The IPL is the world’s biggest T20 league and there are no two ways about it. It would be hard to argue against this fact as no league sees so many of the world’s best players across countries going up against each other. The tournament is covered by a massive panel of commentators and experts from around the world. No international cricket happens when the IPL happens, the world watches this tournament keenly.
In this article, we try to pick up an all-time IPL XI. It may be complicated as IPL has been around for such a long time and has produced so many greats of the T20 game. However, there were some hard choices made in finalizing this team. It must be noted that we have relaxed the restriction of 4 overseas players to ensure we are able to pick the best players that have played in the IPL over the course of 12 seasons.
Here is our all-time IPL XI:
Openers - David Warner and Chris Gayle
1.David Warner: Matches: 126, Runs: 4706, Average: 43.17 Strike Rate: 142.39, 50/100: 44/4
David Warner has been a stalwart of IPL cricket for a long time. He has the most runs by an overseas player in the tournament history. He is the only player to have over 500 runs in three consecutive seasons. He is the only player to have 8 consecutive 50 plus scores. He also has the second-highest aggregate number of runs by a player in a single season. He has been an epitome of consistency and won many a match for this franchise. He along with Chris Gayle are the only players to win the orange cap twice (2015 and 2019).
2. Chris Gayle: Matches: 125, Runs: 4484, Average: 41.14, Strike Rate: 151.03, 50/100: 28/6
If one has to name the greatest T20 batsman of all time, one has to pick Chris Gayle. His numbers make this job pretty easy. In the IPL too, he has stolen the stage on innumerable occasions. He has the most number of centuries by a player in IPL history - 6. He has sit 326 sixes in the IPL, most by any player. Who can forget his devastating 175*, the highest individual score in T20 cricket? In that innings, he hit 19 sixes, most by a player in a single inning. It’s remarkable for someone to be so devastating and yet so consistent.
Notable misses: Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, and Robin Uthappa
Middle Order - Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni
3. Suresh Raina: Matches: 193, Runs: 5368, Average: 33.34, Strike Rate: 137.14, 50/100: 38/1
Suresh Raina is often called “Mr. IPL” for the feats that he has achieved in the tournament. He became the first player to breach the 5,000 run-mark in the IPL. He is always neck-to-neck with Virat Kohli in the race of being the leading run-scorer in the IPL history. From 2008-2016, he scored over 400 runs in each season, a unique feat in T20 cricket. He has the most number of consecutive appearances in the tournament without missing a game. Suresh Raina is in the true sense, an IPL legend.
4. Virat Kohli: Matches: 177, Runs: 5412, Average: 37.84, Strike Rate: 131.61, 50/100: 36/5
Virat Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the history of the IPL. He took the tournament by storm in 2016 when he scored 973 runs, most by a player in a single season. He scored 4 centuries in that season, again most by a player in one season. He has been highly consistent since he took over the captaincy of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring well over 350 runs in each season. He was involved in a partnership of 229 with AB De Villiers against Gujarat Lions in 2016 when both De Villiers and Kohli scored hundreds. This remains to be the highest partnership for any wicket in the IPL history.
5. MS Dhoni: Matches: 190, Runs: 4432, Strike Rate: 137.85, 50/100: 23/0, Catches/Stumpings: 98/38, Win Percentage as Captain: 60%
The captain and the wicketkeeper of this side will be MS Dhoni. He pretty much picks himself. He is the most successful wicketkeeper in the IPL. He led Chennai Super Kings to playoffs every time he captained it and won 3 titles with it too. He has the second-best average for players with over 1000 IPL runs. He has also hit the third most number of sixes in the IPL and most runs in the 19th and 20th overs of the innings, making him the best finisher in the IPL. He has pulled victories out of the jaws of defeats for his franchise in more ways than one.
Notable Misses: AB De Villiers and Rohit Sharma
All Rounders - Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo
6. Shane Watson Matches: 134, Wickets: 92, Economy: 7.93, 4w/5w: 1/0, Runs: 3575, Strike Rate: 139.53, 50/100: 19/4
The quality of an all-rounder is determined by the fact whether he can make the side purely as a batsman and purely as a bowler or not, and no-one can do it better than Shane Watson. He finds himself in the charts of both leading run-scorers and the leading wicket-takers of the IPL. He was the MVP of the tournament on two occasions which is a testament to the fact that he has contributed in various ways to the franchises he has played for.
7. Dwayne Bravo: Matches: 134, Wickets: 147, Economy: 8.3, 4w/5w: 2/0, Runs: 1483, Strike Rate: 128.28, 50/100: 5/0
Dwayne Bravo is the leading wicket-taker in the history of T20 cricket and a large proportion of those wickets have come in the IPL. He has been one of the best at death-bowling. He picked up 33 wickets in the 2013 season, most by a bowler in one season, and managed to win the purple cap again in 2015. He has been impeccable with the ball and been the go-to man for Dhoni in difficult times. His record as a batsman is not bad either. He has played valuable cameos on several occasions and rebuilt the innings in instances of batting collapses.
Notable Misses: Andre Russel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja
Spinners - Sunil Narine and Amit Mishra
8. Sunil Narine: Matches: 110, Wickets: 122, Strike Rate: 20.96, Average: 26.48, Economy: 6.67, 4w/5w: 6/1
Well, we can safely say that if someone changed the complexion of Kolkata Knight Riders with his addition, that person was Sunil Narine. He has so much mystery and so many variations that batsmen still have not worked him out. He has six 4-wicket hauls in the IPL, joint most with Malinga. Someone like MS Dhoni has not managed to hit a boundary off him which tells you the quality he possesses.
9. Amit Mishra: Matches: 147, Wickets: 157, Strike Rate: 19.75, Average: 24.19, Economy: 7.35, 4w/5w: 3/1
Amit Mishra is one of the highest number of wickets by an Indian in IPL history. He has done his job in an underrated fashion and yet so successfully. He also is one of the few Indian bowlers to pick up an IPL hat-trick and with its leg-spinning variations, has bamboozled batsmen throughout the tournament. He has a low economy indicative of the fact that he does not give anything away and still manages to pick up so many wickets.
Notable Misses: Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh
Fast Bowlers - Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Lasith Malinga
10. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar: Matches: 117, Wickets: 133, Strike Rate: 19.63, Average: 23.71, Economy: 7.24, 4w/5w: 2/1
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is the most successful Indian fast bowler in IPL history. He won the purple cap in 2016 and 2017, only the second bowler after Bravo to win this accolade twice. He has an economy of just over 7 and an average of just below 20 which is a great combination for someone who bowls at the death and with the new ball.
11. Lasith Malinga: Matches: 122, Wickets: 170, Strike Rate: 16.62, Average: 19.8, Economy: 7.14, 4w/5w: 6/1
The IPL is incomplete without the chants of Malinga in the Wankhede Stadium when it runs into the crucial bowlers. The 2011 purple cap winner is the most successful bowler in IPL history. His economy of just over 7 is remarkable for a death bowler. He has six 4 wicket-hauls, most by any along with Narine. He effectively walks into this side to lead this bowling attack.
Notable Misses: Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah
All Time IPL XI: David Warner, Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (C and WK), Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Amit Mishra, Bhaveshwar Kumar, and Lasith Malinga
Must Read | Most successful teams in IPL history
