ISHAN KISHAN (MI)
M: 14| RUNS: 516| HS: 99| AVG: 57.33| SR: 145.76| 100s: 0| 50s: 4| 6s: 30 | 4s: 36
Not many would know that Ishan Kishan was the captain of the Indian U19 team which went into the finals of the 2016 Youth World Cup. That team also included Rishabh Pant, who had gone onto greater heights since that time. Kishan, on the other hand, has been scoring runs at breakneck speed and knocking on the door of the Indian team for his chance.
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The 22-year-old had an amazing IPL 2020 with 516 runs to his name, the most for an uncapped Indian batsman, with the highest score of 99 runs. He made his runs at a strike-rate of 145.76 and has surely got the attention of the Indian selectors.
Though he didn't keep wickets for MI in the tournament due to the presence of Quinton de Kock, he has done it previously and as the spot for the wicketkeeper in the Indian team has become open again, with many contenders vying for the opportunities, Kishan has put his name in the hat as well.
AB DE VILLIERS (WK-RCB)
M: 15| RUNS: 454|HS: 73*| AVG: 45.40| SR: 158.74 |100s: 0| 50s: 5| 6s: 23 | 4s: 33
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made it into the playoffs of the IPL for the first time since 2016 and it was a great achievement for the franchise, who finished last twice in the last three editions of the Indian Premier League.
And most of the credit for that goes to their superstar batsman AB de Villiers from South Africa. He even kept wickets for most of the tournament, freeing up space for an extra player as well.
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Though young Devdutt Padikkal did his best at the top and even Virat Kohli made over 400 runs, it was AB de Villiers as the finisher that stole the show with match-winning innings one after another.
One of those innings was against Rajasthan Royals when RCB needed 45 runs from 18 balls chasing 178 runs to win. De Villiers then thumped Jaydev Unadkat for three sixes in an over and then ensured RCB won the match, with another six off Archer, making 55* in just 22 balls.
He has shown that experience trumps everything and with his superhuman skills, De Villiers was the man for RCB throughout the IPL 2020.
HARDIK PANDYA
M: 14| RUNS: 281 |HS: 60*| AVG: 35.12| SR: 178.98 |50s: 1
Hardik Pandya was coming off a long rehab after his back surgery. He was supposed to be back in the limited-overs series against South Africa at home in February, but the Coronavirus pandemic put a halt to those plans.
Instead, he got extra time to strengthen his back and also got married to his girlfriend Natasa Stankovic. They welcomed their first baby a boy, named Agastya, weeks before Hardik left for UAE for the IPL 2020. There were questions over his fitness and if he could handle the load of being an all-rounder.
However, he didn’t bowl a single delivery in the tournament, playing as a specialist batsman and wreaked havoc on opposition bowling as a finisher. He made 281 runs in 14 matches at an eye-watering strike-rate of 178.98. He also made a half-century- 60* in 21 balls with 7 sixes against Rajasthan Royals.
RASHID KHAN
M: 16| WKTs: 20| BB: 3/7 | ECO: 5.37
Rashid Khan was the trump card for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain David Warner, who became their most important bowler after SRH lost the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Rashid didn’t disappoint whenever the ball was thrown to him and he ended up with 20 wickets in 16 matches at an economy of just 5.37.
His best figures of 3/7, which are the most economical figures in IPL history as well, came against Delhi Capitals when SRH defended 219 runs. He helped SRH win by 88 runs after picking the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer, Ajinkya Rahane, and Akshar Patel in one of the best spells of leg-spin bowling.
