AB de Villiers picks his all-time IPL XI; Dhoni named captain, Gayle ignored

De Villiers didn't pick his RCB mate Virat Kohli as captain.

Royal Challenger Bangalore’s destructive batsman AB de Villiers has named his all-time IPL XI and it has a few surprises in it, mainly being MS Dhoni named captain of the side in place of his RCB skipper Virat Kohli.

De Villiers has played for Delhi franchise previously when their name was Daredevils, but moved to RCB in IPL 4 and since has gone onto bring up an excellent career for himself in the richest T20 league in the world. His partnership with Kohli is legendary as the duo are the only ones to put on two 200 plus partnerships in the T20 format.

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Well, while naming his all-time IPL XI, De Villiers went for Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma as his openers. Sehwag is his former Delhi captain, while Rohit is one of the top three run-getters in the league and four-time IPL winning captain as well.

"Opening the batting, someone I started with at Delhi -- Viru. And then someone who I think has played the best cricket in the world over the last five years - Rohit. Virat is at No. 3. No. 4 either Williamson or Smith or myself," AB de Villiers said during Cricbuzz in Conversation show with sports presenter Harsha Bhogle.

He then picked Kohli, himself, and Ben Stokes in the middle order. MS Dhoni is the captain and keeper of the side, while Ravindra Jadeja and Rashid Khan were picked as the spinners of the team. Dhoni has led the Chennai Super Kings to three IPL titles and is the only captain to win the IPL two consecutive times.  

For the fast bowling unit, he went for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, and Jasprit Bumrah. Kumar and Bumrah are two of the best death over bowlers in the league, while Rabada can wreak havoc with the new ball with his pace.

"Ben Stokes at No. 5. MS at No. 6 and captain, him and Virat can sort of make terms as captain. No. 7 at Jaddu. Rashid Khan at 8. Bhuvi at No. 9. Rabada at 10 and Bumrah at 11,” he signed off.

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