilchrist [Images] DCAUS7271.33337129036
K SangakkaraKXISL6268.66677130330
Shaun Pollock [Images]MISA72347117534
S JayasuriyaMISL7222.33337219339
David HusseyKKRAUS72227152030
Michael HusseyCSKAUS4210.6667447532
Matthew Hayden [Images]CSKAUS3203.3333452736
Shane Warne [Images]RRAUS7201.66677111638
Mark Boucher [Images] BRCSA7180.66678142331
Ajit Agarkar [Images]KKRIND6170797130
Glenn McGrathDDAUS7166.33337105238
Andrew Symonds [Images]DCAUS4147.66674261233
Rahul Dravid [Images]BRCIND8147.33338401435
VVS LaxmanDCIND61467128433
Sourav Ganguly [Images]KKRIND7137.33337397836
Jacques Kallis [Images]BRCSA7132.66678387732
M MuralitharanCSKSL71278270036
Brett Lee [Images]KXIAUS41145282031
M Jayawardene KXISL6112.66677210831
Wasim Jaffer [Images]BRCIND5104882430
Simon KatichKXIAUS2100571432
Murali Kartik [Images]KKRIND599.333337213931
Sanjay BangarDCIND797715535
Scott StyrisDCNZ3807109432
Chaminda Vaas [Images]DCSL369.666677143534
Stephen Fleming [Images]CSKNZ463.333334157935
Nuwan ZoysaDCSL237.333337147330
Balachandra AkhilBRCIND333.66667850930
J ArunkumarBRCIND121.33333880433
Brad HodgeKKRAUS321.33333770333
H GibbsDCSA317.3333371658734
Ricky Ponting [Images]KKRAUS415.333334745333
Makhaya Ntini [Images]CSKSA3158761931

DD: Delhi Daredevils | CSK: Chennai Super Kings | DC: Deccan Chargers | RCB: Royal Challengers Bangalore | RR: Rajasthan Royals | KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders | KXI: Kings XI Punjab | MI: Mumbai Indians

M: Matches played | MVPI: Most valuable player index | MA: Matches available | PVI: Paisa vasool index; dollars paid for every run equivalent scored.



Srinivas Bhogle, Purnendu Maji and Arthur DSilva work for Cranes Software International [Get Quote] Limited,
Bangalore.


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