The IPL 2023 has entered its business end of the tournament, where every match could potentially have a bearing on the eventual standings in the points table. Match after match, there have been terrific individual and collective performances that have helped in lighting up the tournament so far.
In this article, we will look at the best XI of the IPL 2023 so far, as of May 11th after the completion of the KKR-RR game at the Eden Gardens.
Here is IPL 2023’s best XI from the league phase:
Openers: Faf du Plessis, Yashasvi Jaiswal
While Faf has been as clinical as he was expected to be – with 576 runs – it is young Jaiswal who has been stealing the shows in the IPL. The left-handed RR opener is, at the time of writing, the second highest run-scorer, only 1 runs behind Faf, but Jaiswal has struck at 167 with 1 century and 4 fifties.
Middle-order: Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube
Hardik is the anchor and seam-bowling all-rounder in out best XI of the league phase. He’s been doing the job of anchoring for the Titans from number 3 and regularly bowl 2-3 overs. Suryakumar is the evergreen T20 superstar who has once again been prolific – 376 runs at a strike rate of 186 – able to smash both pacers and spinners, while Shivem Dube is out middle-overs spin basher. Dube’s 315 runs have come at a strike rate of 159 while he’s smashed at a strike rate of 177 against spinners this season.
Finishers: Rinku Singh, MS Dhoni (C, WK)
Rinku Singh has been a revealtions as a finisher in the IPL 2023 and has given ample support to Andre Russell in the KKR line-up. Who could forget Rinku’s heist against Dayal and Gujarat – 5 sixes off last 5 balls. Rinku has scored his 353 runs at a strike rate of 146 and his death overs strike rate has been 184!
Who better a captain than MS Dhoni, who has led CSK to the second spot in the points table with a team that was hurt by injuries, especially to its pacers, and a team that has revived Rahane and Dube’s career and handed Pathirana a career. Dhoni has also turned back the clock with the bat and still remains a fearsome, brutal finisher: Dhoni has walloped 96 runs at a strike rate of 204.
Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Matheesha Pathirana
Chahal (21), Rashid and Shami (19 each) are the top three wicket-takers of the IPL 2023, at the time of writing. Pathirana has been arguably the best death overs bowler in the tournament: Pathirana has taken 12 scalps in the death overs so far, the most.
The Sri Lankan pacer who has an action akin to Lasith Malinga has also maintained a superb economy of 8.28 in the last 4 overs of the innings, putting him right up as the best death pacer, at least, in the tournament. Chahal, too, has been brilliant the slog overs.
