Anil Kumble, the legendary spinner for India, stated that it would be challenging to include South African batting legend AB de Villiers on his all-time IPL XI. With just over two months until the start of the 16th edition of the TATA IPL, anticipation is considerable. Veteran players including Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Scott Styris, Parthiv Patel, Robin Uthappa, and Anil Kumble discussed the Indian Premier League in a Jio Cinema documentary. To choose an all-time IPL XI, the select group laboriously debated throughout the course of a two-part episode.
As is his custom, Gayle took the first spot and then filled the remaining ten with his typical flamboyance. “Chris Gayle comes out on top. Be sure to put yourself first “Universe Boss jokingly said. As soon as Gayle and Kohli were called to form the opening combination, Patel gave the conversation the tip-off. “As an opener, I believe Virat Kohli’s statistics are astounding. Difference-making factors include Gayle and Virat’s chemistry. No IPL team could exist without Chris Gayle because he is Chris Gayle, “he remarked.
However, Styris fearlessly disagreed and put Kohli and David Warner together, despite the West Indian’s preference for Virender Sehwag at the top and Kohli as a counterbalance to the aggression there. Gayle and Sehwag were chosen by the group to perform as the opening act.
Except for Gayle, who wanted “Mr. IPL” to come in at No. 4 following Kohli, everyone chose Raina to be on the All-Time team’s third spot. With the exception of Gayle, who chose Kohli for the position, everyone chose India’s captain Rohit Sharma over Raina at No. 4. Raina and Sharma occupied positions three and four, respectively.
The majority of people concurred on having AB De Villiers and MS Dhoni at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. Kumble, a former captain and coach of India, though, bowled a flipper. “Because MS Dhoni, my side’s captain and wicket keeper, comes in at number five, and Pollard, at number six, it is very difficult to include AB de Villiers in my selection.
At No. 6, I would consider the influence the specific player has made in terms of coming from behind to win games, and of course, titles were something I considered as well.” Patel accepted Kumble’s point of view but chose Andre Russell over Pollard. However, it was decided that ABD and MSD would work best.
De Villiers is notable for being the league’s sixth-highest run scorer ever. He has 5,162 runs at an average of 39.71 in 184 games and 170 innings. The South African superstar, known for his 360-degree hitting, has three centuries, 40 fifties, and a top score of 133 in the cash-rich competition.
