The 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) finally came to an end with Mumbai Indians (MI) clinching the title with a five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (November 10).
Based on the performances in the tournament over the past 53 days, former India opener Virender Sehwag picked his IPL 2020 XI.
Just like any IPL playing XI, Sehwag went with the composition of four overseas and seven Indians cricketers.
Sehwag opted to go with KXIP’s KL Rahul and RCB’s Devdutt Padikkal as his openers. Both of them had a great season with the bat. While Rahul is leading the runs tally with 670 runs from 14 innings, Padikkal amassed 473 runs in his debut IPL season from 15 innings.
Batting at No. 3 in Sehwag’s team is MI’s Suryakumar Yadav followed by RCB’s Virat Kohli and surprisingly David Warner at No. 5.
“He (Suryakumar) has performed brilliantly since the last three seasons and he’s shown consistency. At No. 4 I’ve picked Kohli. He always scores runs and hence I’ve given him captaincy as well. He’s an aggressive player and captain and can take the team along with him,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
“At No. 5 I’ve picked David Warner because he’s been in great form and scored runs. I was confused whom to pick as captain – David Warner or Virat Kohli – but went ahead with Kohli because he can open the innings as well as bat in the middle order.”
Sehwag included AB de Villiers in his Playing XI too but at No. 6 position.
“The competition was fierce for No. 6 – Pollard and Pandya were contenders, but based on this year’s performance, I’ve picked ABD,” he added.
Among bowlers, Sehwag chose three fast bowlers – Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami – while selecting leg-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan as his two frontline spinners. Ishan Kishan, who smoked 30 sixes – the most by a player in this year’s IPL is Sehwag’s 12th man.
Coming to the fast bowling department, Sehwag selected DC’s Kagiso Rabada, MI’s Jasprit Bumrah and KXIPs’ Mohammad Shami. While Rabada is the leading wicket-taker of IPL 2020 with 30 scalps, Bumrah and Shami have claimed 27 and 20 wickets respectively in the tournament.
SRH’s Rashid Khan and RCB’s Yuzvendra Chahal featured in Sanjay’s team as premier spinners. Both the leggies were outstanding in the cash-rich league, with Chahal taking 21 and Rashid picking 20 wickets.
Sehwag picked Ishan Kishan, who smoked 30 sixes in the IPL 2020, as the 12th man.
Virender Sehwag’s IPL 2020 XI:
KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, David Warner, AB de Villiers, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rashid Khan, Ishan Kishan (12th man)
