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Former India player Mohammad Kaif has named his all-time Indian Premier League (IPL) XI, featuring some of the biggest superstars of the fascinating game. Kaif went with four Indians and six overseas players to make an interesting IPL XI.
Starting with the openers, Kaif picked ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle and ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma. The Indian star has amassed over 5000 runs in IPL, including one hundred and 40 fifties, while Gayle has 4965 runs to his name with the help of six centuries and 31 fifties.
In the middle order, the Prayagraj-born cricketer went with Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni, with the veteran stumper as the captain of his team. Kohli has scored 6469 runs in 217 matches and is the leading run-getter in the cash-rich league. Similarly, De Villiers (5162 runs), Raina (5528 runs) and Dhoni (4878 runs) have been the top performers in IPL.
“Gayle is a very dangerous IPL batter. Whenever he has done well, he has been a game-changer and has scored a lot of runs. Rohit Sharma has been playing for many years and has won five trophies as captain. An excellent short-format player. Virat Kohli is King Kohli. Has scored plenty of runs in the IPL,” said Kaif in a video for Sportskeeda.
“He (MS Dhoni) laid the foundation of T20 cricket in India by leading the country to victory in the 2007 World Cup. He has lifted four IPL titles as well. He is a big player in T20 and a mature captain,” he added.
Kaif further went with Andre Russell and Rashid Khan as all-rounders before naming Sunil Narine, Jasprit Bumrah, and Lasith Malinga to complete his all-time XI. Notably, Malinga had taken 170 wickets in 122 matches, while Bumrah has picked 135 scalps in 115 games.
Mohammad Kaif’s all-time IPL XI:
Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga
