2013 Champions League T20 best XI

8. Jimmy Neesham (Otago Volts)

Many cricket fans would not have heard his name before the start of the CLT20 began. Since then he has been a revelation for his side Otago Volts.

He starred for the Volts both with the bat and the ball and almost led his team his team single handedly. In all the matches, he was just increasing his price for the next year’s IPL auction.

With the bat, he scored 145 runs at an average of 73 and a strike rate of 179. He didn’t disappoint with the ball either as he picked up 6 wickets with an economy of 7.30. He single handedly won the game against Highveld Lions that went into the super over.

But his heroics weren’t enough for the Volts to make it to the last four. Don’t be surprised if he goes to a good price in the 2014 IPL auctions.

9. Nathan Coulter-Nile (Mumbai Indians)

Champions Mumbai Indians went into the tournament without their star bowler Lasith Malinga. But once the tournament started, they didn’t feel his absence because Coulter-Nile took charge in Slinga’s absence.

He picked up 6 wickets in the 19 overs he bowled in the tournament. He was quite economical as his economy was just over 6 in this year’s CLT20.

It was difficult to hit him through the line as checked the run flow in the slog overs. The credits should be given to his skipper for using Coulter Nile well throughout the tournament. He also chipped in with some quickly scored runs towards the end.

10. Sunil Narine (Trinidad and Tobago)

Sunil Narine

One cannot simply miss out Sunil Narine while formulating his own T20 XI. In the absence of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Kevon Cooper, he single handedly took Trinidad and Tobago into the semis with some tight bowling.

As the batsmen struggled to crack his mystery, he was not given enough support from the other end. Batsmen wisely saw off Narine before taking the attack to other bowlers.

He was the second highest wicket taker in the tournament with 11 scalps under his name with an impressive economy of 4.30 and an average of 7.8 runs per each wicket.

He was at his magical best in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad in which he took 4 wickets giving away just 9 runs in his 4 overs just for a losing cause.

11. Pravin Tambe (Rajasthan Royals)

This has been the story of the tournament. A soon to be 42 year old leg spinner from Mumbai came into the limelight for the first time in his dim career.

Having not played a single first class game in his 20 year old career, Pravin Tambe emerged to the cricketing world aftermath his heroics in the 2013 CLT20.

If Narine picked up 11 wickets at an economy of 4.30, Tambe bettered him by picking 12 wickets at an unbelievable economy of 4.10 and an average of 6.5 runs per each wicket.

What makes his performance so special is that he didn’t concede a single six in the 19 overs he bowled throughout the tournament. He once again proved that even in T20’s there is life for leg spinners and old war horses.

12th Man: Evin Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago)

Trinidad and Tobago have always been a surprise package in CLT20’s. New stars emerge out of their squad in CLT20. Stars like Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine were born in the previous edition of CLT20.

This time it’s the turn of T&T opener Evin Lewis who is also the 12^th man in our CLT20 XI. The 21 year old had a terrific tournament in which he scored 211 runs at an average of 43 with a strike rate of 142 runs per 100 balls.

He got Trinidad innings off to a flier in every match they played. No wonder if he follows the footsteps of Pollard and Narine in the future.

With that we conclude our CLT20 line up.

DISCLAIMER: This is only the author’s views and doesn’t necessarily represent the views of the website.