Best IPL XI of the decade

12th man: AB de Villiers

It is tough to leave someone as good as AB de Villiers. But with the four overseas-players rule, De Villiers had to be named as the 12th man. While he scored runs when he was playing for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), his switch to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) worked wonders and hasn’t looked back since.

In 133 matches he’s played for RCB in this decade, De Villiers has scored 3835 runs at an average of 39.95 and a strike-rate of 156.34. That strike-rate is the highest for anyone who has scored more than 2000 IPL runs in this decade. Moreover, de Villiers has the ability to bat anywhere in the order and yet, be effective.

The South African star can score all around the park and can literally toy with the bowling. He’s taken some of the best bowlers to the cleaners as well. There’s every reason why de Villiers should be in the XI but with only four overseas players allowed, it was hard to break in.