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Veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle has picked his team of the tournament from Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. Bhogle started the proceedings by naming openers in the form of KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan.
Leading Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for the first time, Rahul ruled batting charts to grab the Orange Cap in the thirteenth season of the cash-rich league. In 14 games, the 28-year-old accumulated 670 runs at a noteworthy average of 55.83. He also smashed five half-centuries and a hundred.
Dhawan, on the other hand, finished IPL 2020 as the second-highest run-scorer. As an opener of Delhi Capitals (DC), the southpaw did an outstanding job and took his side to their first-ever IPL final. Dhawan scored 618 runs in 17 matches with four fifties and two centuries.
Bhogle then named Surya Kumar Yadav as his number three batsman. The Pune-born player impressed everyone with his consistency in the lucrative league. Surya amassed 480 runs in 16 games at an impressive strike-rate of 145.
The 59-year-old went with AB de Villiers as his wicket-keeper batsman. ABD had a pretty good season with the bat as he clubbed 454 runs in 15 matches including five dazzling half-centuries.
Bhogle selected the pair of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya as his team’s finishers. Pollard with a mind-boggling strike-rate of 191.42 topped the chart in best batting strike-rate of IPL 2020. Hardik also enjoyed a good season as he ended the thirteenth season as third on the list of best strike-rates (178.98).
Archer, Bumrah to lead bowling attack in Bhogle’s XI
Among bowlers, Bhogle picked Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah as lead seamers along with Mohammed Shami. Bumrah ended IPL 2020 as second-highest wicket-taker. The MI speedster bagged 27 wickets in 15 matches with 4/14 being his best figures.
At the same time, Jofra and Shami were the leading wicket-takers for their respective teams. Both the bowlers picked up 20 scalps in 14 games.
Interestingly, Bhogle did not include ‘Purple Cap’ winner Kagiso Rabada in his team of the tournament. In 17 games, Rabada picked up 30 wickets at an average of 18.26 with 4/24 being his best.
Bhogle selected Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal as two spinners in his XI. Both Rashid and Chahal were the most successful spinners in IPL 2020. While Chahal claimed 21 wickets in 15 games, Rashid bagged 20 scalps in 16 matches.
Harsha Bhogle’s team of the tournament:
Indian Players: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Surya Kumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami.
Overseas Players: AB de Villiers (wk), Kieron Pollard, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan.
