Ravichandran Ashwin reveals his all-time IPL XI; Includes four players from India's 2024 T20 World Cup winning squad
Team India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked his all-time IPL XI with the seven Indian and four overseas players rule in place on Kris Srikkanth's YouTube channel. His openers were stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who recently helped the India win the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.
Kohli is the IPL's all-time leading run-scorer with 8,004 runs and an incredible eight centuries in 252 games. Meanwhile, Rohit is third on the run-scoring chart with 6,628 runs and has captained the Mumbai Indians (MI) to five IPL titles.
Coming in at No.3 is the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Suresh Raina, fifth all-time in the IPL with over 5,528 runs. Another of India's heroes in their recent T20 World Cup triumph, Suryakumar Yadav, slotted in at No.4 with almost 3,600 IPL runs in 150 matches.
Ashwin's first overseas player, AB de Villiers, came in at No.5 in the batting order. The former South African batter is the seventh leading-scorer with 5,162 runs at a stunning average of 39.70 and a strike rate of 151.68.
MS Dhoni, Ashwin's first name on his IPL XI during the show, came in at No.6, thanks to his sensational combination of being the sixth leading run-scorer and the most successful captain in league history.
The West Indian presence in the line up came in the form of bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine, who helped the Kolkaka Kight Riders (KKR) win their third IPL title this year as the Player of the Tournament. He is also joint-fifth all-time in IPL wickets with 180 scalps in 177 outings.
Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan followed Narine at No.8 with 149 IPL wickets at an average of 21.82 and an economy of under 7.
Ashwin's pace departmenent included the ever-dependable Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 2024 T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament Jasprit Bumrah and Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga.
While Bhuvneshwar is fourth all-time in the IPL with 181 wickets, Malinga and Bumrah are 8th and 9th with 170 and 165 scalps, respectively.
Ashwin also pondered names like Chris Gayle, David Warner, Shane Watson and Andre Russell while going through the excercise of picking his all-time IPL XI.
Ravichandran Ashwin's all-time IPL XI
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villies, MS Dhoni (c), Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lasith Malinga, and Jasprit Bumrah.