IPL 2017: Coaches and Mentors XI

The IPL fever has many forms. Lately, combinations and permutations have taken over the tournament’s worshippers. All-time IPL XIs are galore. So why leave out the coaches? On the cricket field, spectators’ eyes only fixate on the Kohls, the Warners and the Dhonis. Seldom do people notice the contribution of the ones behind the scenes. Coaches play the role of the invisible hand that fosters champions on the field. A shout-out to these silent contributors who’ve given the world of cricket – or any sport for that matter – numero unos year after year.

To extend the tribute to coaches – heroes in their own rights – it’s only fair to give them another chance to take the field… virtually. After all, these were all proficient cricketers in their heydays. CricTracker offers a unique XI of IPL coaches, who could frankly give the existing teams a good run for their money.

The only issue we have in picking our Coaches XI is that we do not have an even spread of Indian and foreign players. Therefore, we’ve done away with the restriction of four overseas players. That being said, let’s dive straight into this phenomenal eleven, the crème de la crème of cricket’s superstars.

Virender Sehwag

First up, there’s the genius in boundary hitting. Virender Sehwag is the man for all seasons. No matter what the situation of the game is, Sehwag’s approach to batting doesn’t undergo too many alterations. He simply focuses on scoring as many runs as quickly as possible.

T20 cricket might not have spread as much when Sehwag first stepped into the international cricketing scene. However, this is one man who pretty much played in T20 style throughout his career. Be it ODIs or even Test matches, Sehwag’s strike rate was seldom sub-100. There aren’t too many cricketers who’d score a triple century in less than a run-a-ball in Test match cricket. Rest assured, you’ll get your share of runs in powerplay with Sehwag as the opener.