MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma as captain? Aakash Chopra picks his all-time IPL XI
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra picked his all-time IPL XI and chose MS Dhoni as the skipper over Rohit Sharma. Cricketer turned commentator chose his team on the IPL rule of 4 overseas and 7 Indian players.
Aakash chose Sunrisers captain David Warner as his first pick as the opener over West Indies destructive batsman Chris Gayle, who has scored most centuries in IPL history- 6.
“My first pick is David Warner, the first overseas player as an opener. You will also think of Chris Gayle, but he is not more consistent than David Warner. He [Gayle] has been explosive but Warner is not behind anyone. So, Warner as one of the overseas players. He has been one of the most consistent batsmen ever,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
The former cricketers picked Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma as the opening partner of David Warner. Rohit is also the most successful captain in IPL history by winning 4 trophies as captain.
“There is no debate that Rohit Sharma would be opening alongside Warner. He started as a middle-order batsman for Deccan Chargers, then he went to Mumbai Indians where he is still there. He is the most successful captain as well but doesn’t open always when he is the skipper. But if I make an all-time IPL XI, I will make him open 100 per cent.”
At no. 3 and 4 Chopra picked the most successful Indian batsmen in IPL Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli. The RCB captain is the leading run-scorer in the cash-rich league with 5412 runs in 177 matches. While Raina is second on the list with 5368 runs in 193 games.
Chopra chose AB de Villiers as his no.5 batsman. The Protea has never won an IPL title but he has proved with his bat that he is no less than anyone in the business. The former opener picked MS Dhoni as the finisher and the wicketkeeper-batsman at no.6. The CSK captain also leads Chopra's all-time IPL XI.
“Although it would always be 50-50 between Rohit and Dhoni on whom you should make the captain, but when you look at the team Dhoni has got especially in the last few seasons, you will have to opt for Dhoni ahead of Rohit and he also has the experience of 11 years of captaincy and Rohit was not the captain initially. He was groomed as a captain by the Mumbai Indians,” Chopra said.
In the bowling department, Chopra chose veteran Harbhajan Singh over Ravichandran Ashwin as the first spinner. Kolkata Knight Riders' mainstay Sunil Narine also found a place in Chopra's team. In the pace bowling department Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah got their place.
Chopra chose two-time IPL winning captain Gautam Gambhir as his 12th man and Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russell as the 13th.
Chopra’s all-time IPL XI: 1 David Warner, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 MS Dhoni (c and wk), 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
