How 14-0-0 player ratings work

Where the numbers come from

Ratings are built from real, ball-by-ball IPL match data published by Cricsheet, covering every season from 2008 to today. Each franchise and season in the game uses that year's actual squad, so the same player can look very different from one season to the next as they break through, peak, and fade. A young talent might sit in the seventies one year and the mid-nineties three seasons later.

Crucially, the stats are turned into within-season percentiles before they become ratings. That means dominance is judged against a player's own era — a brilliant 2009 season ranks alongside a brilliant 2026 one, even though scoring rates have climbed enormously in between. Volume matters too: a full-season carry outranks a small-sample cameo. So drawing a franchise at the right time matters as much as drawing the right franchise. When you spin, you are not just drawing a badge — you are drawing a moment in that team's history.

The overall rating

The overall (OVR) is the single headline number on each card, running from the low forties to 99. It is the quickest way to compare two players, and it is the number that feeds your projected season.

In Classic mode the overall is shown while you draft, so you can always take the strongest option for the slot. In Expert mode it is hidden until the final result, so you judge a player on name, franchise, season, and role alone. That is where cricket knowledge becomes the whole game — and where knowing which seasons a player actually peaked in really pays off.

The attributes

Under the overall, players carry a set of attributes tuned to what they do. Batters and keepers are rated on five batting attributes:

• Power — boundary-hitting force and scoring rate.
• Timing — strike rate and how cleanly they hit through the line.
• Average — runs per dismissal; reliability over a season.
• Six-hitting — how often they clear the rope.
• Experience — volume and weight of work across the campaign.

Bowlers are rated on four bowling attributes:

• Skill — wicket-taking threat and craft.
• Wickets — how many they actually take.
• Accuracy — control and dot-ball pressure.
• Economy — how few runs they concede per over.

All-rounders carry a blend of both. The card surfaces the most relevant four for each player, but remember: the attributes are there to give a player a feel and to help you choose between two similar options — the overall is what drives your projected season.

Reading players in Expert mode

In Expert mode the numbers are hidden, so this becomes a memory test. A useful habit is to picture the player at their peak. Was this a destroyer at the top of the order, a death-overs specialist, a wily spinner who choked the middle overs? The shape of a player's game is usually a good guide to their overall — and it stops you reaching for a famous name who was past their best in the exact season you drew.

Position fit

A player only counts at their best in a role they actually suit. Your XI is a real batting order — two openers, a top and middle order, an all-rounder, a keeper, and a frontline bowling unit. Each player's rating is taken as their batting rating in batting slots and their bowling rating in bowling slots, then multiplied by how well their role fits that slot.

A genuine opener batting at the top is worth full value; a specialist bowler shoved into an opening slot is worth a fraction of their rating. You don't place players by hand — each pick is slotted where it fits best among the openings you have left — but it means two players with the same overall are not always worth the same to you. The one who fills the slot you still need is the one that helps. See the strategy guides for how to play the fit.

From squad rating to a season

When your eleven is complete, the game takes the average overall of your players, weighted by how well each one fits its position, then applies balance penalties — a missing keeper, too few frontline bowlers, or too few specialist batters all cost you. That gives an adjusted squad rating, which maps to a projected record across the 14-game league season.

The curve is deliberately steep: a higher, better-balanced rating means more wins, while the gap between “very good” and “perfect” is huge. There is no single weak link that sinks you and no single superstar that carries you — the whole eleven counts.

Why a perfect season is so rare

To go a perfect 14-0-0 you need a top-rated player who also fits in almost every slot at once, which means spinning strong franchise-seasons at their peak across the entire draft. The maths is tuned so this lands only a small fraction of the time, even for skilled players who draft well. That is the point: a perfect, unbeaten season should feel like a real achievement — which is exactly why people share it when it finally happens.

Want to see who came closest in real life? Read about the greatest IPL teams of all time, then put your ratings knowledge to work with the strategy guides or just learn how to play.