Pommie Mbangwa picks IPL 2020 Overseas XI, names Eoin Morgan as captain

A playing eleven made completely of overseas players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will never be a possibility. As per the rule which is in place since the inaugural IPL season in 2008, a playing eleven needs to have at least seven Indian players. But then again it would be really fascinating to see how a team full of overseas stars in IPL would look.

Well, renowned cricket expert Pommie Mbangwa has done exactly the same. While other former cricketers have been announcing their IPL 2020 team of the tournament by following the rules, the former Zimbabwe cricketer has named a side full of overseas players, that is IPL Overseas XI for 2020. And one can say that Mbangwa has sprung quite a number of surprises in his star-studded lineup.

IPL 2020 came to an end last week with the final between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in Dubai. Mumbai, who were the defending champions, beat first-time finalists Delhi by five wickets to retain the title. They also became the first-ever team to win the IPL five times.

Mbangwa picks Rashid Khan as the lone spinner

Pommie Mbangwa started by naming David Warner and Quinton de Kock as the openers of his side. Warner crossed the 500-run mark for the sixth consecutive time in IPL and finished the tournament with 538 runs in 16 games. He also led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the playoffs where they lost to Delhi in the Qualifier 2.

De Kock, on the other hand, scored 503 runs and helped Mumbai win the title. For the No.3 spot, Pommie Mbangwa went for Royal Challengers Bangalore’s AB de Villiers who scored 454 runs. De Villiers’ performance helped RCB make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The former cricketer picked Kolkata Knight Riders’ Eoin Morgan at No.4.

At the same time, he also sprung a surprise by naming Morgan as the captain. Under Morgan, KKR won only three of their last seven games. But it was enough for Mbangwa to name Morgan as the captain ahead of Warner. He finished the batting line-up by naming Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard for the next two spots.

Along with Pollard, Mbangwa also picked another allrounder in the form of Chris Morris. The bowling line-up consists of Jofra Archer, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult and Rashid Khan. Archer was adjudged the MVP of the season while Rabada finished IPL 2020 with the most wickets. The South African took 30 wickets and helped Delhi make it to the final. Boult and Rashid, on the other hand, picked 25 and 20 wickets respectively.

Here is the XI:

David Warner, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan (C), Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Chris Morris, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Kagiso  Rabada.