5 players who can win the MVP award in IPL 2021

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.