IPL History: All-time best retired XI

The Indian Premier League has been a boon for all the domestic and international players of the world as it has proven the biggest stage of cricket. A player who is unknown to the world in the morning may become the #1 trend on Twitter at night if he wins the match for his team. For the international players, the IPL has helped them inn regaining their place in the national team.

Thus, IPL has proven to be a life changer for many cricketers. Besides achieving personal goals, the IPL also allows the players to play freely and enjoy their game. Due to this reason, even the players who have retired from international cricket participate in the league.

However, in the league's eleven year history, there have been a number of players who have retired from the Indian Premier League as well.

We present to you a playing XI of players who have retired from IPL.

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#1 Gautam Gambhir (c)

Gautam Gambhir (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL career stats - Matches - 154, Runs - 4,217 , Fifties - 36

Gautam Gambhir started off his IPL career as a part of his home franchise, Delhi. However, after 3 seasons he moved tp the Kolkata Knight Riders and completely changed the success graph of the Kolkata franchise.

Under his captaincy, KKR won 2 IPL championships. Gambhir also shone as an individual batsman for KKR. His best IPL season came in the year 2016, when he scored 501 runs for his team.

In 2018, Gautam returned to Delhi with the aim of taking the franchise to newer heights. However, he failed miserably and stepped down as the captain midway. He never returned to the IPL after that season.

Despite the anti-climatic end he had to his IPL career, Gambhir was one of the most glorious openers of the IPL.

#2 Virender Sehwag

V Sehwag (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL career stats - Matches - 104, Runs - 2,728 , Strike Rate - 155.44

Virender Sehwag, just like Gautam Gambhir kicked off his IPL journey as a part of the Delhi franchise. He remained an integral part of Delhi for many years before he was released by them and Kings XI Punjab recruited him.

Though he never won the Indian Premier League, Sehwag always proved to be a match-winner for his side. His blitzkrieg in the powerplay overs provided his team a solid start at the top. He is one of the few Indian players to have played over 100 matches and still have a strike rate of 150+ in the IPL.

Sehwag had recorded 2 centuries and 16 half-centuries in his IPL career. The Sultan of Multan even struck 334 fours and 106 sixes. Just like Gambhir, he had a poor end to his IPL career as he was only able to score 99 runs in his final 8 matches.

#3 Rahul Dravid

R Dravid (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 89, Runs - 2,174, Fours - 289

Majorly known as a Test specialist, Rahul Dravid defied everyone's expectations and performed really well in the IPL. He made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008 but then joined Rajasthan Royals in 2011. Despite being the local boy of Bangalore, he was released after 2010.

Dravid then took over the reins of Rajasthan and took the franchise to new heights. He always had a good strike rate despite playing textbook cricket shots. "The Wall" could have walked into any T20 team of the world due to his abilities of stabilizing the innings. Though he mainly played as an opener, he may have fared even better had he walked into bat at number 3 for his team.

In this retired players' XI, we can easily imagine a stable Dravid to maturely handle the innings after Sehwag and Gambhir provide the team a fiery start.

#4 Kumar Sangakkara (WK)

K Sangakkara (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 71, Highest Score - 94, Catches - 45, Stumpings - 9

Sri Lankan legend, Kumar Sangakkara played for 3 IPL franchises in his IPL career. He initiated his IPL journey as a part of the Kings XI Punjab before playing for Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad. His IPL career ended in 2013 as he had a disastrous campaign that year. Sanga aggregated a mere 120 runs in 9 matches that year.

However, he played consistently in his first 4 seasons, scoring 300+ runs in every season. The first season was the best for the wicket-keeper batsman as he averaged 35+ and had a blistering strike rate of 161.61.

His performances dipped slowly but he always proved to be a vital cog for his franchise. Amongst the wicket-keepers who have retired from the IPL, Sangakkara performed the best hence, he will don the gloves of this retired XI.

#5 Mahela Jayawardene

M Jayawardene (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL career stats - Matches - 80, Highest Score - 110*, Fours - 200

As four overseas players are allowed in an IPL XI similarly in this retired XI we will have four foreign players. Mahela Jayawardene takes the second of the 4 spots of this retired XI. Jayawardene too played for 3 franchises in IPL career namely Kings XI Punjab, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Delhi.

Jayawardene, who is the current coach of Mumbai Indians was a great batsman in his prime. In his IPL career, he played 80 matches and aggregated 1,802 runs at an average of 28.60. Apart from being a good middle order batsman, Jayawardene was also a phenomenal fielder.

His best IPL season was the 2010 one where he scored 439 runs and even recorded his only IPL ton. Jayawardene batted with a strike rate of 147.31 in that season.

#6 Brad Hodge

B Hodge (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 66, Highest Score - 73, Best Bowling Figures - 4/13

Brad Hodge takes the third overseas spot in this retired XI thanks to his incredible record as a spin bowling all-rounder. The Aussie provided flexibility to the middle order by proving his abilities to bat at any number. Even Hodge played for 3 IPL teams in his career - Kolkata Knight Riders, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Rajasthan Royals.

His best season came in the year 2011 when he was representing the Kochi Tuskers. Hodge scored 285 runs in 14 matches and even took 7 wickets in that season which even included his best bowling figures of 4/13 against Rajasthan Royals.

Playing for RR he emerged as the best finisher for their team, finishing off various matches for his team. He has even had multiple coaching stints in the IPL after his career ended in the year 2014.

#7 Albie Morkel

A Morkel (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 91, Batting Strike Rate - 141.98, Wickets - 85

Albie Morkel was one of the main reasons behind Chennai Super Kings' success in the initial seasons. In his debut IPL season, Morkel established himself as a match-winning all-rounder with his tally of 241 runs and 17 wickets. He even played a crucial role in the title triumphs of Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011.

He played for Dhoni's army till 2013 before he switched to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014. Morkel could never repeat his CSK heroics in the IPL once he was released by them.

Morkel later played for Delhi and Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL but as mentioned before he was just a shadow of his former self.

Morkel makes it to this retired XI on the basis of his performances for Chennai Super Kings.

#8 Anil Kumble

A Kumble (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 42, Wickets - 45, Economy Rate - 6.57

Anil Kumble played only 3 IPL seasons in his IPL career but the 3 seasons were enough for him to leave a lasting impact on the Indian Premier League. After Royal Challengers Bangalore had a debacle in 2008, Kumble led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to the IPL final of 2009 that too in South African conditions.

In his farewell season in 2010, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished at the 3rd position. Kumble had best figures of 5/5 in his IPL career. Besides this five-wicket haul, he even took 2 four-wicket hauls playing in the Indian Premier League. Though he never won the Purple Cap, he was always one of the leading contenders to win the elusive cap.

Given how the trend of including leg-spinners in the playing XI has increased, Anil Kumble will play the role of the wicket-taking leggie of this retired XI.

#9 RP Singh

RP Singh (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 82, Wickets - 90, Purple Cap x1

Though RP Singh was never able to cement his position in the Indian team, he was always the leading pacer of his IPL franchise during his prime. He had even won the Purple Cap of the IPL once when he was a part of the Deccan Chargers.

The Uttar Pradesh born left-arm seamer played 82 matches in his career. He had an economy rate of 7.90 and a bowling strike rate of 19.72. His best performances in IPL came when he represented Deccan Chargers and Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Due to injuries and growing age, he could not bowl to his full potential in his final IPL season where he donned the Rising Pune Supergiant jersey.

But as they say left is right in cricket, thus the left-armer RP Singh makes it to this retired XI.

#10 Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 100, Wickets - 102, Best Bowling Figures - 4/17

Zaheer Khan played in all the IPL seasons from 2008 to 2017. His first IPL franchise was Royal Challengers Bangalore before he played for Mumbai Indians and Delhi.

Khan's best IPL season came in the year 2012, where he scalped 17 wickets in 16 games. The left-arm fast bowler was the only player to feature in the 1st and the 500th match of the IPL. Also, he had a fantastic economy rate of 7.58 given the fact that he took part in over 10 seasons of IPL. His tally of 102 wickets has helped him rank as one of the highest wicket-taking bowlers of IPL history.

Zaheer Khan and RP Singh were two of the best left-arm pacers in the IPL and hence they make it to this retired XI.

#11 Lakshmipathy Balaji

L Balaji (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

IPL Career Stats - Matches - 73, Wickets - 76, Hat-trick x1

Lakshmipathy Balaji will play the role of the right-arm fast bowler of the retired XI. Balaji had a very successful IPL career as he won the IPL title twice and even finished as a runner-up twice. This showcases that Balaji was in a way a lucky mascot for his team. He even holds the prestigious distinction of bowling the final ball of the first ever IPL final.

Balaji even took a hat-trick in his IPL career. The Tamil Nadu pacer played consistently in his entire career taking 10 or over 10 IPL wickets in 6 out of the 7 seasons he played. Though he had a relatively higher economy rate of 8.05, his bowling strike rate of 19.88 justifies his position in this team.