TOI Poll results: Hardik Pandya stands tallest in best of the best of IPL 2022

Hardik Pandya impressed one and all in the manner in which he took to captaincy, leading his team, Gujarat Titans, to the IPL 2022 title in their maiden season. Hardik in fact is being seen as a potential future Team India captain. Gujarat Titans thrashed Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets in the IPL final on Sunday, with Pandya taking three wickets and scoring 34 runs.

It was the culmination of an extraordinary season that began with pundits criticising the team's purchases in the player auction, questioning Pandya's appointment as captain and predicting a dire outcome for the franchise's first season. But Pandya was a revelation in his first leadership role and was lauded for keeping a cool head, the precision of his decisions and field-settings throughout the tournament. He was also the leading run getter for his team this season and ensured that IPL has a brand new champion.

And not surprisingly, Pandya outshone others in a poll run by TimesofIndia.com in which fans voted for the best of the best in IPL 2022. The first question was: Which opening batsman impressed you the most in IPL 2022?The options were Jos Buttler, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Faf du Plessis, Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner. Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler, who won the Orange Cap for scoring 863 runs in the tournament, got the maximum number of votes - 5803.

Buttler smashed an IPL record equalling 4 centuries and also hit 4 half-centuries in the tournament with a highest score of 116 at an average of 57.53 and a strike rate of 149.05. Buttler's outstanding form with the bat was instrumental in Rajasthan Royals reaching the final. Rahul (445 votes), Gill (148 votes), Du Plessis (97 votes), Dhawan (68 votes) and Warner (114 votes) finished way behind