Indian IPL XI that could take on T20 World Champions Windies
The Windies will take on a World XI side at the Lord's Cricket Ground in a bid to raise funds for the destruction caused back in the Caribbean due to the devastating hurricane Irma and Maria.
The 2016 champions, Windies, will be led by Carlos Brathwaite and boast an imposing batting order in Fletcher, Lewis, Powell, Andre Russell, and Chris Gayle.
The match is scheduled to be played on May 31st, 2018. The World XI squad will be led by Eoin Morgan and consists of T20 stalwarts like Afridi, Malik, Perera and Luke Ronchi.
Let us extend this concept a bit further and form an Indian IPL XI from the 2018 season, that could take on the defending champions Windies.
#1 KL Rahul
Opening the batting will be KL Rahul. The Indian Test opener was in the form of his life this season and accumulated 659 runs at an average of 54.91 and strike-rate of 158.41, which included six fifties. With a penchant for power-hitting coupled with classical stroke-play, Rahul will be an ideal foil at the top against the Windies, against whom he has a T20I hundred.
Having been the bedrock of KXIP's batting thus far, Rahul started the IPL with a superlative 13-ball 50 against Delhi.
#2 Ambati Rayudu
The 32-year-old Ambati Rayudu will join Rahul at the top.
Rayudu represented Mumbai Indians from 2010 to 2017, and was roped in by the Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 auction.
The architect-in-chief of CSK's title-winning campaign, Rayudu stroked 602 runs in sixteen games at an average of 43.00, and a swashbuckling strike-rate of 149.75 including three fifties and a hundred against SRH.