Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Shivam Dube - what burden of expectations did these cricketers enter IPL 2024 with, and how things have panned out so far

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins. SRH spent Rs 20.5 crore - roughly 66.5 percent of their entire outgo in this auction - to acquire his services for 2024.

1. CSK, owned by Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd - a subsidiary of India Cements, bought six new players for Rs 30.4 crore at the December 2023 IPL auctions in Dubai; Rs 14 crore went to New Zealand batsman Daryl Mitchell to replace the retired Ambati Rayudu. Rachin Ravindra, Sameer Rizvi, and Shardul Thakur also joined the team. MS Dhoni returned as wicketkeeper batter, but not as captain of the Chennai Super Kings, one of the two most successful franchises in the league.

3. Before IPL 2024 began, the burden of responsibilities on Ruturaj Gaikwad was whether the CSK breakout star could top his own 2021 IPL score of 635 runs. Now with the added mantel of CSK captaincy, Gaikwad has managed 349 runs at an average of 58.17 across eight matches. His highest score of the season so far - an unbeaten 108 - is also his personal best in the IPL yet.

4. Ajinkya Rahane revived his T20 career with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2023. After a string of poor scores from 2020, the seasoned India international crossed the 300-run mark (326) for the first time since 2019 in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In 2024, he's scored an average of 23 runs across eight matches at a strike rate of 127.78.

5. Shivam Dube started his IPL journey with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019 before moving to Rajasthan Royals in 2021. He has been part of the CSK team since 2022. In 2024 so far, he's already scored 311 runs averaging 51.83 across eight matches.

6. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the champions of 2012 and 2014, bought ten new players at the auction for Rs 31.35 crore ahead of the 2024 edition of the IPL. Four overseas players and six Indian players have joined the franchise. In 2024 so far, KKR are at No. 2 on the IPL 2024 Points Table as of April 25. They have won five out of seven matches and have a net run rate of +1.206.

7. On April 3, Delhi Capitals (DC) lost most of their middle order to Varun Chakaravarthy's spin attack in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Match 16 between DC and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Varun Chakaravarthy—who has career-best IPL bowling figures of 5/20 against the Capitals in Abu Dhabi in October 2020—dismissed DC captain Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel one after another in a turbulent (for DC) 13th over, and Tristan Stubbs soon after in the 15th over of the match at Visakhapatnam.

8. Newly converted fans of Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal as well as long-time fans of R. Ashwin, Jos Butler and Yuzvendra Chahal got a chance to see them face-off on a Sunday afternoon, early in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 contest. Rajasthan Royals under the leadership of captain and wicketkeeper Sanju Samson and the Lucknow Super Giants led by captain-wicketkeeper KL Rahul played their first match against each other at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on March 24. RR won by 20 runs, despite half-centuries from LSG captain KL Rahul (58 runs off 44 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (unbeaten 64 off 41 deliveries).

9. Pat Cummins had largely stayed away from T20 cricket ahead of IPL 2024. He had never led in T20 cricket – IPL or otherwise. He had not play a single T20 match in 2023. In 2024, ahead of the IPL, he had played only twice in the format. As the new captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he has led the team to the No. 3 spot on the IPL 2024 Points Table.

10. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the services of Australian captain Pat Cummins for Rs 20.50 crore in the 2023 IPL auction - this was over 66.5 percent of the money SRH shelled out in this auction (Rs 30.80 crore). The franchise also roped in World Cup hero Travis Head for Rs 6.8 crore. Cummins was part of the Delhi Daredevils before it became Capitals. He last represented Kolkata Knight Riders from 2020 to 2022. Travis Head has only appeared in two seasons of the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, in 2016 and 2017. Head will make an IPL comeback after seven years.

11. Ahead of IPL 2024, Punjab Kings spent Rs 24.95 crore for eight new players at the IPL auction to bolster their combination under captain Shikhar Dhawan. They shelled out Rs 11.75 crore for death overs specialist Harshal Patel and bought South African big-hitter Rilee Rossouw for Rs 8 crore. England all-rounder Chris Woakes is a good addition for Rs 4.2 crore. The franchise had won six out of the 14 league matches in 2023, finishing eighth. In 2024 so far, they've lost six out of eight matches and are currently at No. 9 in the IPL 2024 Points Table.

12.  Virat Kohli will be hungry to score runs in the IPL, to obtain a ticket to the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies starting June 2. The star batter played only two T20I matches against Afghanistan after the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal that India lost to England, ahead of IPL 2024. This season, again, Virat Kohli is the top contender for IPL Orange Cap, with 379 runs across eight matches and a highest score of 113 not-out.

13. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has 156 wickets, including a five-for and three four-wicket hauls in IPL. His best performance, 5/16, came against the now-defunct Deccan Chargers in 2012. His 4/11 to choke the Rajasthan Royals in the 2015 edition of the IPL is also one of his most talked-about performances as a spinner. He's easily among the more experienced top bowlers in the CSK. In terms of his batting, in IPL 2024 so far, he's scored 157 runs at an average of 78.50.

14. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been searching for the elusive title since the inception of the IPL. The stars are in their favour ahead of the 2024 edition. All-rounder Cameron Green, traded from Mumbai Indians for Rs 17.50 crore, could be a game-changer. As could West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph. This could be Dinesh Karthik's last IPL; though he hasn't made an announcement to this effect yet, he has played every year for the last 17 editions.