IPL: An all-time XI consisting of the hardest hitters
The IPL is all about entertainment with the bat that fans come to witness. The league has done its bit over the years to give the jam-packed stadiums their money's worth. Big-hitting batsmen are an integral part of any T20 side as they are the ones who propel the score to a great extent.
The foundation laid down would be useless if the big-hitters won't fire. The Indian Premier League has been blessed to witness the biggest strikers in T20 cricket in action. At this juncture, let us take a look at an IPL all-time XI comprising of the biggest entertainers.
#1 David Warner
David Warner has been one of the best openers in the history of the IPL. What is commendable about his game is it is not just the entertainment but the consistency with which he has scored in the IPL.
Warner had an amazing season in 2016 when he scored 848 runs with the bat and led the Sunrisers to their maiden IPL title. One innings of his which is vividly remembered by the fans is 126 off 59 balls against the KKR at a strike rate of 213 in 2017. He is an automatic choice in this XI to bat at the top.
#2 Chris Gayle
The mighty Jamaican has been the biggest entertainer in the IPL for several years. Gayle is best known for his ferocious knocks for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, most notably his 175 off 66 balls in 2013.
There is so much about Chris Gayle's batting and his contribution in making the IPL a grand T20 league which cannot be described in words. When Gayle gets going, there is nothing you can do as a bowler or as the fielding captain apart from witnessing the massacre. His powerful hitting makes him too good to leave out of this XI.
#3 Virat Kohli
The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper has made a habit of scoring runs for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the last few years. Kohli is an all-time IPL great who just does not know how to stop scoring runs.
He is a very underrated as a big-hitter since he prefers to score most of his runs by finding gaps and caressing boundaries. But when he decides to fire all cylinders, there is nothing that can stop him. One notable instance of this type is when he scored a hundred in a rain-curtailed 15-over game in 2016.