Aakash Chopra names his all-time Mumbai Indians XI; Rohit to captain, Sachin to open

Rohit Sharma has won IPL four times as captain of MI.

Rohit Sharma has won the IPL four times as captain | AFP

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has recently named his all-time Mumbai Indians XI and has named the four-time title-winning Rohit Sharma as the captain of the team.

Mumbai Indians have won four titles in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. In all, they have been one of the most dominating teams in the Indian Premier League, alongside Chennai Super Kings, their biggest rival.

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Rohit Sharma, who has been named the captain of the all-time XI, has led MI in 104 matches, winning 60 of them.

Chopra went for famed and feared a combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya as the openers of the franchise. The duo, known to rule the 1990s with their aggressive batting, had played together for the first three seasons.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya

Ambati Rayudu has been picked to keep wickets, while the Pandya brothers, Krunal and Hardik, along with Kieron Pollard of West Indies have been named all-rounders in the all-time XI. Krunal and Hardik Pandya have been instrumental in MI becoming more dominant.

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Pollard has also led the team while being a big support system to younger players in the team. He has been with the team since 2010. Harbhajan Singh, who had played for MI for 10 years, is the lone spinner named in the all-time MI XI by Chopra.

Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga | IANSThe three fast bowlers chosen in this XI have been Jasprit Bumrah, Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga. While Zaheer Khan presents the variation being the left-arm pacer in the side; Lasith Malinga, who has the most wickets in the tournament history and his protégé Bumrah, has been the backbone of the bowling attack for quite some time now.

Malinga came back with vigor on IPL 2019 after spending the previous season as the bowling coach and helped MI win their fourth title in the final against CSK.

Aakash Chopra’s all-time  Mumbai Indians’ XI: 
Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ambati Rayudu (WK), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan.  

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 22 May, 2020

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