Irfan Pathan picks his IPL 2020 best XI

India’s best swing bowler, Irfan Pathan, has selected his IPL 2020 team of the tournament. The Baroda based cricketer summoned his star-studded squad during a discussion on Star Sports. The 13th season of the tournament came to an end on November 10 with Mumbai Indians lifting their 5th title.

Mumbai Indians grasped their title by defeating Delhi Capitals by five wickets in the title-decider match. Mumbai Indians became the first team to win the IPL five times and also the second team after Chennai Super Kings to retain the IPL title. 

The former cricketer Irfan Pathan included seven Indians and four overseas players in his team. His eleven did not have any players from Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Chennai Super Kings. Irfan listed three players each from the finalists Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. He picked two players each from Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, and one from Rajasthan Royals.

Irfan Pathan’s IPL 2020 Squad

Irfan commenced by selecting KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan as the openers of his IPL 2020 team. Rahul and Dhawan completed the season as the highest and second-highest run-scorers respectively. They were the only players who crossed 600-runs in the tournament. The all-rounder did not include David Warner due to the four-foreign-player rule. 

Pathan picked Suryakumar Yadav for the number three spot as he scored 480 runs and four fifties. Irfan praised the right-handed batsman for his bracing pace and great winning knocks for the franchise. Then he went with RCB superstar AB de Villiers who totaled 454 runs as the No. 4 batsmen. The South African had a decent season this year as well and played some incredible match-winning innings for RCB like always.

Pathan opted Kieron Pollard over Hardik Pandya for the 5th place and also named Pollard as the captain of his IPL 2020 team. He chooses Pollard over Hardik as the latter can provide some overs with the ball. He also picked Rajasthan Royals’ Rahul Tewatia as the spin-bowling all-rounder of the team. Tewatia was the only Indian player who scored 200 runs and took ten wickets. At no.6, Irfan selected Marcus Stoinis as the seam-bowling all-rounder who was in fantastic form during IPL 2020.

For the bowling line-up, Pathan struck with three pacers and one spinner. Yuzvendra Chahal was the lone ace spinner in the side while Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada, and Mohammed Shami were the three pacers. The left-arm pacer picked Chahal over Rashid Khan because of Tewatia’s presence. He also favored Shami ahead of T Natarajan because of the former’s ability to bowl with new and the old ball.

Irfan Pathan’s IPL 2020 team of the tournament

Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, Kieron Pollard (C), Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

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