5 players who can win the MVP award in IPL 2021

IPL 2021 is less than 20 days away. The excitement for the mega event has started to build up with players having begun arriving in India before the action kickstarts on April 9 as per the IPL schedule 2021. The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League will be played behind closed doors, at least during the initial phases of the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.

Each year, the Most Valuable Player in IPL award is presented to the cricketer who makes the greatest impact through the course of that IPL season. Back in 2013, a rating system was introduced by the IPL governing body to find the most impactful player of the tournament. As per the points system - Every four gives 2.5 points, while every six gives 3.5 points to a batsman. Each wicket awards a bowler 3.5 points, and a dot ball gives 1 point. For each stumping or catch, a fielder gets 2.5 points. The same scoring system would be used in IPL 2021 to determine the MVP of the season.

#VIVOIPL is back in India 🇮🇳 🙌Time to circle your favorite matches on the calendar 🗓️Which clashes are you looking forward to the most? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/kp0uG0r9qz

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 7, 2021

Having said that, let's look at 5 players who have the best shot at winning the "Most Valuable Player" (MVP) award in IPL 2021 based on their previous records and recent form.

1. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been a key player for the Mumbai Indians

Hardik Pandya is no unknown character in world cricket. His ability to accelerate in the death overs has helped Mumbai Indians team turn games around on multiple occasions in the past.

Striking at an astonishing rate of 159.27 in T20s, Pandya is certainly a match winner. With Hardik Pandya having resumed bowling after his back surgery, the all-rounder is expected to bowl at least 3 overs for his team as an extra bowling option in most matches.

With the ability to perform with both bat and ball, Pandya would be one of the main players for Mumbai Indians going into IPL 2021, and he is also one of the top contenders for the MVP award this season.

2. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has a fantastic record in the IPL

It's almost impossible to talk of an IPL award and not have the run machine, Virat Kohli's, name on the list of probables. Virat is currently the leading run-scorer of the Indian Premier League.

Since IPL 2015, the RCB captain has been one of the top 10 run scorers of the tournament barring IPL 2017 where he played only 10 games. Virat Kohli has scored 5878 runs in the IPL thus far, and also holds the feat of scoring the most runs in a single season of the IPL (973 in 2016).

3. KL Rahul

KL Rahul was the orange cap winner in IPL 2020

Leading the newly rebranded Punjab Kings franchise, KL Rahul will unquestionably be one of the most feared batsmen going into the mega tournament. After winning the IPL Orange Cap last season, KL will be more than hungry to score runs in the T20 league once again given his low string of scores in the recently concluded T20I series against England.

Even though his form has been poor of late, the opening batsman is more than capable of taking on any bowling attack in the world. He strikes at a rate of 135.81 in the IPL and holds a stupendous record in the cash-rich league.

4. Andre Russell

Andre Russell has won the MVP award two times in the past

Having a dull IPL season in 2020 doesn't belie the fact that Andre Russell has been a true match-winner for KKR. In 2019, he put up an outstanding exhibition of power-hitting as and raced away to over 500 runs, striking at a rate close to 200. Russell is more than handy with the ball too, and KKR captain Eoin Morgan would surely depend on him to pick up wickets for the team under pressure.

Russell's style of play best suits the T20 format. With a strike rate of over 180, the big man from West Indies has smashed 129 maximums in the 74 IPL games he has featured in. Russell was the MVP in 2015 and 2019 editions of the tournament.

Andre Russell’s mathematics teacher’s big complaint was that he only learnt the 6 multiplication table.

— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) April 5, 2019

Having said that, we could well witness Andre Russell setting the stage on fire once again in IPL 2021, and he would certainly be a contender for the MVP award this season.

5. Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes would eye IPL 2021 to return to his destructive ways

One of the best all-rounders in modern cricket, Ben Stokes' abilities with both bat and ball are second to none. England's 2019 World Cup hero, however hasn't had a great outing in the last 2 seasons of the IPL.

With the T20I World Cup scheduled later this year, Stokes would be hungry to make the most of this chance to return to his destructive ways. In the 42 IPL games he has played thus far, Stokes has scored 920 runs with the bat and has picked up 28 wickets with the ball.

The English all-rounder will definitely eye IPL 2021 to make a return to form. That will ensure that he is in the running for the MVP this year.