Lendl Simmons picks his all-time T20 XI; MS Dhoni to lead
He didn't pick Lasith Malinga, one of Sri Lanka's greatest bowlers and also the leading wicket-taker in the IPL.
West Indies batter Lendl Simmons picked his all-time T20 XI and selected MS Dhoni as the skipper. The now 40-year-old Dhoni started his T20 career by leading Team India to victory in the T20 World Cup 2007. Thereafter, the former Indian captain led the Chennai Super Kings to four titles in the Indian Premier League and two titles in the Champions League T20.
As his openers, Simmons went for his countryman Chris Gayle and India’s current T20I skipper, Rohit Sharma. Gayle is currently the all-time leading run-scorer in T20s even as Rohit has four T20I tons to his name apart from five IPL titles for the Mumbai Indians. Virat Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is and the highest in the IPL, having played more than a decade in the format.
Four West Indies cricketers in the list
AB de Villiers, Kieron Pollard and Dhoni form Simmons’ middle-order. De Villiers recently retired from all forms of cricket after plying his trade in competitive cricket for as long as 18 years. Pollard is a brute force when it comes to T20s. Apart from being the vice-captain of MI in the IPL, he is also the skipper of the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.
In fact, in 2020, the Knights stayed unbeaten in the tournament and won the title. Rashid Khan and Sunil Narine are the specialist spinners in Simmons’ lineup. Rashid, recently, became the fastest bowler to claim 100 wickets in T20Is. Rashid has also done decently for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Narine, on the other hand, plays for the Knight Riders franchise, both in the IPL and the CPL.
Narine is also among the leading wicket-takers in T20s. Simmons made his picks while speaking on a video in Sportskeeda. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kagiso Rabada are the specialist pacers in his lineup. Simmons also selected veteran Dwayne Bravo in his eleven. Bravo is currently leading the Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10 League after retiring from international cricket earlier this month.
Lendl Simmons’ XI
Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Keiron Pollard, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Dwayne Bravo, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Kagiso Rabada.
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