IPL 2018: The greatest Indian XI of all time

The IPL is known for its glitz, glamour and entertaining cricket. For the past ten years, the Indian Summer is all about this extravaganza. It has changed the entire dynamics of the game. In the ten years of IPL, there have been many thrilling finishes, some really big sixes, unforgettable innings and even controversies.

But, it is true that the IPL has served as a door to the Indian national team. The IPL performance of the players earns them a national call-up. It has provided a much-needed exposure to several young Indian players.

It has given them a lifetime opportunity of sharing the dressing room with the legends of the game. There have been some memorable performances by many Indian players over the years. But some players have taken the tournament to another level with their brilliance.

Now, let us look at the best Indian eleven in the history of the IPL, players who lit up the tournament in their own style. Of course, it is the Indian Premier League, right?!

#1 Gautam Gambhir (Opening batsman)

Gambhir played for the Delhi Daredevils in the first three editions before moving to the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011. He won two titles with the Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014, becoming only the second skipper to win the title twice.

Gambhir has been a solid top-order batsman with 4132 runs in 148 IPL matches at a strike-rate of 124.60. The Delhi batsman has made 35 half-centuries, with the highest score being 93. No other batsman has scored as many boundaries as Gambhir in the IPL. He has scored 483 boundaries in his IPL career, so far.

#2 Shikhar Dhawan (Opening batsman)

Dhawan donned the Delhi Daredevils jersey in the inaugural season. Later, he moved to the Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers, playing two seasons each for those franchises.

From 2013, the opener has been playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and won the title with them in 2016. ‘Gabbar’ has been a prolific scorer at the top-order over the years. In the 127 IPL games, he has scored 3561 runs at a strike-rate of 121.86.

Dhawan has made 28 half-centuries, with the highest score of 95*. Dhawan is in the eight position in the all-time leading run-scorers list. He has 401 boundaries, 71 sixes and 52 catches in his IPL career.

#3 Virat Kohli (Middle-order batsman)

Virat has been part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise since the beginning of the IPL. He is one of the very few players to have played for the same franchise for a decade.

The RCB management showed immense faith in his batting and leadership abilities and he never disappointed them.

Kohli has made 4418 runs in 149 matches for the Bangalore franchise at a strike-rate of 129.82. He has scored 30 half-centuries and four centuries in the IPL, with his highest score being 113.

The 2016 season was all about Virat Kohli, where he smashed a record 973 runs and astonishing four centuries. RCB finished as the runners-up to Sunrisers Hyderabad in that season under Kohli.

He was also a part of the squad that finished as the runners-up in 2009 and 2011. Virat has 61 catches in his entire IPL career. Sadly, an IPL title has eluded this master batsman for ten years. Hope the next decade brings him all the success.

#4 Suresh Raina (Middle-order batsman)

Raina is the leading run-scorer in the history of the tournament as he is rightly called ‘Mr.IPL’.

He has never missed an IPL match in his entire career, be it for the CSK or the Gujarat Lions. In the first eight seasons, Raina played for the Chennai Super Kings and won two titles - in 2010 and 2011.

He then played for the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in 2016, 2017 editions. The Uttar Pradesh batsman has scored above 400 runs in almost all the seasons, except for 2015, 2016 editions.

With 4540 runs in 161 matches at a strike-rate of 139.09, he leads the all-time leading run-scorers chart. The southpaw has got 31 half-centuries and a century to his name in the IPL, with the highest score being 100*. Raina has taken 85 catches in his IPL career, a perfect example of why he is one of the most virtuous Indian fielders in the IPL.

#5 Rohit Sharma (Middle-order batsman)

‘Hitman’ Rohit Played for the Deccan Chargers in the first three editions, where he won a title in 2009. He subsequently moved to the Mumbai Indians in 2011 and became an integral part of their batting line-up.

In 2013, Rohit took over the captaincy, two games into the season and led the Mumbai Indians to their first ever IPL crown. In 2015 Mumbai Indians won the IPL for a second time, after making a remarkable comeback in the tournament.

It was another feather in the cap for the Mumbaikar, as he led Mumbai to their third title in 2017. Thereby, he became the first ever skipper to win three IPL titles. In 159 matches, Rohit has scored 4207 runs at a strike-rate of 130.89.

He has got 32 half-centuries and a century to his name, with his highest score being 109*. He has taken 71 catches in his IPL career, so far.

#6 Yusuf Pathan (All-rounder)

The hard-hitting Baroda batsman is one of the best all-rounders in IPL history. Pathan won the inaugural season with the Rajasthan Royals. Pathan won the Man of the match award in the inaugural IPL finals, for his all-around contributions.

In the 2010 season, he smashed one of the fastest centuries in the IPL off just 37 deliveries against the Mumbai Indians. In 2011, he moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders where he won two titles in 2012 and 2014. In the 149 games, Pathan has scored 2904 runs at a strike-rate of 145.49.

His 239 boundaries and 146 sixes are a striking example of his hard-hitting abilities. Pathan is a very useful part-time bowler, having taken 42 IPL wickets with the best figures of 3/11 at an economy of 7.39.

#7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain, Wicket-keeper batsman)

‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for a then-record $1.5 million during the inaugural IPL auction in 2008. Since then, the former Indian skipper has led them in eight consecutive seasons (2008-2015).

He is the longest-serving skipper in the IPL and is also the only captain to successfully retain the title.

The Chennai Super Kings have entered the knockouts in all eight seasons under Dhoni, winning the title twice in 2010 and 2011. Dhoni then played for the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise in the 2016 and 2017 editions.

He has scored 3561 runs in 159 matches at a strike-rate of 136.75. Dhoni has made 17 half-centuries in the IPL, with the highest score of 70*. He has been a regular contributor with the bat scoring at least a fifty in all eight seasons. His valuable contributions behind the stumps include 76 catches and 30 stumpings.

#8 Ravindra Jadeja (All-rounder)

Jadeja is one of the most exceptional Indian all-rounders in the IPL. He won the inaugural IPL with the Rajasthan Royals under Shane Warne. In 2011, he moved to Kochi Tuskers Kerala and was part of their squad for the fourth edition of the IPL.

In 2012, CSK acquired him for then-record Rs.9.8 crores, making him the costliest buy that year. Since then, he has been playing for the ‘Yellow Army.’ In the 138 IPL games, Jadeja has made 1732 runs at a strike-rate of 122.83, with the highest score of 48.

The Saurashtra player has scored 125 boundaries and 57 sixes in the IPL. He is one of the exceptional Indian fielders and has taken 43 catches in his IPL career. Jadeja has 82 wickets in his IPL career, at an economy of 7.81 and career-best figures of 5/16. Jadeja took three four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul in the IPL.

#9 Amit Mishra (Spinner)

Mishra is best Indian bowler in the IPL history with 134 wickets in 126 matches at an economy of 7.41. He played for the Delhi Daredevils in the first three seasons before moving to the Deccan Chargers in 2011.

In the 2013 and 2014 seasons, he played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise. Mishra subsequently moved to his first ever franchise, Delhi in 2015. Mishra is the only player to get three hat-tricks in the IPL, a tournament record.

Mishra has three four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul, with the best figures of 5/17.

#10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Pacer)

Bhuvneshwar is arguably the best Indian pacer in the IPL history. He represented the Royal Challengers in the 2009 and 2010 editions, before moving to the now-defunct Pune Warriors India in 2011.

During the 2014 auctions, Bhuvneshwar was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he established himself as one of the best pacers in the IPL.

Bhuvi won the Purple Cap consecutively for two seasons (2016, 2017) claiming 23 and 26 wickets respectively.

The Uttar Pradesh pacer won the 2016 edition with the Sunrisers Hyderabad under David Warner’s captaincy. In the 90 IPL matches, Bhuvneshwar has 111 wickets at an economy of 7.08 and best figures of 5/19. He has two four-wicket hauls and one five wicket-haul to his name in his IPL career.

#11 Ashish Nehra (Pacer)

The veteran Indian pacer has demonstrated why age is just a number for him. Nehra is the second best Indian pacer in the IPL in terms of wickets. He stands at seventh in the all-time leading wicket-takers chart with 105 scalps in 88 matches at an economy of 7.83.

He has played for five franchises in ten seasons- Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Pune Warriors India, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has one four-wicket haul and his career-best figures include 4/10. Nehra reached the 2015 finals with the CSK where they lost to the Mumbai Indians. He was part of the victorious Sunrisers squad that won the title in 2016.

Due to the squad balance constraint, several names could not be included:

Special mentions: Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla