IPL 2021: Best combined XI of all teams ahead of the season

We are just a month away from the start of the 14th edition of the biggest sporting leagues, IPL, in the world and the excitement levels of fans keep increasing by the day. Ever since its inception in 2008, it has only looked upward and its growth has significantly helped increase cricket’s popularity. The IPL 2021 auction was held on the 18th of February and most teams came out of the event satisfied with their squads. Each squad has several matchwinners and at the end of the day, it is those players who are going to decide which team emerges victorious. A team including some of the best matchwinners from all teams would be a dream to watch for every fan and given the quality of the league, such an XI will be able to defeat any cricket team. On that note, here’s a look at- Best combined XI of all teams ahead of IPL 2021 1.David Warner (c) David Warner of SRH. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) David Warner has arguably been the most consistent batsman in the history of the league and thus, his inclusion in the XI needs little justification. He is SRH’s most important batsman and his performance in a particular game often determines how the team performs. He gets the team off to quick starts on most of the occasions and this is evident by his strike rate of 141.54. He has scored 5254 runs in 142 matches at an average of 42.71. He is one of just 3 IPL batsmen(minimum 50 matches) to average more than 40 and have a strike rate in excess of 140. The Australian batsman also has 4 centuries to go with his 48 half-centuries. The 34-year-old scored 548 runs last season and was once again amongst the top batsmen. He has also won 3 Orange Caps since 2015 and if we are to go follow the pattern in which he has won the Orange caps, he might win another win this season as well. As SRH’s captain, he has led them into the playoffs on 4 occasions out of a possible 5, which is quite an amazing record. Warner has also captained them to the title and will thus captain this XI. 2. KL Rahul KL Rahul. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) KL Rahul was initially seen as a Test match batsman by many people and even his stats reflected the same as he failed to deliver any impactful performances in his first 3 seasons. However, he remoulded himself during 2016 and has been one of the top performers since then, although it has come at the expense of his place in the Test team. He scored 397 runs for RCB in 2016 while batting in the middle order and his reputation as a T20 batsman has only gone northwards since then. He has been remarkably consistent for Punjab and has scored more than 590 runs in each of the last 3 seasons. The PBKS skipper scored 670 runs in 14 games at an average of 55.83 while striking at 129.34 and also won the Orange Cap. In general, he has scored 2647 runs in 81 games at an average of 44.86 while maintaining a strike rate of 135.81. Given his numbers over the last few years, he is definitely up there as one of the best in this format and the Punjab Kings will be hoping that he can continue the same form. 3. Virat Kohli Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Virat Kohli has been carrying RCB’s batting along with AB de Villiers over the last few seasons and his improvement as a T20 batsman has been a joy to watch. He has been scoring runs for fun and even had the best individual season in the history of the league when he scored a staggering 973 runs in the 2016 season and took RCB to the final. He has scored 5878 runs in 192 IPL games at an average of 38.16 while scoring at 130.73. The RCB captain has scored 39 fifties and 5 centuries, and is just behind David Warner in terms of 50+ scores in IPL history. Kohli has played 15 games and scored 466 runs last season, but his strike rate of 121.35 wasn’t quite great and he will look to improve on that in the upcoming season. The Indian captain is the best batsman in the world, and it would make little sense to exclude him from an XI of the very best players. 4. AB de Villiers AB de Villiers. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) AB de Villiers is one of the greatest batsmen of all time and some of the things he can do on a cricket ground are unthinkable for most of the players. He can score runs at a blistering strike and even play blockathon, but for now we will obviously concentrate on what he has done in the IPL. He has played 169 games and scored 4849 runs at a terrific strike rate of 151.91 while averaging an impressive 45.4. He is one of just 2 batsmen in IPL history to average in excess of 40 while also striking at more than 150. The former South African batsman has 38 fifties and 3 centuries as well. ABD had a good season last time around as he scored 454 runs at a strike rate of 158.74. He has played some sensational innings and has often changed the course of several games singlehandedly. RCB will once again depend on him to deliver the goods and a trio along with Kohli and Maxwell, looks quite dangerous. 5. Rishabh Pant (w&k) Rishabh Pant. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Rishabh Pant is the talk of the town at present, and his stocks are at an all-time high. After being dropped from the limited overs squads for the Australia tour, he has managed to prove his critics wrong with scintillating performances in the Test matches and shown why he is so highly rated. His ability to accelerate from the word go is quite special, and he is without doubt, one of the most destructive batsmen in the world. His IPL strike rate of 151.97 also tells the same. Pant has scored 2079 runs in 68 games at an average of 35.23 and has also scored 12 half-centuries along with a 100. However, the Delhi Capitals player wasn’t particularly great last season as he scored just 343 runs in 14 games at a poor strike rate of 113.95. He will be looking forward to improving on that mediocre season, and if his recent form is anything to go by, he is surely going to do that. The Indian star will also be the wicket keeper for this imaginary XI. 6. Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya-against RR. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Arguably India’s best finisher at present, Hardik Pandya’s rise over the last few years has been meteoric. He made his national debut after just one season and he hasn’t looked back since. His destructive ability with the bat is pretty much unmatched in the modern world. He was in supreme form last season as he scored 281 runs in 14 matches at a terrific strike rate of nearly 180. His power hitting along with the likes of Kieron Pollard and Ishan Kishan in the middle order was vital for the Mumbai Indians and played a key role in them winning their 5th title. In general, the Indian allrounder has scored 1349 runs in 80 games at a strike rate of 159.26 while also picking up 42 wickets. Pandya has 4 IPL titles to his name and given that he is so lethal during the second half of the innings, his inclusion is a no-brainer. 7. Andre Russell Andre Russell. (Photo Source: Twitter) Andre Russell has been one of the biggest impact players in the league and his ability to change the course of the game with both bat and ball is very rare. His strike rate of 182.33 is the best in the history of the league and to have maintained that for 8 seasons is no joke. However, he wasn’t able to replicate the same kind of form last season as he scored just 117 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 144.44. Even with the ball, he wasn’t at his best as he picked up just 6 wickets and was quite expensive as he conceded at 9.72. Russell has 2 MVP’s to his name as well and has been KKR’s most important players over the last few years. In general, he has scored 1517 runs in 74 games at an average of 29.74 and also picked up 60 wickets at a strike rate of 18.8. 8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of the most underrated cricketers in the history of IPL and he often goes under the radar when there are discussions about the greatest bowlers in the competition. He has been consistently performing for several years and is equally effective during the powerplay and even during the death. He has picked up 136 wickets in 121 games at a strike rate of 19.83 while conceding at just 7.23. His economy rate for a particular season has never exceeded 8, which is phenomenal given that he usually bowls during the tough overs. Bhuvi played just the 4 games last season due to injury and SRH missed his services, especially during the slog overs. However, he is back to full fitness and has even been playing in the T20Is against England. He is the only bowler to have successfully retained the Purple Cap having won it in both 2016 and 2017. The SRH bowler won the IPL in 2016 and is going to be essential if they are to win it again. 9. Rashid Khan Rashid Khan. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The 3rd SRH player on the list, Rashid Khan is arguably the best T20 bowler in the world at present and this team wouldn’t have been complete without him. The leg spinner has successfully put his country on the cricketing map and batsmen still struggle to pick his deliveries even though he has been on the scene for nearly 5 years now. The Afghanistan bowler was excellent last season as he picked up 20 wickets in 16 games at a strike rate of 19.2. The fact his economy rate was just 5.37 despite playing every game shows how good he is. He can bowl at any stage of the game, and David Warner often turns to him when he needs a wicket. Rashid has picked up 75 wickets in 62 games at a strike rate of 19.68 while conceding at just 6.24. His economy rate has never gone past 6.8 in a season, and he has never failed to pick up 17 or more wickets, showing how effective he is at both the aspects of bowling. 10. Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Bumrah. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) One of the many gems that the Mumbai Indians have found in recent years, Jasprit Bumrah is also a product of their excellent scouting system. His rise has also been quite rapid like Hardik Pandya and he has quickly established himself as an indispensable player for club and country. His ability to bowl yorkers at will has helped him become a valuable commodity and he is arguably the best death bowler at present. Bumrah picked up 27 wickets in 15 games at a strike rate of 13.33 while conceding at only 6.73. The 27-year-old’s arrival was the beginning of the dominance of Mumbai Indians and they have won 5 titles during his 8 years at the team. He has played 92 matches and picked up 109 wickets at an economy rate of 7.41 and strikes at every 19.19 deliveries on an verage. 11. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal of Royal Challengers Bangalore. (Photo by IANS) One of RCB’s three pillars along with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers is Yuzvendra Chahal who has been an essential player for them ever since he was bought by them. He has been one of the few positives they have had in recent years and has pretty much carried their bowling attack without much support from the other end. The Indian leg spinner has picked up 119 wickets in 99 appearances at a strike rate of 17.6 while maintaining an economy rate of 7.67. He is Virat’s go-to bowler and Chahal has rarely disappointed his captain. He was excellent last season as well when he picked up 21 wickets in 15 matches at a strike rate of 16.33 and conceded at just over 7. He is among the top 10 wicket takers in IPL history and given that he is India’s best T20 spinner, he makes to this XI.

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IPL 2021: Best combined XI of all teams ahead of the season

The best of all IPL teams ahead of the upcoming season.

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