Most valuable player in IPL 2023: Predictions and past winners
The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is nearing its end, with only a few days to go for the summit clash. Chennai Super Kings have made it to the final and will take on Gujarat Titans in the final. IPL is a platform for the players, local and foreign, to showcase their ability and talent while playing for their respective franchises.
Several awards are given away after every match in the IPL and the same is tracked for the entire season as well. The player who remains at the top of the list wins the season award. Most Valuable Player (MVP) is one such award that is given away.
The player who makes the maximum impact with bat, ball and on the field wins this award. Points are awarded in every department for players and the one with the maximum points at the end of the season wins the Upstox Most Valuable Player Award for the season.
For the batters, the points are awarded based on the fours and sixes they hit and their impact on the field depending on the catches they took and the run-outs affected. For the bowlers, their fielding is taken into consideration alongside the dot balls they bowled and the wickets they’ve picked.
Most Valuable Player in IPL 2023
Yashasvi Jaiswal is at the top of the list at the moment with 320.5 points as far as the Most Valuable Player in IPL 2023 is concerned. Rashid Khan is at second place and is expected to overtake him, with 320.5 points himself while his Gujarat Titans teammate Mohammed Shami is positioned third with 301 points.
Here’s the list of IPL 2023 Most Valuable Player:
| Position | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | Rajasthan Royals | 320.5 |
| 2 | Rashid Khan | Gujarat Titans | 320.5 |
| 3 | Mohammed Shami | Gujarat Titans | 301 |
| 4 | Cameron Green | Mumbai Indians | 298.5 |
| 5 | Faf du Plessis | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 283.5 |
| 6 | Suryakumar Yadav | Mumbai Indians | 275.5 |
| 7 | Shubman Gill | Gujarat Titans | 273 |
| 8 | Axar Patel | Delhi Capitals | 266 |
| 9 | Devon Conway | Chennai Super Kings | 253.5 |
| 10 | Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 251 |
Top 5 contenders to win Most Valuable Player in IPL 2023:
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Rajasthan Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal lit up the 16th edition of IPL with his exceptional batting. On most occasions, Jaiswal also outshone his opening partner Jos Buttler while smashing runs at will. He also broke the record for the fastest half-century in IPL history scoring it in 13 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders. Jaiswal overall smacked 82 fours and 26 sixes and also took 8 catches along with 4.5 run-outs. He boasts of a total of 320.5 points and is leading the race to win the Most Valuable Player in IPL 2023 award if Rashid Khan doesn’t make much of an impact in the playoffs.
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan is a champion cricketer and always gives his best to the team. Playing for Gujarat Titans, he has been exceptional in 2023, picking up 27 wickets and is second in the race to win the Purple Cap. He is also a swashbuckler with the bat and has hit eight fours and a massive 13 sixes. He boasts of a strike rate of 224.14 after eight innings and has scored 130 runs so far. Overall, he has 320.5 points and a match-winning outing in the final might turn out to be enough for him to win the Most Valuable Player in IPL 2023 award.
Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami carried forward his league form into the IPL playoffs as well, picking up two wickets each in the two games, in Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2. Overall, Shami has picked up 28 wickets in this season, making it his most successful IPL season ever. He never got more than 20 wickets in an edition before 2023. Shami is one of the three players with more than 300 points in the Most Valuable Player list, with 301 points. He will have to compete with his teammate Rashid Khan for this award, but a few quick wickets – he has 17 in the powerplay this year – can see his surge ahead.
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is in the form of his life at the moment, with three hundreds in his last four IPL innings. He blazed away to two hundreds in the league stages, before making a patchy 42 against CSK in Qualifier 1. However, he managed to turn it around in Qualifier 2, hitting 129 runs to continue his fine run. He hit as many as ten sixes against Mumbai Indians, taking his tally to 33 maximums in this edition. He also has 78 fours and another big game could see him bag the award.
Devon Conway
Chennai Super Kings opener Devon Conway is certainly a contender to win the Most Valuable Player award in IPL 2023. He is at the 8th position with 253.5 points and many might argue that he will not be able to win the award. However, Conway is a champion player and one big knock in the final can turn things around. Conway has so far scored 625 runs in 14 innings at an average of more than 50 and has also hit 73 fours and 16 sixes thus far, and he is in contention to win the Most Valuable Player award in IPL 2023.
Who will win the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2023 award: Our prediction
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan will walk away with the MVP of the Season award. He has already leveled with Jaiswal at the top, and even a small contribution in the final will be enough to end as No.1 on this list. He has been crucial for the team in the middle overs with the ball and has also been exceptional with the bat whenever he has got a chance. In the losing cause for Gujarat Titans against CSK, he picked up a wicket in the first qualifier and also scored a brilliant 30 runs off just 16 balls to keep his team alive in the chase. He only made five in Qualifier 2 but picked up 2-33, which saw him gain 16 points.
Most Valuable Player award in IPL – Past Winners
The Most Valuable Player award in IPL was introduced in the 2017 season. The first-ever winner of this award was Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Sunil Narine who stunned everyone with his batting and bowling. While he picked only 10 wickets with the ball, Narine managed to bowl a staggering 133 dot balls. He was a sensation with the bat opening the innings for KKR and smashed 34 fours and 10 sixes while also taking four catches.
It was Sunil Narine yet again in IPL 2018 with the award, churning out a massive 379.5 points with 17 wickets and bowling 137 dot balls. Yet again he shone with the bat hitting 40 fours and 23 sixes. Unfortunately, KKR couldn’t win the IPL trophy in both 2017 and 2018 editions.
In IPL 2019, yet another KKR star won the Most Valuable Player award and this time it was Andre Russell. He was super hit with the bat, hitting 31 fours and a stunning 52 sixes and also picked up 11 wickets with the ball. He earned a total of 369 points during a record-breaking season. Yet again, KKR couldn’t win the tournament.
In IPL 2020, finally, a player from a different team won this award with pace sensation Jofra Archer topping the charts while playing for Rajasthan Royals. He picked up 20 wickets and bowled as many as 175 dot balls. He enjoyed his cameos with the bat too, smacking 10 maximums and 5 fours. He earned a total of 307 points to win the Most Valuable Player award.
The tradition of the team of the winner of the Most Valuable Player award not winning the trophy continued in IPL 2021 as well. Harshal Patel smashed records in the season scalping 32 wickets and bowling 122 dot balls during the stellar season. He won the Purple Cap as well for picking the most wickets in the season. He earned a total of 264.5 points.
Jos Buttler was the winner of the Most Valuable Player award in IPL 2022. He was in a purple patch with the bat scoring centuries for fun with the bat and hit 83 fours and 45 sixes in the process. Buttler earned a total of 387.5 points to win the award and Rajasthan Royals even played the final but his team couldn’t win the title as they lost to Gujarat Titans.