IPL 2023: From Shubman Gill to Mohammed Shami - Top five performers who became biggest stories of season 16

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IPL 2023: The sixteenth edition of the IPL 2023 saw several players from India and around the world bring their A-game on the biggest T20 stage. By the end of the season, a few promising youngsters earned the tag of 'Baby GOATS' and a few lesser-known domestic cricketers became household names.

The IPL 2023 saw it all. A 21-year-old Indian batter smashed a hundred in a city where he used to sell street foods a few years ago. On the other hand, a 38-year-old former captain of a national team ended up smashing over 700 runs and is now on road to an international comeback.

The list is really, really long. However, we have selected the top five performers of the IPL 2023. Have a look.

IPL 2023 Top Performers

Yashasvi Jaiswal: The guy who used to sell 'phuchka' or 'golgappa' or 'panipuri' (whatever you say) a few years ago in Mumbai, is one of two biggest stories of the IPL 2023. Leaving out the Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener from the list of IPL 2023 best performers would be a crime.

The youngest Indian uncapped batter to score 600-plus runs in the season, Jaiswal finished the league stage with 625 runs in 14 matches at an average of 48.07 and a strike rate of 163.61. The icing on the cake was his fairytale hundred at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The southpaw hit five fifties and one hundred. On one occasion, he finished with 98 unbeaten runs against KKR. He looked set to cross the 700-run mark but unfortunately RR failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Rinku Singh: The KKR batter has been around for a while but IPL 2023 saw his transformation from a player to a superstar. Winning matches with fours and sixes have made him a household name.

With 28 runs needed on the last five balls against Gujarat Titans (GT), Rinku smashed back-to-back five sixes to become an IPL legend at just 25 years of age. The right-hand batter ended his season with a six, four and six on the final three balls of his side's last match which they lost by one run.

What stood out was Rinku's consistency and ability to soak intense pressure time and again. The IPL 2023 season saw him score 474 runs in 14 matches at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.52.

From the streets of Aligarh where Rinku would deliver commercial gas cylinders on his bike to the chants of 'Rinku, Rinku' by thousands of people - he is the second big story of the IPL 2023.

Shubman Gill: The 23-year-old Gujarat Titans (GT) opener registered scores of 39, 129, 42, 104* and 101 in his last five innings. He fell 10 runs short of becoming only the second batter after Virat Kohli to score 900 or more runs in a single IPL season.

However, he is the designated 'Prince' of Indian cricket now. Some call him the 'Baby GOAT' as well. Gill is only the second Indian batter and fourth overall to score over 800 runs in a single IPL edition. His tally of three hundreds in one season is only behind Kohli's four in 2016.

One hundred saw Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) crashing out of the playoffs race.One in Qualifier 2 broke Mumbai Indians' (MI) dream of winning their record sixth title. The Punjab-born cricketer scored a total of 890 runs in 17 matches at an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80.

Faf du Plessis: The former South Africa captain proved that age is just a number by smashing 730 runs in 14 matches at an average of 56.15 and a strike rate of 153.68. He smashed eight fifties in the season and finished as the second-highest run-scorer.

The 38-year-old was one of the reasons why RCB who depended on a handful of players remained in the playoffs race till the very end. A batter score these many runs and at such a stunning average and strike rate at the age of 38 is nothing but inspirational.

And all that with the burden of captaincy. Du Plessis have revealed that he was been approach by selectors for a South Africa comeback. He says, if not the upcoming ODI World Cup in India, he is surely featuring the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Mohit Sharma: Mohammed Shami ending up with most wickets isn't a surprise but Mohit Sharma, who was a net bowler last year, finishing just behind is.

The veteran pacer almost won GT their second consecutive title on Monday while defending 13 from the last six balls. A dot was followed by three singles before Ravindra Jadeja stole the show away.

However, that does not take anything away from Mohit who has announced his revival by finishing the season with 27 wickets at an average of 13.37 and an economy rate of 8.17. His average is best among bowlers with 12 or more wickets in the season.

Mohit, the joint-highest wicket-taker of the season alongside Rashid Khan, was also one of the only four bowlers who picked a five-fer this year. From executing his bowling to perfection in death overs to barging into CSK dugout on the night of final - Mohit literally gave it his all en route to his stunning comeback.