The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will come to an end on Sunday (May 28), with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final of the tournament. The league thus far provided some great entertainment to cricket enthusiasts, with a few sensational performances from several batters in the event. The tournament saw as many as twelve centuries being slammed, of which two came from uncapped Indian batters and three from GT star opener Shubman Gill.
After a power-packed league stage and playoff matches, India’s veteran player Virender Sehwag has now come up with his choice of five batters who impressed him the most in IPL 2023. However, Sehwag didn’t include the leading run-scorer of the event, Gill and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star Virat Kohli in his list. Notably, Virat hammered two consecutive tons in the current edition of the league.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag said that his top-five players from the IPL 2023 don’t feature many openers. The world cup-winning player named Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) sensation Rinku Singh as his first choice and lauded the left-handed batter for his finishing skills. Meanwhile, CSK all-rounder Shivam Dube and Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Yashasvi Jaiswal bagged the second and third spots in Sehwag’s list.
On the other hand, the 44-year-old former cricketer gave the fourth and fifth positions in his list to Mumbai Indians‘ (MI) player Suryakumar Yadav and Sunrisers Hyderabad‘s (SRH) Heinrich Klaasen.
“Mere 5 Pandavas. Cricket’s Pandav. My pick for five batters in the IPL. I have not picked many openers because they get a lot of opportunities. The first batter who comes to my mind in Rinku Singh. I don’t think you would ask me the reason. Because it has never happened that a batter has won the team a match by hitting five straight sixes. Only Rinku Singh has done it. The second middle-order batter is Shivam Dube. He has hit 33 sixes, his strike-rate is over 160. Last few seasons have not been special but this year he came with a clear-cut mindset that he has to come and hit sixes,” said Sehwag.
“The third is a brilliant opener. I have to take his name because his brilliant batting has forced me to pick him up. Yashasvi Jaiswal. Then comes SKY. I am taking Suryakumar Yadav’s name because he was not in form. In international cricket he was getting zeroes. In IPL also he was not doing well at the start, but then he started doing well. Last, I can pick anybody by doing a toss because there are so many. But I will pick another middle-order batter and his name is Heinrich Klaasen. The team he was playing for (SRH), he was batting for them in the middle order, he made the most number runs. His ability to hit against spin and pace is rarely seen in a foreign player,” he added.
It is worth mentioning that three batters that Sehwag chose in the form of Yashasvi, Surya and Klaasen have all scored a ton in the IPL 2023. In the meantime, Rinku and Shivam have excelled as finishers for their respective teams.
