Noted Indian commentator and analyst Harsha Bhogle recently named his all-time Indian Premier League XI, putting together a team that reflects the best one could gather from the IPL in all departments. No position in his lineup is left out and comes accompanied with a star of the IPL, making it one of the most complete teams that would be a nightmare to its opposition.
For opening slots, Harsha Bhogle chose two of the most iconic pillars of RCB: Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. This dynamic duo has terrorized bowlers all these years, having acquired 1,210 runs in 28 innings together. The chemistry at the top is very obvious, with the two having raised four fifty-run partnerships and as many century stands to make them an unbeatable opening pair.
No. 3: The incomparable Suresh Raina was Harsha Bhogle’s choice, known to many as “Mr. IPL.” He was the first to break the 5,000-run barrier in the competition and has earned a reputation for being consistent and an explosive batsman. Not only as a batsman, but Raina was a live wire in the field, too, with 109 catches to his name, which rounded him off.
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At No.2 is Suryakumar Yadav, the player who has grown to become an important member of Mumbai Indians and India’s T20I team. After a slow start in IPL, Surya’s resurgence since 2017 has been pretty miraculous, and he has grown to be one of the most consistent middle-order batsmen in the league.
The legendary captain, MS Dhoni, was picked as the captain in Harsha Bhogle’s team for Chennai Super Kings. Renowned for his cool-as-cucumber nature, Dhoni is admired because of his great finishing abilities and has been cornering the stone for CSK’s success. His electric quick reflexes behind the wickets and his astute tactical nous make him quite irreplaceable.
Hardik Pandya, who had been so instrumental for MI and later as captain led Gujarat Titans to glory, was picked as the team’s all-rounder. He is a vital cog in any team owing to his explosive batting, sharp bowling, and electric fielding.
For the bowling department, Harsha Bhogle picked MI’s past and present pace spearheads, Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah. Both have been proven death bowling experts who have many a time pulled MI out of trouble with their incredible ability to nail yorkers under pressure.
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The XI is rounded off by the spin wizards in Rashid Khan and Sunil Narine. Both started off as tail-enders but rose to be game-changers with the willow besides continuing their match-winning contribution with the ball. While Rashid has been the trump card for SRH, Narine has been KKR’s go-to man whenever the chips are down as far as this team is concerned, with bat and ball.
Harsha Bhogle’s All-time IPL XI
Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Suryakumar Yadav, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Hardik Pandya, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine
