IPL 2021: 5 dark horses who could win the MVP award for the first time

Sam Curran was one of CSK's best players in IPL 2020

The IPL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award has seen some of the greatest T20 players lift it over the years.

The accolade, which was previously called the Man of the Tournament award, has seen three players claim it on more than one occasion - Shane Watson, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Last year, the Rajasthan Royals' Jofra Archer claimed the prize for his lethal bowling and destructive batting lower down the order.

In this article, we list 5 dark horses who could defy the odds and claim their first-ever IPL MVP award.

#5 Ishan Kishan - Mumbai Indians

The Mumbai Indians' Ishan Kishan finished IPL 2020 as the team's leading run-getter, so you might be wondering why he's been labelled a dark horse.

But over the 13 years of the IPL, only 3 specialist batsmen have won the MVP award - Chris Gayle, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli (Adam Gilchrist won it in 2009 as a keeper).

Kishan's impact in IPL 2021 could be so high that he manages to claim the MVP award as a specialist batsman, with Quinton de Kock donning the gloves for MI. Fresh off a Man of the Match performance on T20I debut for India, the southpaw is primed for a stellar season with the bat.

Kishan can express himself with abandon in the ironclad MI batting lineup, and we might see him pile on a mountain of runs in IPL 2021 and put up a fight for the MVP award.

#4 Washington Sundar - Royal Challengers Bangalore

A player who's established himself as a regular in the Indian squad across all three formats, Washington Sundar could contribute in both departments for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021.

If he's entrusted with the new ball this year, Sundar could provide early breakthroughs like he has often done in the past. And with RCB being rather top-heavy, we could see the all-rounder given an increased role with the bat at either No. 6 or No. 7.

In fact, Devdutt Padikkal testing positive for COVID-19 has even prompted a section of the cricketing fraternity to opine that Sundar can be used as an opener alongside captain Virat Kohli.

Either way, Sundar is set to be one of RCB's most important players in IPL 2021. We could see the youngster contend for the MVP award in a team that doesn't have too many world-class all-rounders.