IPL 2020: Best XI from CSK, RCB, MI and SRH for the All Stars game

For the first time in the 13-year history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), fans will be treated to a one-off all-star fixture which is slated to be held three days before the 13th edition of the annual extravaganza kicks off on 29th March. This idea is reportedly the brainchild of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and the chairman of the IPL governing council Brijesh Patel.

Considering the plethora of superstars who have graced all the teams in the IPL, this all-star encounter is going to be a fresh departure for fans, who can discount their franchise-based loyalty for one game and simply be witness to the spectacle which will unfold. It’s a never before opportunity to see the likes of MS Dhoni, David Warner, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the same team as far franchise cricket is concerned.

As per news reports that came in regarding this recent development, two teams will take to the field in the all-star game. One team will comprise of players from four franchises in the North and East of India – Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The remaining four teams from the West and South Zone- Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians,  Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Sunrisers Hyderabad- will contribute to the formation of the second team.

This, in particular, sets up some breath-taking combinations that is set to make every cricket fan around the globe sit up and take notice. Imagine the prospect of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and AB de Villiers lining up in the same colours. On the other hand, watching Andre Russell take to the field alongside Ben Stokes, Steve Smith, Jofra Archer and KL Rahul is also a spine-tingling proposition.

Here we take a look at the possible best playing XI from the second team from the West and South Zone:

1. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)

Rohit Sharma has been a fulcrum of the Mumbai Indians over many years now. He is the most successful skipper in the T20 championship with as many as four titles in his kitty. The veteran has done exceptionally with the bat. Last year, he scored 405 runs in 15 games at an average of 28.92.

Though Mumbai haven’t won back-to-back titles thus far, Rohit can bring the same to reality in 2020. Rohit has carved a niche for himself in the IPL and it’s unlikely that MI will ever release him of his services. In 188 games in the IPL, Sharma has 4898 runs at 31.6 with 36 half-centuries and a century.

Rohit would want to commence IPL 2020 on a flying note when he takes the field for the All Stars game. He is after all going through the best phase in his cricketing career with him dominating in all forms of cricket for India off late. He narrowly missed out on getting the ICC Cricketer of the Year for 2019 to Ben Stokes.

2. David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Probably Sunrisers Hyderabad’s best-ever player, the short and gritty Aussie opener David Warner or ‘Pocket Rocket’, as he’s fondly called, will definitely be one of the first name’s on the team-sheet. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that David Warner has had his best IPL years with Sunrisers Hyderabad. After all, Warner has notched up a humongous 3271 runs in just 71 matches.

The filtered stats become even more amazing as the southpaw has scored 34 fifties and two hundreds out of those 71 matches. Incredibly, Warner has also scored more than 600 runs for the past three seasons in which he has participated. Be it Shikhar Dhawan until IPL 2018 or Jonny Bairstow last season, Warner has also found a lot of success with his opening partners and this is reflected in the fact that the Aussie has been involved in 17 century partnerships for SRH.

His new opening partner, England’s Jonny Bairstow had supported him to perfection in the previous IPL season. If the duo plays together in this IPL season and stays together for the full tournament then both Bairstow and Warner can score a mountain of runs. The Australian batsman has dominated the IPL and would be an ideal partner for Rohit Sharma, making it a lethal right-left combination at the top of the order.

3. Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)- Vice Captain

Virat Kohli has won the Orange Cap in the past so he knows how to get the job done. In the year 2019, the fans saw a completely different avatar of Virat Kohli in the T20 arena. He looked more aggressive than ever. With the T20 World Cup approaching, Kohli will try to use IPL 2020 as a platform. He also has a point to make with him yet to win the IPL for RCB as skipper.

Since he will play more on the flat tracks at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the right-handed batsman has a major chance of finishing at the number one position in the Orange Cap’s race for IPL 2020. Kohli is undoubtedly the best #3 batsman going around in world cricket of late, so he was an automatic selection to follow Warner and Sharma in this team.

The middle-order batting duo of Virat Kohli and ABD is the top-rated one among all the pairs. Virat is the highest run-scorer in IPL history with 5412 runs under his belt. He had even won the Orange Cap in IPL 2016 by scoring an astonishing 973 runs at an average of 81.08 and strike-rate of 152.03. It would certainly be a mouth-watering prospect to see Kohli and Warner play together, even its for just one game.

4. AB De Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

At No.4 comes, Mr 360, AB de Villiers. With an inherent ability to play shots all around the ground, De Villiers on his day can reduce the bowlers to a mere machine. He can play both, the role of a power hitter as well as of a sheet anchor as and when the situation demands.

AB de Villiers, also a former South Africa batsman, possesses hard hitting skills. Moreover, he is more than decent wicket-keeper and an agile fielder that can put an acrobat to shame on the cricket field. On a good day, AB can single handedly win matches. He can switch from classical batting to playing more innovative strokes and that sets him apart from most Proteas batsmen.

AB de Villiers has borne the burden of RCB’s middle-order along with Virat Kohli. He was bought by RCB in 2011 and has been a permanent fixture in the line-up ever since. While the South African star has been very consistent in the league, he performed extraordinarily well in 2016 as he ended the season with 687 runs at an average of 52.84.

5. MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)-Captain & Wicket-keeper

There’s absolutely no doubt about this spot. There has been no better wicketkeeper-batsman in the history of the IPL so far. Be it with the bat or with the gloves behind the stumps, MS Dhoni has been brilliant in the Indian T20 league and will definitely go down as one of the legends and all-time greats.

Ever since Chennai Super Kings (CSK) returned to the IPL after a two-year-hiatus, Dhoni has literally carried the team on his back. He’s been the backbone of the batting line-up. Not only in the last two seasons, Dhoni has been consistently getting runs for CSK throughout the decade.

