Michael Vaughan picks his top five batters of IPL 2021

Cricketer-turned-expert Michael Vaughan has picked his top five batters of the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. During the season, we saw some breathtaking performances from KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, and Sanju Samson among others. These players have stood tall for their respective teams and have contributed heavily. Vaughan though signalled out Rahul and lavished praise on the batter saying he will be the most sought-after player in the mega auction next year.

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The PBKS skipper finished with a humungous 626 runs from just 13 games. He was the most impressive player for his side. Vaughan dubbed Rahul as Mr. Consistent.

“For me, the best batsman in this IPL was KL Rahul. The ‘Mr. Consistent performer at the top of the order for Punjab. I think he will be the most sought-after player in the auction. Most franchises would be looking at him and would try to grab him from Punjab,” Vaughan said.

The former England captain’s next pick was Shikhar Dhawan, who finished with 587 runs and was the top scorer for DC. “Shikhar Dhawan is one of the best players in the world in white-ball cricket. He has got the skill, the experience, the guile to set the foundation at the top of the order.”

Vaughan’s other two picks were CSK openers Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis. The duo scored 635 and 633 respectively and helped the team cruise to their fourth IPL title. Vaughan lauded the South African batter’s calmness and praised the CSK management for showing faith in Gaikwad. “Faf du Plessis is the wily old horse. He just seems to play without ego. He just plays the situation; he is very calm. Foundation, courage, and calmness in a team is very important and Faf plays that role for CSK.”

The 46-year-old's last pick was Glenn Maxwell, who finally had a good IPL season for RCB. “Maxwell was the real standout in terms of the batting for Royal Challengers Bangalore. It seems that he has found his IPL home he has been searching for. I think he is going to be with them for a few years,” Vaughan concluded.