Manoj Tiwary picks the best XI of IPL 2020; names Rohit Sharma as captain

Manoj Tiwary, the veteran Bengal cricketer, has named the best eleven of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). As one of his openers, he picked Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) KL Rahul, who ended as the Orange Cap holder with 670 runs. To partner Rahul, Tiwary went for Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI), who won their fifth IPL title, beating Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final.

Rohit also scored a half-century in the final though he otherwise had a topsy-turvy run with the bat. At number three, Manoj went for Suryakumar Yadav, who performed throughout the tournament with his flamboyance and elegance. AB de Villiers was arguably the standout batsman for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Tiwary didn’t forget to pick the former South African cricketer.

From the Challengers, he left out Virat Kohli, who wasn’t quite in the best of form with the bat. At number five and six, Manoj went for Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard, who both showed their brute force for the Mumbai-based franchise. One of Tiwary’s picks that could raise a few eyebrows was that of Krunal Pandya, who scored only 95 runs and picked up five wickets in the tournament.

Manoj Tiwary leaves out Kagiso Rabada

In the spin-department, to partner Krunal, Tiwary went for Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) Rashid Khan. The Afghan tweaker picked up 19 wickets at an incredible economy rate of 5.29. His best figures of 3/7 came against the Capitals in Dubai. But Tiwary didn’t go for Yuzvendra Chahal, who was impressive for RCB throughout the event. Tiwary put forth his opinions while speaking on Cricbuzz Live.

Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah and T Natarajan were Tiwary’s choice as the fast bowlers. Archer ended as the ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the tournament despite his team Rajasthan Royals (RR) ending at the bottom of the points table. Bumrah ended with 27 wickets and Natarajan impressed one and all with his ability to bowl Yorkers. Tiwary didn’t include Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada.

Here’s the XI:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rashid Khan, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, T Natarajan