IPL 2019: The best XI of retained players

In the last few days, there has been a lot of chatter about the upcoming IPL season. All the eight franchises have released the list of players they would retain on Thursday putting curtains on all the speculations. It is quite obvious that the franchises wanted to maintain the core of their sides and would fancy some valuable picks in the upcoming auction. Most of the retained players have been continuing with the same team for a very long time now and are invaluable assets to their respective side. On a given day, these players can win games for the teams just on their own. It is an onerous task to pick the best XI of these retained players. They are all great in their own respects and hence taking nothing away from the other players, the all-time records in the league are taken into consideration to form this XI. Here is the best-retained XI for IPL 2019: 1. David Warner | Sunrisers Hyderabad David Warner of SRH. (Photo Source: Twitter) David Warner might be small in stature, but he is just a livewire on the field. He could easily be considered one of the greatest players to have featured in the IPL and his records are a testimony for the same. The pocket-sized dynamo is the fastest to 4,000 IPL runs and has got there in only 114 innings although Chris Gayle is on the verge of breaking this record. Warner finds an edge over the ‘Universe Boss’ in this XI considering the consistency factor. With an average over 40 combined with a strike rate of 142, he is tough to contain even for the best of the bowling units when he is on song. After nearly two years, he will be playing an IPL game and will be extremely determined to make up for it. 2. Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Virat Kohli has found great success opening the innings for RCB and will do the same in this XI. Kohli and Warner right at the top is a deadly combo and he can also take a while to get his eye in. He has been an absolute beast in the league in the last three years and is the second-highest run scorer in the history of IPL. With 4,948 runs in 163 games, Kohli can bat throughout the 20 overs and put his team is a very commanding position. His strike rate has improved drastically in the last few years and is capable of clearing the rope with ease given his class. He will continue to lead RCB in IPL 12 and there can’t be a better retention than the legend himself. 3. Suresh Raina | Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings’ Suresh Raina. (Photo by IANS) The ‘Chinna Thala’ as they fondly call him in Chennai, Raina and the yellows are inseparable. He has had some of the best moments in his career donning the CSK jersey. Although he wasn’t as impressive in the last two or three seasons, he is still a priceless asset to his team. Most of the IPL list will be incomplete without his name in it and this is no exception. Raina is the all-time leading run-scorer with 4,985 runs in 176 games and could reach the 5,000-run mark right at the start of the 2019 season. He adopts his game beautifully according to the situation and is one of the better retentions for CSK going ahead. 4. AB de Villiers | Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore’s AB de Villiers. (Photo by IANS) Mr 360 is one of the most brutal and absolutely ruthless T20 cricketers around at the moment. Just him and Virat is the RCB line-up are a handful and often do a bulk of the scoring for the team. He is closing in on 4,000 IPL runs and is on 3,953 runs at the moment. Being a retired cricketer now, one could expect ABD to play with much more freedom and be absolutely tension-free which is quite a warning sign for the bowlers. In the tournament, he strikes the ball at a rate over 150 and RCB would have had no hesitations retaining him. 5. Rohit Sharma | Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma. (Photo by IANS) Rohit Sharma, unfortunately, doesn’t get the opening slot in this XI and will have to shoulder the burden of the middle-order. One of the most successful skippers in IPL, Sharma is gifted with so much grace and elegance that one would be left in awe every single time he plays a stroke. The Mumbai batsman is one of the most successful batters in the league and has scored 4,493 runs thus far. He is in the midst of a purple patch at the moment and is undoubtedly the best retention for the Mumbai Indians. He would also be the vice-captain in this XI. 6. MS Dhoni (C) (WK) | Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni. (Photo by IANS) Although he is in the twilight of his career, MS Dhoni is the beloved son of the Chennai soil and had a terrific IPL 2018. He reminded the fans of the MS Dhoni that he was probably five or six years ago. He can absolutely tonk the ball with utmost vigour and can hit them miles. Undoubtedly, he is one of the most successful wicket-keeper batsmen and his team won three titles thus far under his captaincy. Hence, he will lead the side and will be eager to reply to the selectors with some good performances after being dropped from the T20I side recently. 7. Hardik Pandya | Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians’ Hardik Pandya. (Photo by IANS) Hardik Pandya, for sure, might not be having the numbers like some of the other cricketers on this list. However, he is the best all-rounder in India by a fair margin currently. He gives the additional balance to the side as he is quite capable with the bat as well as the ball. Pandya has scored 666 runs in 46 innings batting lower down the order at a strike rate of 139. He can take the spinners for the cleaners and can bowl his full quota of four overs with the ball. He picked 28 wickets in 44 innings and can be used as the sixth bowler in this XI. 8. DJ Bravo | Chennai Super Kings Dwayne Bravo of Chennai Super Kings. (Photo by IANS) With nearly 450 wickets and 6,000 runs, DJ Bravo is unquestionably one of the best all-rounders the format has ever witnessed. A jovial character, DJ Bravo has got the ability to lift the morale of the team even in the toughest of times. He is MS Dhoni’s go-to man at the Chennai Super Kings and is quite crafty with his work. Be it batting down the order even if the required run rate is over 10 or defending under 10 runs in the last over, he can do it all. The ‘Champion’ from Trinidad has 136 IPL wickets and has scored 1,403 runs in the league. 9. Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo by Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) With his mystery off-spinners, Sunil Narine was an unsolvable jigsaw puzzle for the oppositions early on in his IPL career. He was recommended to the KKR franchise by Gautam Gambhir and there hasn’t been any looking back since then for him. Although he lost his sheen with the ball with so much of video footage, he is constantly striving to reinvent himself. Narine is one of the biggest strengths of the KKR side and was instrumental in their two triumphs. He is the seventh all-time leading wicket-taker in the tournament and has accounted for 112 wickets thus far. He can also yield some fireworks from his willow if required. 10. Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Sunrisers Hyderabad Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo by Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) Bhuvneshwar Kumar is another one of those highly crafty T20 bowlers. He can nail the yorkers to perfection and has got variations like the knuckle-ball and many other versions of the slower ball. Bhuvi also bowls some deceptive bouncers and was instrumental in SRH’s successful in the last few seasons. The pacer was retained by the franchise ahead of the auction last year and the same was done this time as well. The 28-year-old picked up 120 scalps till now in 102 games and bowls at a great economy rate. 11. Amit Mishra | Delhi Daredevils Amit Mishra of Delhi Daredevils celebrates the wicket of Ishan Kishan. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Although a few might be taken by surprise with this name here, Amit Mishra is the most successful spinner in IPL history. He picked hat-trick thrice in the history of the league playing for three different teams. This is the highest for any bowler. Although he isn’t as effective as he used to be, he is one of the most experienced candidates around. Mishra is only second to Lasith Malinga in the list of leading wicket-takers. He has got 146 wickets to his name and could well break the record of Malinga in IPL-12. His economy rate, which is under 8 is also quite good. Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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IPL 2019: The best XI of retained players

They are all great in their own respects and hence taking nothing away from the other players, the all-time records in the league are taken into consideration to form this XI.

6. MS Dhoni (C) (WK) | Chennai Super Kings

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