Dinesh Karthik picks his all-time Indian T20I XI; Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli not to lead

Former Indian keeper-batter and commentator Dinesh Karthik has picked his all-time Indian T20I XI. However, he chose not to pick Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as captains of his all-time best Indian T20I XI.

Speaking exclusively on Cricbuzz, Karthik made his selections, starting off with Abhishek Sharma and Rohit Sharma as opening batters, while Virat Kohli occupies the No.3 spot and Suryakumar Yadav takes up the fourth slot.

“Terrific player at this format, Abhishek Sharma. He gives you a little bit of the ball, but man, when he gets going, he is a million bucks to watch. And next, an absolute OG. One who’s been playing from the inception of this format for Team India, Rohit Sharma,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.

“The third, number three. King. How can you not have King Kohli? Probably the greatest ever player across time in this format. At No. 4, I have Mr Surya Kumar Yadav, the current captain,” he added.

Later, he picked up Yuvraj Singh as the spin bowling all-rounder, with Hardik Pandya being the pace bowling all-rounder. Moreover, he has picked up MS Dhoni as the captain of his all-time Indian T20I team.

“At No. 5, one of my all-time favourites. Just easy on the eye. The first person to hit six sixes in this format for Team India – Yuvraj Singh. At No. 6, definitely the most valuable asset of India even today. Mr Hardik Pandya,” he noted.

Subsequently, he went ahead with bowling all-rounder Axar Patel, terming him a very underrated player. Later, he picked Varun Chakravarthy as another spin bowling option. He also picked up Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as pace bowling options.

“At No. 7, who is going to be the captain as well for me, Mr Mahendra Singh Dhoni. At No. 8, he’s a very underrated player, I believe. He gives you a lot more than what meets the eye. Mr Axar Patel,” he observed.

“At No. 9, one of the most talented mystery spinners India has ever had. Varun Chakaravarthy, who is slowly but steadily growing in the ranks of international cricket. At number 10, the greatest bowler to ever exist across formats, and probably, when he finishes his career, will be looked at as one of the greatest bowlers to have ever played this sport. Jasprit Bumrah, don’t need to say too much about him,” he stated.

“At No. 11 was a tough one. I thought Arshdeep Singh has been brilliant, but I have gone for someone who I have played a lot with, and I have found it hard to always try and get hold of him. A very talented player across spaces, he is able to pick wickets if you want him to bowl defensively. He does that. He does what the team needs. An absolute team man, and it was a tough choice between Ashdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But at number 11, I have gone for Bhuvneshwar Kumar," he concluded.

Dinesh Karthik’s all-time India T20I XI: Abhishek Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (c), Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

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