AB de Villiers names his all-star IPL XI; picks MS Dhoni as skipper

AB de Villiers has been part of the IPL ever since its beginning in the 2008 edition, where he represented the Delhi Daredevils. It was during his time at the franchise, where he batted alongside the Indian opener, Virender Sehwag, who he named as an opener in his all-time IPL XI on Cricbuzz. On the other end of the pitch, the former Proteas skipper picked up the prolific opener, Rohit Sharma as the second opener. The Mumbai Indians skipper has a formidable record in the cash-rich tournament, scoring 4898 runs in 188 games, at an average of 31.60. The RCB star, interestingly, decided to leave out former RCB teammate Chris Gayle from the side, despite the Big Jamaican having become an automatic pick for most cricketers in their All-star XI.

Batting at No.3 in the Proteas star’s XI would be his skipper at RCB, Virat Kohli. Incidentally, Kohli, too, has been part of the IPL since its inception, where he batted lower down the order for RCB. However, since then, he has transformed himself into a household name, piling plenty of runs in the Red and Golds of RCB. A familiar sight for RCB fans, ABD would partner with Kohli in the middle of the batting order. 

The 36-year-old named Ben Stokes and MS Dhoni to complete the lower middle-order batting setup. While Dhoni has been a larger-than-life presence for CSK in their three title-winning seasons, Stokes has proved his mettle in just the first few years of his IPL career with the Super Giants. Incidentally, Dhoni was also named as the skipper and the keeper of de Villiers’ all-star IPL XI. Ravindra Jadeja and Rashid Khan were named as the two-spin bowling options in the playing XI; that both of them are more than handy with the bat is a mere added advantage.

To complete this luxurious lineup, de Villiers named Sunrisers Hyderbad’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar alongside his national teammate Kagiso Rabada. Rabada has been an integral part of the Delhi Capitals set up, with over 31 wickets in just 18 appearances. Rounding off the entire playing XI, the RCB star picked rivals Mumbai Indians’ pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah, who has been hailed as one of the talents unearthed by the IPL, has picked 82 wickets in 77 appearances. 

AB de Villiers’ all-time IPL XI: Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni (c) (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah