IPL 2023: Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill not in list as Virender Sehwag picks his five favourite batters

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The Indian Premier League 2023 season is on its final wings. The final will be played on Sunday (May 28) as Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings lock horns at the Narendra Modi stadium for glory.

The two-month-long whirlwind has produced records galore this season. We have witnessed some excellent batting performances as this season produced the best batting stats in IPL's history.

A total of 12 centuries have been scored thus far this season, which is 4 more than any previous seasons. Also, two uncapped Indian batters Prabhsimran Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored hundred this season, the first time it happened in the tournament as well.

And former India player Virender Sehwag has picked his favourite five batters from this season. Astonishingly, two of the top batters Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill hasn't made his list. Gill currently has 851 runs and is destined to win the Orange Cap. RCB batter Virat Kohli also had a stellar season as he scored 639 runs.

But Sehwag has opted to pick a different set of names who have impressed him the most in IPL 2023. Speaking with Cricbuzz, Sehwag named five batters which includes two uncapped Indian batters. He also decided to not pick up openers (in most cases) as he thinks the openers have a lot of time to make an impact in the game.

"Mere 5 Pandavas. Cricket's Pandav. The first batter who comes to my mind is Rinku Singh. I don't think you would ask me the reason. Because it has never happened that a batter has won the team a match by hitting five straight sixes. Only Rinku Singh has done it," Sehwag said.

"The second middle-order batter is Shivam Dube. He has hit 33 sixes, his strike rate is over 160. The last few seasons have not been special but this year he came with a clear-cut mindset that he has to come and hit sixes," he added.

Sehwag then went on to pick the remaining three, but included Rajasthan Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal among the names. The youngster amassed 625 runs in the season and scored a brilliant century.

"The third is a brilliant opener. I have to take his name because his brilliant batting has forced me to pick him up. Yashasvi Jaiswal. Then comes SKY. I am taking Suryakumar Yadav's name because he was not in form. In international cricket he was getting zeroes," the former India batter added.

"Last, I can pick anybody by doing a toss because there are so many. But I will pick another middle-order batter and his name is Heinrich Klaasen. The team he was playing for (SRH), he was batting for them in the middle order, he made the most number runs. His ability to hit against spin and pace is rarely seen in a foreign player," Sehwag concluded.

IPL 2023: Stats of Virender Sehwag's 5 Favourite Batters