'No place for Rinku Singh': Brett Lee, Chris Gayle, Swann pick Best XI of IPL 2023

The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League has come to its business end, with only three teams alive in the race to the title. Ahead of Qualifier 2 between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, commentators associated with JioCinema got together to decide on the best playing XI of IPL 2023. Chris Gayle, one of the legendary overseas batters to play in the tournament, was also part of the experts’ panel consisting of Robin Uthappa, Brett Lee, Graeme Swann, and Scott Styris. 

The most notable name to miss out on JioCinema Insiders Experts’ Best XI is that of Kolkata Knight Riders’ middle-order batter Rinku Singh. The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer has had a brilliant season with the Willow, having scored nearly 500 runs and coming in at the sixth or seventh position in most games. Despite Rinku’s phenomenal season, the expert panel on JioCinema failed to pick him in the best playing XI of the season.   

However, not everyone on the panel snubbed Rinku, as he was part of Chris Gayle and Graeme Swann’s respective best-playing XIs of the season. Gayle said he would back Rinku ahead of Shivam Dube if given an opportunity, but he did not find support from the majority. 

Insiders Experts' Best XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Faf du Plessis (c), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Axar Patel, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Matheesha Pathirana

Here's what each expert picked as their Best XI of IPL 2023

Chris Gayle's XI: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Trent Boult

Brett Lee's XI: Faf du Plessis, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, Heinrich Klaasen, Axar Patel, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Robin Uthappa's XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Heinrich Klaasen, Axar Patel, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Matheesha Pathirana

Graeme Swann's XI: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Faf du Plessis, Shivam Dube, Suryakumar Yadav,  Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Scott Styris' XI: Shubman Gill, Faf du Plessis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Heinrich Klaasen, Axar Patel, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Matheesha Pathirana

Image: BCCI