IPL News: Virender Sehwag picks his best XI of the season
The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League is near to its end as the grand finale will be played today. The final will be played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium of Hyderabad.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag picked his IPL XI of the season recently. His IPL XI is full of surprises. Sehwag has clarified that he has picked players on the basis of performance, not on their reputation. Sehwag has left out some big players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and AB de Villiers from his team.
The openers in the team are Shikhar Dhawan and English opener Jonny Bairstow. Both Dhawan and Bairstow had a very good season. The top scorer for Kings XI Punjab, KL Rahul is at no.3 in Viru's playing XI. KL is an opener but it is surprising that Sehwag has KL at one-down in his playing XI.
The most surprising part is David Warner at 4 in his team. Sehwag explained his decision saying that Warner was capable to play in the middle order and can bat in the same way as he bats while opening. Australian opener Warner is also the captain of his team.
The wicketkeeper in Sehwag's team is a young sensation, Rishabh Pant. MS Dhoni fails to make in Viru's playing XI. Sehwag also added that Pant has been his favourite player in this IPL. The all-rounders in the team are Andre Russell and Hardik Pandya. Russell and Pandya, unsurprisingly, are on the top of the list of 'Most Valuable Player of the Season'.
The pacers in Sehwag's XI are Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah which is pretty obvious. Rabada is current Purple Cap holder and had been excellent with the ball, especially in death overs. The spinners are Rahul Chahar and Shreyas Gopal while Imran Tahir is the 12th man in his team. The South African spinner Imran Tahir has been the second highest wicket-taker so far and will be the 'Purple Cap' holder if he picks two wickets tonight.
Virender Sehwag’s IPL 2019 XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, KL Rahul, David Warner, Rishabh Pant, Andre Russell, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Gopal, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah