Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan unveiled his best playing 12 from the recently concluded IPL 2023 which was won by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who lifted their fifth title by defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) in an exciting final on Monday in Ahmedabad.
Many cricket experts have been sharing their team of the tournament since the end of IPL 2023 and Irfan Pathan has unveiled his playing 12.
The former India all-rounder took to Twitter to unveil his squad. Surprisingly, there was no place for either of the captains of the teams which played the final- MS Dhoni or Hardik Pandya.
As for the openers, he chose Faf du Plessis of RCB and named him captain, while he would be partnered by Shubman Gill of GT. Faf du Plessis made 730 runs in IPL 2023, while Shubman Gill won the Orange Cap for most runs, as he topped the charts with 890 runs.
Pathan named Virat Kohli as his number three batter. Suryakumar Yadav will follow the RCB opener. Pathan included Rinku Singh and Heinrich Klaasen as two finishers in his squad, with Klaasen also keeping wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja and Rashid Khan are two spin-bowling all-rounders in Pathan's team. Irfan Pathan picked a strong pace unit with Purple Cap winner Mohammad Shami leading the pack. The other fast bowlers he picked were Mohammed Siraj, Mohit Sharma, and Matheesha Pathirana.
Overall, Pathan selected a balanced team, although MS Dhoni's absence caught everyone off guard. Along with being an excellent captain, Dhoni also took on the finishing position for CSK and occasionally showed his batting prowess.
Here is Irfan Pathan’s Best 12 from IPL 2023:
Faf du Plessis (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Heinrich Klaasen, Rinku Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Mohit Sharma, Matheesha Pathirana