The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been as intense and exciting as before, if not more. With the competition coming to a close, fans have had the honour of watching some of the greatest batting performances not only in the tournament's history but perhaps in all of cricket.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vice-captain Virat Kohli and Gujarat Titans (GT) ace Shubman Gill have been two of the standout batsmen this year. The former had put up six 50s and two centuries to give his side the chance of making it to the Playoffs till the last league game, while Gill's four half-centuries and three tons have helped GT reach their second consecutive final.
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However, despite their excellent performances, Kohli and Gill surprisingly do not feature in cricket legend and pundit Virender Sehwag's top five batsmen list for IPL 2023.
Sehwag omits Kohli and Gill in his top five batsmen from IPL 2023
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Sehwag most chose middle-order batsmen in his list, with the likes of Kolkata Knight Rider batsmen Rinku Singh, Chennai Super Kings batter Shivam Dube, Rajasthan Royal's Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mumbai Indian's top-scorer Suryakumar Yadav, and Sunrisers Hyderbad's Heinrich Klaasen making up his list of top 5 batsmen.
"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."
Sehwag's list in interesting in that it only has one player from this season's top five runscorers (Jaiswal) and features two uncapped players.
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Who is the current top runscorer in IPL 2023?
| No. | Player | Team | Runs | Matches | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shubman Gill | GT | 851 | 16 | 129 |
| 2 | Faf du Plessis | RCB | 730 | 14 | 84 |
| 3 | Virat Kohli | RCB | 639 | 14 | 101* |
| 4 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | RR | 625 | 14 | 124 |
| 5 | Devon Conway | CSK | 625 | 15 | 92* |
| 6 | Suryakumar Yadav | MI | 605 | 16 | 103* |
| 7 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | CSK | 564 | 15 | 92 |
| 8 | David Warner | DC | 516 | 14 | 86 |
| 9 | Rinku Singh | KKR | 474 | 14 | 67* |
| 10 | Ishan Kishan | MI | 454 | 15 | 75 |
