Amid coronavirus pandemic followed by worldwide lockdown, cricketers are heading towards social media in order to increase the interaction with their fans and admirers. Some are even posting regular content in their respective channels so that cricket fans would get entertained frequently. In the process, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra through his YouTube channel came up with an all-time Mumbai Indians (MI) XI.
With no surprises, Chopra picked current MI captain Rohit Sharma over veteran Sachin Tendulkar as the leader of his all-time Mumbai Indians XI. Rohit is a natural choice when it comes to captaincy as he is the most successful skipper in the history of the cash-rich league having won as many as four IPL titles so far.
However, Sachin also has a remarkable record as captain. The batting phenom led MI to 32 wins in 55 matches at a winning percentage of 58.18. Rohit, on the other hand, has headed the Mumbai-based franchise to 64 victories in 109 games at a winning rate of 59.63.
For the openers, Chopra went with Sachin and Sanath Jayasuriya. The former Sri Lanka captain finished his IPL career with 772 runs at 27.57, whereas Sachin amassed 2334 runs at a strike-rate of 119.81 along with 13 fifties and one hundred.
The cricketer-turned-commentator selected Rohit to bat at number three, followed by Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard. Rohit with 4898 runs is the third-highest run-getter in IPL. Rayudu has accumulated 3300 runs while Pollard, who has been a regular part of MI since 2010, has scored 2755 runs and taken 56 wickets.
Apart from Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya are also the all-rounders in Chopra’s squad. Hardik has played 66 games in IPL and clubbed 1068 runs with an impressive strike-rate of 154.78. He has also taken 42 wickets at an economy rate of 9.06.
Krunal, on the other hand, has scored 891 runs at a strike-rate of 146 in 55 matches. The left-armer has bagged 40 scalps in his account at an economy rate of 7.16 with 3/16 being his best figures.
Veteran Harbhajan Singh is the only specialist spinner in Chopra’s all-time MI XI. In 160 games, the offie has taken 150 wickets which is the third-highest by any bowler in the history of IPL. Among pacers, Chopra picked Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, and Zaheer Khan.
Bumrah has earned 82 scalps in 77 matches, while Zaheer has taken 102 in 100 games. Malinga, meanwhile, is the leading wicket-taker in the lucrative league with as many as 170 wickets to his name.
Here is Aakash Chopra’s all-time Mumbai Indians’ XI:
Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Rohit Sharma (captain), Ambati Rayudu (wk), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan.
