Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah among names as ex-England captain settles debate over greatest IPL batter and bowler

Former England captain Michael Vaughan settled the debate over the number one batter in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the 19th edition of the tournament. IPL 2026 is scheduled to start from March 28.

Best batter to feature in IPL

Ahead of the tournament, England's Ashes-winning star lauded some of the IPL greats, including Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Jos Buttler, and Rohit Sharma, but he chose former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Virat Kohli as the greatest batter of the cash-rich league.

“There’s been a few, I mean, the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina has been exceptional, Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler has been great. But there’s only one, and that’s Virat Kohli. He’s been a star for many, many years and he’s still going, so it’s Virat Kohli" Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

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Best bowler to play IPL

The 51-year-old also labelled India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as the best bowler to play the IPL.

“Rashid Khan’s been pretty good. Lasith Malinga. But I keep saying the best I’ve ever seen is Jasprit Bumrah," he said.

Best captain to lead a franchise in IPL

Vaughan also believes that the Mumbai Indians are the greatest team in the history of the Indian Premier League, mainly because of the excitement and “wow factor” they bring to the tournament. However, when it comes to leadership, Vaughan rates MS Dhoni higher as a captain than Rohit Sharma, even though both have led their teams to five IPL titles each.

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Best moment in IPL history

The IPL has given fans many unforgettable moments over the years. For Vaughan, one moment stands above the rest, when the late Shane Warne guided the Rajasthan Royals to the title in the very first IPL season.

“I have to go right back to the start when Shane Warne was captaining the Rajasthan Royals, a team with the lowest budget. They called it ‘Moneyball’ at the time. He gathered a group of players together and got the job done. He got the trophy in his hands. So that first year, when Shane Warne lifted the trophy for Rajasthan Royals," he said.