Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera has picked his all-time T20 eleven. Perera has made former India skipper MS Dhoni the captain of his team. Apart from Dhoni, three Indians have made it into the all-rounder's XI. Interestingly, no Sri Lankan has made it to the XI. Perera retired from international cricket last year and has been playing T20 leagues around the globe.
Recently, he led the Jaffna Kings to the title in the Lanka Premier League 2021 and was adjudged 'Strong player of the season'. He amassed 190 runs with 14 fours and as many sixes at a strike rate of 190. Meanwhile, players like AB de Villiers, Mitchell Starc, Shaun Tait, Rashid Khan, etc. have made it into the 32-year-old's team.
Chris Gayle and Rohit Sharma have been slotted as openers, followed by Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, David Miller and MS Dhoni. Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine are the spinners while Mitchell Starc, Shaun Tait and Jasprit Bumrah comprises the pace attack.
The 2014 20-20 World Cup winner while announcing his retirement had said that he felt it was best to vacate the slot for the youngsters. He added that he hasn't stopped his cricket but is focusing on franchise cricket. "I served my country for 12 years. I felt it was the best time to give youngsters a chance. But I am not stopping my cricket, just the focus now has shifted towards franchise cricket. I have been performing well in franchise cricket and hope to keep entertaining the fans in the future as well," Perera, said about his shock retirement, in an exclusive interview with News9 Sports.
Perera was a utility cricket for Sri Lanka and contributed immensely in the team's growth. While he doesn't have many runs and wickets to show, often his little cameos and short spells did wonders for Sri Lanka. The all-rounder played 6 Tests, 166 ODIs and 84 T20Is for Sri Lanka, scoring over 3500 runs and taking 237 wickets.
Thisara Perera's All-Time T20 XI: Chris Gayle Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli AB de Villiers David Miller MS Dhoni (C) Rashid Khan Sunil Narine Jasprit Bumrah Mitchell Starc Shaun Tait