IPL Support Staff XI: Forming the best XI out of the support staff of the IPL 2017 sides

Behind the success of every IPL side, there is a big hand of the support staff who have constantly been working in order to help their team achieve a lot of success

Ever since the first season, we have seen a lot of famous former cricketers take up the role of a coach or a mentor of one of the IPL sides.

We have seen cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Virender Sehwag and a host of others who played a lot of matches in the IPL and are currently a part of the support staff of the sides they played for.

Extra Cover: 5 people you didn't know played a role in IPL teams

In this article, we form a playing XI out of the current support staff in the IPL 2017.

Openers

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag

Arguably one of the best opening pairs the world has ever seen in limited overs cricket, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar would be the ideal opening pair for the “Support Staff XI” of the IPL. With both of them having a lot of experience playing in the IPL for their respective sides, they would provide the much-needed start for their side if they played together.

The two of them have opened the innings for the Indian ODI side 93 times and amassed 3919 runs at an average of 42 with 12 century stands between themselves.

While Sachin Tendulkar played for the Mumbai Indians throughout his IPL career, Sehwag has played for the Delhi Daredevils and the Kings XI Punjab.

Sachin was slightly more successful as he scored 2334 runs in 78 matches at an average of 34.83 with 13 half-centuries and one century to his name. He picked up the Orange Cap in 2011 for scoring 553 runs in 16 matches.

Sehwag, on the other hand, scored 2728 runs in 104 matches at an average of 27.55 with 16 half centuries and 2 centuries to his name.

Middle order

Mahela Jayawardene

Jayawardene has been one of the most successful batsmen in the Sri Lankan side in all three formats of the game. At no. 3 in the batting line-up, he has been able to provide the much-needed stability to the batting line-up in all the teams he has played for.

Currently retired from the international circuit, Jayawardene continued to play in various T20 tournaments around the world.

He has played 220 T20 matches and scored 5455 runs at an average of 29.17 with 36 half centuries and 3 centuries to his name.

Like Sehwag, he too played for the Kings XI Punjab and the Delhi Daredevils. He is currently the head coach of the Mumbai Indians.

Brad Hodge

Brad Hodge is one of those few Australian cricketers who came around during the “golden era” of Australian cricket and would have felt hard done by the fact that he did not get to play too much international cricket.

His constant success in the T20 format led to him being included in the Australian squad for the World T20 in 2014.

He continues to impress in domestic T20 tournaments around the world. His last tournament was the Big Bash League where he played for the Adelaide Strikers. In total, Hodge has played in 270 T20 games in his career where he has managed to score 7338 runs at an average of 36.87 with 48 half centuries and 2 centuries to his name.

He is currently the head coach of the Gujarat Lions.

Jonty Rhodes

Despite retiring from cricket over 12 years ago, Jonty Rhodes did manage to get a little bit of experience in the T20 format playing for Gloucestershire back in 2003.

Arguably the best fielder the world has ever seen, Rhodes lit up the field whenever he touched the ball. An explosive middle order batsman as well, Rhodes would have been a great fit into any one of the IPL sides if age was on his side.

He played in 245 ODIs for the Proteas where he managed to score 5935 runs at an average of 35.11 with 33 half centuries and 2 centuries to his name. He is the fielding coach for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

All-rounders

Tom Moody

Currently the head coach of the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad, Moody was also the coach of the Sri Lankan side which reached the final of the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.

But before becoming a world class coach, Moody was one of the most consistent all-rounders for Australia back in the 1980s and 90s. He was also a part of the world cup winning squad of 1999.

With the ability to perform well with the bat and the ball, Moody would have been a perfect fit in the T20 format. He featured in 76 ODIs for the Kangaroos where he scored 1211 runs at an average of 23.28 and also picked up 52 wickets at a bowling average of 38.73.

Daniel Vettori

One of the most successful bowlers to have come out of the New Zealand ranks, Vettori had a sensational career and was extremely successful in all 3 formats of the game. He was one of the few cricketers to have taken over 300 wickets and scored over 3000 runs as well.

He has a considerable amount of IPL experience on his side having captained the Royal Challengers Bangalore side to the final in 2011.

He played 34 IPL matches in total and bagged 28 wickets at a bowling average of 31.39. He also managed to 121 runs at an average of 15 during this time. He is the bowling coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tournament.

Bowlers

Lakshmipathy Balaji

Having recently retired from all forms of cricket, Lakshmipathy Balaji had a glorious spell with the Indian cricket team during the first few years of his career. His partnership with Irfan Pathan during the multiple series against Pakistan back in 2004-05 will be remembered for years to come.

However, a few injuries led to him being dropped from the side in 2005 after which he never really got too many opportunities to play for the national side.

He was one of the most successful bowlers in the IPL having played for the Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Kings XI Punjab. He played 73 matches in total and picked up 76 wickets at an average of 26.69. He is currently the bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Shane Bond

Shane Bond could have gone on to become the best ever fast bowlers in world cricket, but his dream was hampered due to constant injuries.

However, when he did play for the Blackcaps, he achieved immense success and was a threat to every opposition batsman. With his ability to bowl at an average speed of over 140 kmph, Bond would be a perfect fit for the Support Staff XI of the IPL.

In a career which spanned over 8 years, Bond featured in 82 ODIs for New Zealand where he picked up 147 wickets at an average of 20.88. He played in the IPL as well for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first edition of the tournament.

He is currently the bowling coach of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Muttiah Muralitharan

Undoubtedly the greatest bowler ever, Muttiah Muralitharan was a revelation for the Sri Lankan cricket team. To this date, he remains the highest wicket-taker in Tests with 800 scalps. He proved his worth in the ODI and T20 formats as well achieving a lot of success for Sri Lanka and various domestic teams around the world.

He has a lot of IPL experience under him as he featured in 66 matches from 2008-14 having played for the two South Indian sides Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the 66 matches he played, he picked up 63 wickets at an average of 26.92 and a phenomenal economy rate of 6.67.

He is currently the spin bowling coach of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Allan Donald

An integral part of the South African squad in the 1990s, Allan Donald was one of the most feared fast bowlers back in the day. With his ability to generate a lot of pace and swing the ball, Donald would have been extremely successful in the T20 format as well. He did manage to play domestic T20 games back in 2004 where he picked up 2 wickets.

Donald featured in 72 Tests and 164 ODIs for the Proteas and picked up 330 wickets in the longer format and 272 wickets in the shorter one.

He is currently the bowling coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.