3 superstar Indian batters who have picked up after a slow start in IPL 2023

Several Indian batters have been in sensational form in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), and the same is reflected in the Orange Cap standings.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill find themselves in the top five of the list this year, which also features seasoned overseas professionals like Faf du Plessis and Devon Conway. The likes of Rinku Singh and Tilak Varma have played impactful knocks for their respective sides as well.

A few big names, including Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad, started the season well but haven't been able to continue their good run. Although they're up there on the run-getters list, their impact has waned a touch of late.

Others, however, have seen their campaigns head in the opposite direction. Certain batters didn't seem to be at their fluent best in the first half of the league stage but have found their rhythm after a brief period of inconsistency.

Here are three superstar Indian batters who have picked up after a slow start in IPL 2023.

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#3 Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan [fourth from left] has seen his strike rate improve in recent matches

Ishan Kishan endured a miserable individual season in IPL 2022 for the Mumbai Indians (MI). Although he played a couple of important innings towards the end of the competition, he largely failed to get going in the powerplay.

This time around, Kishan has had a better campaign. He has amassed 425 runs in 13 innings at an average of 32.69 and a strike rate of 144.55 to be placed inside the top 10 of the Orange Cap list. Much of that has been down to his recent improvements.

In his first eight innings of IPL 2023, Kishan struck at above 130 only two times and crossed the 40-run mark only once. In his last five knocks, though, he has struck at above 150 four times and has notched up three 40-plus scores.

MI face a race to enter the IPL 2023 playoffs, and Kishan will have an important role to play in their final league game against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium.

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#2 Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana [right] has made some important contributions for KKR

Nitish Rana has never been the most consistent batter. Handed the reins of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) following Shreyas Iyer's injury, the southpaw didn't make much of an impression in the first half of IPL 2023.

Rana recorded only one half-century in his first seven innings of the season, with three single-digit scores to his name. This was despite almost all of KKR's matches coming at high-scoring venues like Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Mohali.

The second half of the campaign has been different, though. The KKR skipper has four scores of 40 or more in his last six innings, and his strike rate has been quite healthy too, given the context of these matches.

Rana has been dismissed by spin eight times this season, rather uncharacteristically. While that might be weighing on his mind, there's no doubt that the southpaw has picked up his game in recent times to be ranked #11 on the Orange Cap list.

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#1 Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav seemed to be struggling for form at the start of the tournament

Suryakumar Yadav came into IPL 2023 on the back of a nightmare ODI series against Australia in which he couldn't put bat to ball, quite literally. The start of the season for MI indicated that he might be going through a terrible rut.

Suryakumar notched up scores of 15, 1 and 0 in his first three innings, crossing the 50-run mark just once in his first seven knocks. The recent past, though, has seen the dynamic batter return to his belligerent best.

SKY has recorded three half-centuries and one stellar ton in his last six innings, with his strike rate being above 180 on four occasions in this period. His range and unparalleled shot-making ability have been on full display in the second half of the campaign.

There's a reason why Suryakumar is considered the best T20 batter in the world.