The CSK skipper has amassed 3112 runs at an average of 45.10. He even has a strike-rate of 142.49. Dhoni also led CSK to two IPL titles at the start of the decade and CSK have been in five other finals as well. Thus, Dhoni will be the wicket-keeper of the side and his skills behind the stumps are second to none.

6. Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)

Kieron Pollard may not win you every game but on his day, he can turn the game and convert a losing position into a winning one. In 2010, he was the most expensive player in the IPL auction and since then, MI have never left him. Be it via retention or through the auctions, the MI franchise has always found a way to get back Pollard.

One of the big reasons for that is the impact the Caribbean all-rounder has on the game. He is one of the hardest hitters of a cricket ball and is a big six-hitter as well. Pollard has also been consistent as well. There have been patches where he’s struggled but he’s managed to get out of that and has shown some terrific form and hitting prowess. His experience and leadership skills can also come in handy for this team as he captains Windies in LOIs now.

Pollard has played 148 IPL games in this decade which is the most for any MI or CSK player. He has aggregated 2755 runs which have come at a strike-rate of 146.78. He will be the finisher in this XI along with MS Dhoni.

7. Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians)

It’s been only in 2015 that Hardik Pandya made his IPL debut but he is already one of the most important players for the Mumbai Indians (MI). Be it with the bat, ball or in the field, Pandya is a game-changer and a match-winner.

The numbers tell only a part of the story and the younger Pandya has scored 1068 runs and picked up 42 wickets in his IPL career. However, his strike-rates with both bat and ball are good and they make a telling contribution. The Baroda seam-bowling all-rounder has a strike-rate of 154.78 with the ball and strikes once every 20 deliveries with the leather.

Pandya is crucial to the balance of MI big time. At No 7, he is not only expected to don the finisher’s hat but also bowl at least two or three useful overs in a game. Thus, the 26-year-old has played five seasons so far and has had an quite a bit of impact on MI.

8. Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Speaking of leg-spinners, the first player to take a hat-trick in 2020, Rashid Khan will be the leading candidate to win the Purple Cap from Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Orange Army had played a masterstroke by signing Khan in the auction when he was not so famous.

His consistent performances in T20 cricket have made him a household name in the cricket universe. The right-arm leg-spinner has played the main role in the upliftment of cricket in Afghanistan. Also, he has captained his nation at the international level. Kane Williamson has perfect knowledge about the talent that Rashid has.

Thus, he will use him properly and it won’t be an understatement to say that he will be SRH’s trump card in IPL 2020. Khan had taken 17 wickets in 15 matches last year and it would be an amazing prospect to see him bowl in tandem with the veteran, and ever young Imran Tahir for whom age is just a number.

9. Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians)

One of the most prolific fast bowlers of the world, Jasprit Bumrah has been the reason behind Mumbai Indians’ success in the previous IPL seasons. Bumrah has shouldered the bowling responsibilities of Mumbai along with Lasith Malinga and the Kiwi speedster Mitchell McClenaghan.

It is no secret that Bumrah has the ability to bowl at the start – in the powerplay, middle and also the death. He can use his variations really well and has been India’s and MI’s best death bowler over the years. The Gujarat lad has also shown excellent levels of fitness as well and he’s hardly broken down in the middle of a game or an IPL season.

Talking about his IPL career so far, Bumrah has represented the Mumbai-based IPL franchise in 77 matches where he has scalped 82 wickets and given away runs at an economy rate of 7.55. He has a bowling strike rate of 21.12 and an average of 26.59. The right-arm fast bowler from Ahmedabad has the ability to take wickets in the powerplay overs as well as the death overs. So, he will be the front-runner from the Mumbai Indians to win the coveted Purple Cap award in IPL 2020.

10. Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians)

He doesn’t get as much credit as some of the other bowlers but Lasith Malinga has had a huge impact in the IPL over the last decade. The ace Sri Lankan pacer is the leading wicket-taker in the history of the IPL. While there are a couple of spinners closing in on that record, there is no fast bowler who is even close.

‘Slinga’ Malinga is in a league apart in the IPL with 170 wickets from 122 matches. But it is astonishing that Malinga played in fewer IPL than others – 10 IPLs against 12 of others. The Lankan Slinger was not part of the 2008 IPL and missed playing the IPL 2018 as he was appointed as the bowling mentor of Mumbai Indians. Malinga is also one of those rare players who played for only one franchise.

Out of Malinga’s 170 IPL scalps, 152 came since the start of 2010. He has an average of 20.09 while he has a strike-rate of 16.64 in this decade. He’s been with Mumbai Indians (MI) right from 2009 and even when he was unsold, MI roped him in as a bowling mentor in 2018. He doesn’t really have the same pace as before but on most occasions, Malinga executes his variations to perfection. The veteran fast bowler has been the heart of MI’s bowling for so many years and he will make it to most decade-end XIs and All-Star teams.

11. Imran Tahir (Chennai Super Kings)

Imran Tahir has been around for almost the full decade now. In fact, he was one of the late-bloomers in international cricket. The South African leg-spinner made his IPL debut in 2014 and has played four games every season for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Overall, he has taken 79 wickets at an average of 20.39.

However, it may be surprising that Tahir has got the nod ahead of multiple stars. Tahir has done very well in the 2018 IPL but was even better in the 2019 season. In fact, he even won the Purple Cap in 2019 as he finished the bowling charts with most wickets in the tournament.

The veteran leg-spinner has been in the thick of things and one may question his inclusion in this XI as he’s played for CSK only in two seasons – 2018 and 2019. However, he has been one of the best spinners to have donned the CSK jersey.