IPL 2021: Best Indian XI of the tournament so far

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was indefinitely suspended. This saddened cricket fans all across the globe as it was turning out to be a cracker of a season. The matches this time around were very entertaining.

It was a pity that we can’t see our favourite player play the toughest T20 league anytime soon. We saw a lot of exceptional performances by various talented individuals. Out of all these exceptional performances, a few stood out.

There were various Indian players who were at their best in this season without much of a doubt. Many of them managed to single-handedly win matches for their teams.

In the article, we shall be taking a look at the best Indian XI of IPL 2021

1) Shikhar Dhawan

Unarguably the best batsman of this season, Dhawan was at his best. The ‘Gabbar’ ensured that he instilled fear in almost every bowler he faced. He has been Delhi’s best batsman for quite a while now.

Dhawan was having the Orange Cap this season as well. He had scored 380 runs in the 8 matches he played. He had an average and strike rate of 54.29 and 134.27 respectively.

He was able to play according to the situation. He played a few quickfire knocks as well as some sensible knocks in tough and tricky conditions. Dhawan would be hoping that IPL 2021 resumes as soon as possible as he would love to continue his good form.

2) Prithvi Shaw

While people made memes on him when he was going through a lean patch, he worked on his weaknesses and is now batting like a dream! Shaw was at his best this season. He was hitting fours and sixes for fun.

He proved all his critics wrong and showed everyone why he is considered the next big thing in Indian cricket. Shaw scored 308 runs in the 8 innings he played. He had an average and strike rate of 38.50 and 166.48 respectively.

He even hit 6 boundaries in 6 balls against Shivam Mavi in one match. Shaw was batting with an aggressive approach and was able to clear the ropes several times. It won’t be surprising if we see Shaw make his T20I debut for India anytime soon.

3) KL Rahul

It would be a crime if we don’t add KL Rahul in this XI. Rahul was looking in great nick this season and was batting with great responsibility. Like the previous three seasons, he was Punjab’s best player.

KL Rahul scored 331 runs in 7 games. He was batting with an average and strike rate of 66.20 and 136.21 respectively. He also scored 2 90+ scores this season.

When he was all set to take his game to the next level, he was unfortunately not available for Punjab’s last match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) due to health reasons.

Post that, IPL 2021 got postponed and we never got to see Rahul play in IPL 2021. Nevertheless, he was the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament and he would hope that this season resumes as soon as possible.

4) Sanju Samson

Kerala’s hero Sanju Samson has been widely regarded as one of the most talented youngsters for quite a while now. After being made the new captain of the Rajasthan Royals (RR), he was having a very good season before IPL 2021 got postponed. The captaincy burden didn’t seem to affect Samson as he looked in sublime touch.

He scored a century in the RR’s very first match. It was a knock to remember. Despite not being able to win that match, he was praised by one and all. He didn’t stop there and made valuable contributions in a lot of other matches as well.

Samson scored 277 runs in 7 innings at an average and strike rate of 46.16 and 145.78 respectively. Unlike previous seasons, he has shown signs of consistency as well. If Samson continues playing like this then one can safely say that RR is in safe hands.

5) Rishabh Pant (C and WK)

After DC’s regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury, Rishabh Pant was made the new skipper. While many people questioned the move, Pant did no wrong and ensured his team were at the top of the table. He was really responsible as a player as well as a leader.

While Pant wasn’t at his best with the bat, his standards are so insanely high that a not so good season for Pant looks like a very good season for others. Pant scored 213 runs in 8 games. He had an average of 35. He scored 2 50+ scores as well.

He was very good as a captain and led his team to 6 wins. Even the 2 losses which he faced were close games. One of them was where he scored an unbeaten half-century and failed to finish the game.

6) Ravindra Jadeja

The ‘Rajput Boy’ has been India’s best all-rounder across all formats of the game for quite a while now. He has also emerged as one of the best players for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) over the last few seasons. He was unsurprisingly having a good season this time as well.

Jadeja was contributing for CSK with the bat as well as with the ball. He scored 131 runs at an average of 131 and was dismissed just once. He also took 6 wickets in the 7 matches he played.

He was really economical and went for less than 7 runs an over (6.70). Who can forget his performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore? Jadeja not only scored a 67 and hit 37 runs in an over but also took 3 wickets with the ball.

7) Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel was arguably one of the best Indian players of IPL 2021. He was super with the ball, especially at the death. He also had the Purple Cap with him.

Harshal took 17 wickets in just 7 innings. This included a fifer against the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the first game of the tournament. He kept on picking wickets for RCB.

This was one of the major reasons why RCB were at the top of the table during the initial days of this season. Harshal Patel has credited the team management and Kohli for his success and even said that he was backed by them.

As a matter of fact if the season did go on to continue Harshal had a chance to take the most number of wickets in a single edition and break DJ Bravo’s record of picking 32 wickets in 2013.

8) Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar has been MI’s best spinner for quite a while now. However, he seemed to be at his best this season and looked really good. He kept picking wickets at regular intervals.

Rahul Chahar took the most number of wickets by a spinner and took the 4th most number of wickets by any bowler in this season. He took 11 wickets in 7 matches. He has a bowling average and a strike rate of 18.36 and 15.27 respectively.

He was pretty economical and had an economy of 7.21. The younger of the Chahar siblings would hope that IPL 2021 resumes as soon as possible as he is in superb form. If he can continue his performances whenever the IPL 2021 does resume then he can very well have a chance to represent India again.

9) Deepak Chahar

We have the elder Chahar sibling in our XI as well. Chahar has been CSK’s star since 2018 and seldom disappoints the Chennai fans. He has been the CSK skipper MS Dhoni’s go-to man in the powerplay overs where the fielding restrictions make it tough for the bowlers to contain runs.

Deepak Chahar took 8 wickets in 7 games, and this includes two 4-fers as well. He was superb in his opening spells. He had a bowling average and strike rate of 24.12 and 18 respectively.

Chahar took the second most number of wickets by any CSK bowler in this season, only behind Sam Curran. With the way Chahar has been bowling, he is definitely going to get a chance to feature in India’s playing XI more often. If this season does resume anytime soon, Chahar would be rearing to go.

10) Avesh Khan

DC have a lot of world class bowlers such as Rabada, Nortje, Woakes and even Ishant Sharma. Who would have thought that despite the presence of so many world-class bowlers, we would see a domestic bowler leading their charts? Avesh Khan has been magnificent in this season, to say the least.

He has taken the most number of wickets in IPL 2021 after Harshal Patel and is second on the Purple Cap list. Avesh Khan has taken 14 wickets in 7 matches. He has a bowling average and strike rate of 16.50 and 12.85 respectively this season. The best part of his bowling this season has been his economy.

He has an economy of 7.70 in this season and was superb in the first few initial overs as well as the death overs. You know how good a season he was having when he outbowled the likes of Rabada and Ishant Sharma. If Avesh Khan continues to play like this, a national call won’t be too far.

11) Ravi Bishnoi

Very seldom would you see a player who has played just 4 matches make it to a tournament XI. Bishnoi has been very impressive in the few games he played in IPL 2021. It was very shocking that Bishnoi wasn’t given games from the start of the season.

The young leggie took 4 wickets in his 4 games, but was really a miser with the ball. He had an economy of just 6.18. Players like Virat Kohli were struggling to hit him.

He was superb in the field as well and took some absolute stunners on the field. Punjab started getting back on track the moment they got Bishnoi back in their XI. Bishnoi would be rearing to go once again if this season does resume anytime soon.