All-time IPL XI composed of one player from each country
The Indian Premier League is undoubtedly the most watched T20 cricket league in the world right now. Unlike other T20 leagues around the globe, the IPL gets a separate window during the Indian summer in the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the foreign players to be available for the majority of the tournament.
This ensures that the top T20 players from around the world make themselves available for the glitzy auction that traditionally initiates the mega event.
Players from all around the globe have graced this tournament over the last 12 years. Over the past few years, players from associate cricket countries like Nepal and Afghanistan have also been able to make it to the IPL thanks to their excellent performances in other T20 leagues.
On that note, we present to you an all-time IPL XI that has been constructed by selecting one top player each from eleven different countries-
Countries considered are India, Australia, New Zealand, England South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Netherlands.
Also see – IPL 2020 time table
Note: This is not a team built by selecting the best player from each country as that would make it difficult to build a balanced team. The team was built by first selecting the most obvious choices from certain countries with lesser competition and then fitting the rest of the vacant positions with the best choices from the remaining countries. Thus, this is not necessarily a team built by selecting the best player from each country.
#1 Afghanistan: Rashid Khan
Afghanistan's rockstar Rashid Khan was an easy selection in this team. Though Mohammad Nabi was the first Afghan cricketer to get into the IPL, Khan has elevated Afghan cricket to a different level and has developed into a devastating spinner in limited-overs cricket.
He was snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017 and the then 18-year old immediately repaid the faith shown in him by the team management by picking up 17 wickets in 14 games. He followed it up with 17 and 21 wickets in the subsequent seasons.
The young leggie was the first person his captains would turn to in search of a wicket or to stem the flow of runs. Rashid's quick arm action, the pace at which he would bowl at and his wicket-to-wicket delivery made him an extremely difficult bowler for oppositions to line up and target.
He also adds value as he in an athletic fielder and also contributed handy runs with the bat lower down the order. In 46 matches, he has picked up 55 wickets at a miserly economy rate of 6.55
The 21-year old plays with his heart on his sleeve and has a long career ahead of him and could develop into one of the finest bowlers in IPL history. His knack of clearing the fence and his great athleticism on the field are added bounses.
He'll slot in as our spinner and bat at number 8 in this team.
#2 Bangladesh: Shakib al Hasan
Shakib al Hasan is Bangladesh's longest serving player in the IPL and is also arguably one of the finest all-rounders to have played all formats of the game. His value as a T20 player for his side is immense as he bats in the middle order and can bowl 4 overs of tidy left-arm spin. He's a player for all conditions and has been Bangladesh's go-to man over the past decade.
Shakib started his IPL career in 2011 with Kolkata Knight Riders whom he served with distinction till 2017. He was a key member in both of KKR's title-winning seasons, forming a formidable spin trio along with Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla. He then moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 where he continued to excel with both bat and ball.
Shakib has taken 59 wickets in 63 IPL matches at an economy of 7.46 and has scored 746 runs at an average of 21.31. Shakib will finish his career as one of the finest all rounders to have graced the game.
He will be the all-rounder who will bat at number 6 in this team.
#3 Pakistan: Sohail Tanvir
Pakistan players appeared in the IPL only in the first edition in 2008 and haven't been considered since due to political differences between the two countries. The first IPL was when the likes of Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan, among others, appeared for different teams. But it was Sohail Tanvir who was one of the stars of the season and the best Pakistani player by far.
Playing for the unfancied underdogs Rajasthan Royals, Tanvir grew to become the leader of the bowling attack en route to their title triumph. The left-arm seamer was devastating at times and was a key ingredient in the Royals team and his figures of 6/14 against Chennai Super Kings remained the best in IPL for 11 years till it was broken by Alzarri Joseph last year.
Tanvir ended up with the Purple Cap in the first edition with 22 wickets in just 11 games at an incredible average of 12.09 and an economy of 6.46.
Tanvir will be one of the fast bowlers and will bat at 9 in this team.
#4 Netherlands: Dirk Nannes
Three players from Netherlands have appeared in the IPL in the past viz. Ryan ten Doeschate, Roelof van der Merwe and Dirk Nannes. ten Doeschate is considered as Holland's greatest cricketer and Nannes played for the Dutch side in the 2009 World T20 before switching allegiance to Australia in the 2010 World T20. We've picked Nannes as the Dutch representative in this team as the batting spots are filled up by the major Test-playing nations and also because Nannes had a bigger impact in his first season with Delhi Daredevils in 2009, when he was a Dutch player.
The left-arm pacer picked up 15 wickets in 13 games and 7 in 9 games in his two seasons with Delhi Daredevils before moving to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011 where he failed to replicate the same success. He moved to Chennai Super Kings in 2013 but struggled to impose himself in the eleven. He ended his IPL career with a respectable tally of 28 wickets in 29 games at an economy rate of 7.29.
Nannes will be one of the pacers of this side and will be the number 11.
#5 Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga is, without a doubt, the best Sri Lankan player to have played the IPL. Malinga, who made his first appearance in 2009, became a legend at Mumbai Indians during his 11-year stint with the team.
Malinga is the finest fast bowler this tournament has witnessed. The Sri Lankan is excellent both at the start and more so at the death, with his deadly yorkers and deceptive slower balls. He has remained the go-to bowler for MI throughout and, towards the end of his career, even began to mentor the fast bowling group of the team, which can be evidenced by Jasprit Bumrah's remarkable rise.
Malinga always had the task of bowling the most difficult and vital overs for MI and his death bowling has pulled MI out of jail on numerous occasions.
Malinga also won the Purple Cap in 2011 as he ended up with 28 wickets in 16 matches. He has picked up over 15 wickets in 8 of the 9 seasons he has played. He currently leads the tally for most wickets in IPL with 170 wickets in just 122 games at a fantastic economy rate of 7.14.
As his fitness standards began to drop post-2017, he moved on to become MI's bowling coach but remarkably came back to wear the blue jersey again on the field in 2018. Though he had a mixed tournament as he was not at his best, he came up trumps at the crucial point as he got a wicket off the last ball in the final with 2 runs to win to secure his team Mumbai a historic fourth title win.
Lasith Malinga will be one of the three pacers along with Nannes and Tanvir and will slot in at 10.
#6 New Zealand: Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum wrote his name into IPL folklore with a blistering innings of 158* in the first match of the inaugural edition of IPL. Baz, wearing Kolkata Knight Riders colours, lit up the Chinnaswamy Stadium and gave the tournament a spectacular start. He has since played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
McCullum was a part of the IPL-winning team of KKR in 2012 and then moved to CSK in 2014 where he had his two most productive seasons. He was a part of a formidable batting and fielding line-up in CSK and ended up with over 400 runs on both those seasons.
The Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman moved to Gujarat Lions when CSK were banned and scored over 300 runs in both seasons before moving to RCB in 2018. He failed to replicate his best form at RCB and ended up making the eleven in just 6 of their matches.
McCullum ended up his IPL career with 2880 runs from 109 matches at an average of 27.69 and an imposing strike rate of 131.74. Most importantly he was universally loved and admired by fans around the world for his sportsman spirit and ended his career as the Best Kiwi player to appear in the IPL.
McCullum will open the batting in this team.