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Two of the leading run-scorers in the IPL, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, put on the selector’s hat to pick the combined XI of Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The two titans of the IPL have won seven out of the twelve seasons of the tournament thus far. It is only obvious that the team have fielded some of the greats of the shortest format of the game.
MS Dhoni-led CSK won the IPL titles in 2010, 2011 and 2018, whereas MI, under the leadership of Rohit, have won the IPL editions of 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Keeping themselves aside, Rohit and Raina elected the best XI out of the two franchises. Raina had to pick six outstanding cricketers from his franchise, while Rohit had to choose five from MI.
From the MI ranks, Rohit went ahead with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar at the opening slot, followed by middle-order veteran Ambati Rayudu.
Then, the Hitman picked star all-rounders from the Ambani-owned team, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard, who have been pillars for success in recent years.
Rohit went ahead with arguably the best death bowler in the world currently, Jasprit Bumrah, to complete his five members from MI.
Raina, paired up Sachin with legendary Australian and CSK opener Matthew Hayden, and Faf du Plessis at one down. It was a no-brainer to appoint CSK’s talisman MS Dhoni for the role of captaincy and wicketkeeping duties.
Dhoni plays at number five in the combined XI for MI and CSK. Followed by Pollard and Hardik, both Raina and Rohit had to draft in Dwayne Bravo due to his ‘game-changing’ abilities.
Lastly, Raina went with ace off-spinner Harbhajan Singh along with their marquee all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Interestingly, three out of the XI players in the list have played for both CSK and MI, namely, Rayudu, Bravo and Harbhajan Singh.
Here’s the Combined XI of MI and CSK:
Matthew Hayden, Sachin Tendulkar, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
