Former RCB player AB de Villiers picked his favourite player of IPL 2023 and to everyone’s surprise it wasn’t Shubman Gill or Virat Kohli.
Although Rajasthan Royals failed to qualify for the IPL 2023 playoffs, the franchise saw some splendid cricket from Yashvasvi Jaiswal. The young opener finished the campaign as RR’s highest run-scorer and is also currently fourth in the Orange Cap race. In 14 matches, Jaiswal smacked 625 runs at an average of 48.08 and 163.61 strike rate. During the season, he also hammered a ton and five half-centuries, with his high score standing at 124.
An uncapped player, Jaiswal caught everyone’s eye due to shot selection and also his way of finding gaps. Such was the impact that fans even forgot about out-of-form star opener Jos Buttler. Speaking on JioCinema, former RCB player AB de Villiers had special praise for Jaiswal and called him his favourite player of IPL 2023.
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“Yashasvi Jaiswal for me and by a long margin for sure. He is a young player and has got all the shots in the book. He has a calm and composed temperament at the wicket and I love what he does, dominating the bowlers and always looks like he is in control,” he said. “Shubman is a little bit older, I think Jaiswal’s got a long way to go, and he has all the credentials to become a great,” he further added.
RR finished the league phase in fifth place, missing out on the playoffs. They managed to bag 14 points in 14 matches, including seven victories and seven defeats. Jaiswal’s impact was crucial as Buttler lost his way after a good start to the season. Last year’s Orange Cap winner, Buttler registered an unwanted record in his side’s last league game vs Punjab Kings, where he recorded the most number of ducks in a single season (5).
Buttler started off strong in his first four matches this season with scores of 54, 19, 79 and 52. But then his form dropped and he could only smack one more 50-plus score (96 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad). He was dismissed for five ducks in the next 10 matches.