The cricketing action has started in England as hosts are taking the challenge of West Indies in the three-match Test series. Pakistan is also in England preparing for their first post coronavirus series scheduled to take place in August. However, Indian fans will have to wait a bit longer as their favourite stars will take the field in November later this year for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Meanwhile, Indian cricketers have shifted towards various social media platforms in order to entertain and interact with their admirers. In the process, Kerala cricketer Sachin Baby spoke to the Sports presenter Dr Yash Kashikar in ‘Say Yash to Sports’, where he revealed his all-time XI from Indian Premier League (IPL).
Sachin picked his all-time XI featuring some of the best players he has played with and against. He started the proceedings by naming Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle as openers.
Rohit is the most successful captain in IPL. Under his leadership, Mumbai Indians (MI) have won four titles. He has played 188 games and accumulated 4898 runs which is the third-highest by any batsman.
Gayle, on the other hand, is currently a part of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The ‘Universe Boss’ has appeared in 125 matches scoring as many as 4484 runs. He also has 326 sixes to his name – most by any batter in IPL.
Next, Sachin picked his former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammates Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers at three and four positions. Kohli with 5412 runs to his name in 177 matches is the leading run-scorer in the lucrative league. Similarly, De Villiers has amassed 4395 runs – third most run-scorer amongst overseas cricketers.
For the following two spots, Sachin went with superstars of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. With no surprises, Sachin named Dhoni as the captain and wicket-keeper of his team. Just like Kohli, Raina is the only man who has crossed the 5000-run mark in the cash-rich league. In 193 games, the left-handed batsman has clubbed 5412 runs. At the same time, MSD has scored 4432 runs and holds the record of smashing the maximum number of sixes (209) amongst Indian players.
The 31-year-old cricketer then picked Hardik Pandya as the only all-rounder and Rashid Khan as the only spinner in his team. Amongst bowlers, Sachin picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mitchell Starc and his Kerala teammate S Sreesanth.
Bhuvi has played 117 games in IPL and has taken 133 wickets – third most by a seamer and sixth overall. Starc has appeared in 27 matches and has 34 scalps to his name. Sreesanth, on the other hand, has claimed 40 wickets in 44 games.
Here is Sachin Baby’s all-time IPL XI:
Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c and wk), Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mitchell Starc, S Sreesanth.
