Published: May 27, 2023, 11:08 AM (IST)
Edited: May 27, 2023, 11:08 AM (IST)
New Delhi: The Indian Premier League is one of the best platforms for players to showcase their talent. Specifically for Indian players, it opens up an opportunity to get selected for the India team on the basis of their performance.
IPL 2023 also saw several great batting performances. Players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Prabhsimran Singh, who scored a century, and KKR star Rinku Singh, who played a sensational knock of 5 balls and 5 sixes, are a few players who are expected to represent Team India soon.
In a recent interview, legendary India player Virendra Sehwag picked the ‘top five batters’ according to him.
Surprisingly, the list didn’t include the top run scorer of the IPL, Shubman Gill, or former Indian captain Virat Kohli. In their place, he picked up two uncapped players, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh.
“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,” Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
He further added Mumbai Indians player Suryakumar Yadav in the list along with Sunrisers Hyderabad star Heinrich Klaasen.
“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.”
Gujarat Titans will face Chennai Super Kings in the final showdown; both teams will battle against each other to lift the trophy on May 28 at the Narendra Modi International Stadium in Ahmedabad.
