IPL 2021: Ranking Top 10 Fittest Cricketers In The Tournament

The IPL 2021 now stands suspended, but the board has confirmed that the tournament will resume in September, and will be played out in the UAE. 29 matches were completed, with 31 remaining, including the playoffs, at the time of suspension in early May.

Since the tournament will be completed in the UAE, the players participating in it will be needed to take care of their health and improve their physical fitness considering the hot condition in the Arab country.

A number of players have already been taking breaks from playing cricket in the pandemic era, owing to the mental and physical fatigue which seeps into them while living in the bio-bubble. They have avoided the travel from bubble to bubble, not just because of the covid-19 scare, but also because of the toll living in the restricted bubbles have on the mental and physical aspect of their bodies.

Here we look at the top 10 fittest cricket in the IPL 2021:

10. Kagiso Rabada

It is seldom that the bowlers, let alone fast bowlers, are amongst the fittest players in the team. However, Kagiso Rabada, the Delhi Capitals spearhead, is an anomaly – the speedster is amongst the fittest South Africans having a score of 19.2 on the Yo-Yo test, a measure of the fitness of players regularly conducted in almost all the international sides.

Rabada, who bagged the Purple Cap in IPL 2020 in the UAE, has picked up 8 wickets in 7 matches this season so far. The Capitals are at the top of the points table, and the onus will once again be on Rabada to help them do one better than last season.

9. MS Dhoni

While MS Dhoni’s batting over the last couple of IPL seasons has been, clearly, on the wane, his wicket-keeping and captaincy remain of the same class as ever. That he still is willing to play for the Chennai Super Kings and help them in their transition phase, while also keeping them at the upper half of the table this season, is a testament to his revered captaincy and personality.

Dhoni perhaps is pushing himself to do the keeping duties – others in the team can be handed the gloves – but doing so while not playing any other form or tournament illustrious the elite-level fitness he has maintained not just in the past couple of years but throughout his career; Dhoni hardly missed matches for India or CSK due to injury.

8. Hardik Pandya

There are numerous hairstyles, shirtless images, earrings, chains, fancy clothing, swagger, cars, watches, and a whole lot more – Hardik Pandya is a fashion icon. And he can whack the ball a distance as well.

The Mumbai Indians all-rounder is one of the cleanest hitters in world cricket and probably the best finisher in India currently. Pandya is not big and burly as, say, the likes of Andre Russell or Kieron Pollard, but rather it is his lithe but strong physique with which he hits the ball over the fence. Last season in the IPL, in the UAE, he had the third-highest strike rate and hit the third-most number of sixes, helping MI to their fifth IPL title.

He has had a few fitness issues with his back, which has rendered him unable to bowl at the highest level. But he is pushing himself to be ready to bowl, which reflects his mentality of getting better and more useful to the team’s cause. Nonetheless, Pandya remains amongst the fittest cricketers in the country.

7. Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow’s name isn’t really a pop-up when people talk about the fittest cricketers. However, Bairstow, known for his gung-ho approach to batting, has a high Yo-Yo test score of 21.8.

He is amongst the swiftest movers in the English team and the IPL – being promoted to the opening role in white-ball cricket, the ‘keeper-batsman helped himself in running between the wickets due to his agility in movement. So far in IPL 2021, Bairstow has smacked 248 runs at a strike rate of 141.71, however, he single-handedly couldn’t drag the Sunrisers Hyderabad, which currently sits at the bottom.

6. AB de Villiers

The genius of AB de Villiers with the willow in hand is well-known, which he has displayed regularly while playing for South Africa the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the past decade. Now, in the past 3 years, his fitness has also been in the talks – since de Villiers doesn’t play international cricket, and barely turns up for any other league in the world, the fitness and form he has been in the IPL have been exemplary.

For the past couple of seasons, he has been given the wicket-keeping duties as well, which again is a testament to his will to give all for the team and his athleticism while keeping the body in shape.

With the bat in the IPL 2021, he has continued his form of last season, the right-hander has averages 51.75 while striking at 164.29 before the postponement of the tournament.

5. Ben Stokes

Without any doubt, England and Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes always gives his best on the field; there is nothing left in the tank to take back. One of the best cricketers of this generation, Stokes’ give-it-all attitude hurt him during the IPL 2021, as he dived forward to take a catch in RR’s first game against Punjab Kings, and injured his finger which ruled him out of the tournament.

Although there is little chance Stokes – or any England player – will return to play in the UAE leg of the season, the left-handed batsman himself would be willing to feature in the marquee league, also because the T20 World Cup could be held in the UAE as well.

Arguably the best all-rounder at present, Ben Stokes likes to be in the action and had made numerous impactful performances with both bat and ball even putting his body on the line for the team.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Team Wise List Of Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The Tournament

4. Faf du Plessis

A shirtless Faf du Plessis, a bare cut-chested one, could give any supermodel a run for his money. Faf du Plessis is the Alpha Male. The South African is one of the most trusted batsmen and safest fielder in the world; there is hardly any boundary or catch which du Plessis let slip by. He is fit, strong, and can hit the long ball, and is extremely brisk in the field.

He has been a key figure in the CSK batting line-up over the years and won two of the three titles they have won. In IPL 2021, Faf is the third-leading run-scorer so far, with 320 runs at 64.00 while striking at 145.45.

3. Virat Kohli

Everyone is privy to Virat Kohli‘s obsession with fitness, not just for himself but for the team as a whole to take it forward, and of late with his diets as well. The Delhi-born has set high standards with his fitness regime for others to catch up. Kohli has touched the score of 19 on the Yo-Yo test.

An improvement in the quality and the longevity of the fast bowlers in the Indian team is a reflection of the message Virat Kohli has passed on to them.

The RCB captain now is aiming for the ultimate IPL glory – and this season the team seems to have a good chance to win it as they are currently on the third spot on the points table.

2. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey is considered to be one of the fittest, if not the fittest, a player in the Indian team. He has a Yo-Yo score of 19.2, a little more than Virat Kohli. Pandey is a gun fielder, and rarely misfields or drops a catch; his loosely-limbed renders him to move nimbly across the turf and is a quick runner between the wickets.

His batting, however, hasn’t been up to the mark this season. Batting for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021, while he has an average of 48.25, those runs have come at a lowly strike rate of 123.72; he was also dropped from the team as SRH languishes at the bottom of the table.

1.Ravindra Jadeja

There can be a little question over declaring Ravindra Jadeja as the best fielder in the world. He has taken blinders, inflicted direct hit run-outs, from in the circle and from outside it, and invariably saves runs with his ground fielding.

While Jadeja has won matches for India and CSK with bat and ball, his electric fielding has been his unique selling point for a decade now, and one of the reasons both Dhoni and Kohli like to have him around.

Speaking about IPL 2021, the left-hander has been in the tremendous form: he has scored 131 runs, at a strike rate of 161.73, including smashing Harshal Patel, the current purple cap holder, for 36 runs in an over, and has got out just once so far; Jadeja has plucked 6 wickets as well at an enviable economy of 6.71

Also Read: 5 Batsmen With Most Sixes In T20I Cricket