Hyderabad: Ravichandran Ashwin made the tough choice of picking the best XI in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. The veteran spinner excluded some notable names like swash-buckling opener Chris Gayle, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard. However, his choice of players included two former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammates as well as four Mumbai Indians (MI) stars.
While speaking on the YouTube channel of the member of the 1983 World Cup winning team, Kris Srikkanth, Ashwin picked his all-time IPL XI team which included some notable exclusions. Leaving both Chris Gayle and David Warner, the veteran Indian spinner picked the pair of five-time IPL winning captain Rohit Sharma and highest run-getter in the history of the tournament Virat Kohli for the opening slot.
The number three spot was given to the explosive left-handed batter Suresh Raina who played a pivotal role in helping Chennai Super Kings (CSK) win the IPL trophy on four occasions. India’s current T20I skipper, Suryakumar Yadav occupied the fourth spot in Ashwin’s side while Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend AB de Villers completed the middle order.
MS Dhoni was named as the captain of the side along with handling the role of the wicketkeeper. For the position of the all-rounder, some of the big names in the league like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Shane Watson did not find a place. However, Ashwin chose to go with a couple of spin all-rounders in the form of Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan.
The 37-year-old then selected the lethal pace bowling duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga to form the pace attack of the team. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is the highest wicket-taker amongst Indian pacers earned the final place in the team.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s all-time IPL XI:
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Suryakumar Yadav, Ab de Villiers, MS Dhoni (Captain/Wicketkeeper), Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga
