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Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has picked his all-time Indian Premier League (IPL) XI. While he named MS Dhoni as the captain of his best XI, the 41-year-old picked as many as six overseas players, keeping aside the “four foreign players” rule, which is in place for each IPL team in a match.
In a video shared on Sportskeeda’s official YouTube handle, he explained his decision to go with more foreign players and said:
“I have not picked my team as per the ‘four foreign players’ rule since this is an all-time XI. There are more foreign players because they have played impactful knocks with the bat and have done exceedingly well with the ball.”
Kaif has a top three consisting of Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Explaining his choices, the former cricketer said:
“Gayle is a very dangerous IPL batter. Whenever he has done well, he has been a game-changer and has scored a lot of runs. Rohit Sharma has been playing for many years and has won five trophies as captain. An excellent short-format player. Virat Kohli is King Kohli. Has scored plenty of runs in the IPL. He has led India as well as RCB and is a role model, so his name has to be there.”
Kaif has gone for Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni (c & wk) as his middle-order batters. According to the 41-year-old, Raina, being a left-hander, brings variety to the batting and was also a very destructive batter who bailed CSK out of trouble on many occasions.
Pointing out to ABD being a “360-degree” player, Kaif acknowledged that he can smack the ball to any part of the ground and play all the strokes in the book, be it the sweeps or the straight hits.
Lavishing special praise on legend Dhoni, Kaif commented:
“He laid the foundation of T20 cricket in India by leading the country to victory in the 2007 World Cup. He has lifted four IPL titles as well. He is a big player in T20 and a mature captain.”
CSK are the defending champions in the IPL, having lifted the trophy for the fourth time last season.
Click here to view the IPL winners list.
Russell, Rashid among all-rounders in Mohammad Kaif’s all-time IPL XI
Shifting focus to the all-rounders, Kaif picked Andre Russell for his power-hitting at the death and Rashid Khan for his ability to be extremely economical with the ball apart from his batting skills. Sunil Narine also finds a place as he can keep the batters quiet and bowl crucial overs. Plus, he can be used as a floater with the bat.
Kaif named Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga as his two main fast bowlers. He described Bumrah as a match-winner in every format of the game and Malinga as a role model whom a lot of bowlers try to copy.
Mohammad Kaif’s all-time IPL XI: Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga
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