IPL 2021: 5 Players Who Can Win The Player Of The Tournament Award This Season

The 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) may have been halted due to multiple Covid-related cases across four different franchises but before it got suspended, we witnessed a plethora of memorable moments across all three facets of the game from a lot of players.

The IPL will now resume in September in the United Arab Emirates and it will be interesting to see how the guys, who performed really well during the India leg, go about their business.

Should they continue their stellar form, they will certainly close in towards winning the ‘Player of the Tournament’ Award.

On that note, here’s a look at 5 such players who can win the ‘Player of the Tournament’ Award in IPL 2021:

Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings)

Ravindra Jadeja carried his brilliant form of the last three years in IPL 2021, proving to be Chennai Super Kings ‘MVP’ yet again.

The champion all-rounder delivered in all three facets of the game. He claimed outrageous catches for fun- sometimes four of them in a single game- unleashed fury on the bowlers at the death with whirlwind cameos besides chipping in with handy performances with the ball.

Jadeja’s best performance came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore where he smashed an audacious unbeaten 28-ball 62, which also included as many as 37 runs in one over of Harshal Patel.

He then backed it up with three wickets which included the likes of Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers, and if that wasn’t enough, the all-rounder also affected a brilliant run-out of Dan Christian.

Overall, Jadeja smashed 131 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 161.72 besides claiming 6 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 26.83 and an economy rate of 6.70.

If Jadeja can continue his form during the UAE leg, then he will surely be one of the front-runners to win the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.

Harshal Patel  (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Harshal Patel was traded from the Delhi Capitals by the Virat Kohli-led RCB and the move proved to be a masterstroke as the right-arm seamer chipped in with wickets in almost every game.

Patel kickstarted his season with a bang as he ran through Mumbai Indians’ middle and lower order to become the first seamer to claim a five-wicket haul against the defending champions.

Harshal, with his brilliant change of pace, thrived on the slow and sluggish wickets of Chennai and continued taking multiple wickets in every fixture. He struggled on true surfaces of Mumbai and Ahmedabad and was taken to the cleaners by the likes of Ravindra Jadeja.

Nevertheless, Patel still ended the season as the leading wicket-taker. In 7 games, he claimed 17 wickets at an average of 15.11 and an economy rate of 9.17, and he is certainly one of the prime contenders to win the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.

Faf du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings)

Faf du Plessis was in smashing form in IPL 2021 and his consistent run-of-scores at the top was the cornerstone behind CSK’s batting surge this year.

Du Plessis consistently gave brilliant starts to the Super Kings, and more often than not, he went on to convert them into a big knock. Audacious scoops, flat-batted swats, pulls, ferocious cuts, and drives, Du Plessis’ batting was a complete package and along with young Ruturaj Gaikwad, he proceeded to establish a potent opening combination.

The former South African skipper started the season with a duck but after a couple of handy match-winning knocks, he came into his own and smashed 4 consecutive half-centuries including an unbeaten 60-ball 95 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Overall, Du Plessis has scored 320 runs in 7 innings at an average of 64 and a strike rate of 145.45 and he was the third-highest run-getter when the season was abruptly halted. Should the veteran CSK batsman continue his form during the UAE leg, then he will certainly be one of the contenders to win the ‘Player of the Season’ award.

Avesh Khan (Delhi Capitals)

Avesh Khan was blooded into the playing 11 at the start of the season due to the unavailability of Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje and the young seamer made the most of the opportunities that he got by dishing out one tough performance after another.

The most noticeable thing about Avesh Khan’s performance in IPL 2021 was that he thrived in whatever role he was given by the team management, Whether it was the middle-overs or the death, Khan, with his plethora of variations impressed in almost every game.

When the season got suspended due to Covid, Avesh Khan had already claimed 14 wickets in just 8 matches- second-most- at an average of 16.50 and an economy rate of 7.60.

Thanks to his brilliant IPL performances where he also claimed the wicket of Virat Kohli, Avesh Khan was rewarded with a place in the Indian touring contingent for the Test summer as a net bowler, and if can continue his form in the UAE leg of the season, then he will certainly in contention to win the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.

Shikhar Dhawan  (Delhi Capitals)

Shikhar Dhawan has transformed himself beyond recognition as a T20 batsman ever since he joined the Delhi Capitals in 2019, and since then, he has easily been the best Indian batter in the cash-rich league.

Dhawan was in cracking form in the last IPL where he smashed in excess of 500 runs with a couple of tons, and the veteran southpaw successfully carried his form in the 14th season.

Earlier, Dhawan used to throw away his starts, or worse, slow down after the powerplay, but since the last season, that has not been the case. He may smash that many sixes, but boy, he scores a lot of fours, and he does that on a consistent basis against all bowlers.

Dhawan timed his assault to near perfection in IPL 2021 as well and played a huge role in helping the Delhi Capitals cap off some tricky run-chases.

When the tournament was eventually halted due to covid, the opener was the leading run-scorer-  380 runs in 8 innings at an average of 54.28 and a strike rate of 134.27 with 3 50s.

Honorable Mentions- AB de Villiers, Chris Morris, KL Rahul, Glenn Maxwell, Moeen Ali

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