MS Dhoni named captain of IPL's greatest all-time team
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni was picked as the captain to lead the all-time greatest IPL side. The 15-member squad was selected by a panel of experts, including former legends Wasim Akram, Dale Steyn, Matthew Hayden, and Tom Moody, along with 70 other journalists.
The top order consisted of Australian batter David Warner, Indian superstar Virat Kohli, and West Indian powerhouse Chris Gayle. While Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer in IPL history with 7,263 runs, Warner is third and first among overseas batters with 6,397 runs.
The middle order batters comprised Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers, Suryakumar Yadav, and MS Dhoni. Raina and De Villiers are fifth and sixth all-time among IPL runs, with strike rates of 136.73 and 151.68, respectively.
Meanwhile, Dhoni is the seventh leading scorer with over 5,000 runs and has the most victories as captain with 133 wins, including five titles as CSK skipper.
Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kieron Pollard filled the all-rounder spots on the roster, with Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yuzvendra Chahal forming the bowling attack.
Chahal is IPL's leading wicket-taker with 187 scalps, while the duo of Malinga and Bumrah have been instrumental in most of Mumbai Indians' five titles.
All-time greatest IPL squad:
MS Dhoni (c), Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, David Warner, Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Yuzvendra Chahal, Lasith Malinga, and Jasprit Bumrah.
"MS Dhoni has won the title with very good squads and average squads" - Tom Moody
Former Australian all-rounder justified his selection of MS Dhoni as captain of the IPL's all-time team by saying the CSK skipper has won titles even with mediocre squads. While Dhoni and Rohit Sharma each have five titles for CSK and MI, the former boasts more match-wins and a higher winning percentage.
During the selection on Star Sports, Moody said:
"It has to be MS Dhoni for me, the reason being MS Dhoni has won the title with very good squads and average squads, and that tells me a lot about the captain and how he can lead a variety of talent in a squad to success. Rohit Sharma has been a brilliant captain for MI but MI have always had the best squads or up there with the best squads in the IPL since its inception."
Dhoni's former CSK teammate and Aussie legend Matthew Hayden took it a step further, saying:
"It's an obvious choice, it's not a debate over here. It's going to be unanimous amongst the entire Indian community. Of course, Rohit Sharma, the Hitman, is such an incredible leader as well, so it's a tough choice, but I'm going to be bold and I'm going to pick Dhoni as a Captain and Coach as well. He started in 2008, Shane Warne was captain and coach, and he took the franchise, the double R's, to a title that year, and I just feel that MS Dhoni can also be a coach."
MS Dhoni will be in action during the 17th edition of the IPL, likely to start at the end of March. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has been replaced as Mumbai Indians skipper by Hardik Pandya, despite being confirmed to lead the Indian side at the T20 World Cup in June.