With Chennai Super Kings lifting their third Indian Premier League trophy on Sunday, 27 May it was curtains for this edition of India’s annual Twenty20 extravaganza. Like every year, this year too the tournament has unearthed many new talents from India along with bringing back some of the seasoned players in the limelight.
If this IPL is the seen as the yardstick, then the national T20 side could see many new faces, along with the regular ones.
Unfortunately, the biggest casualties would be the two openers in the national side – Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. The Mumbai Indian skipper didn’t have a great season, managing only 286 runs in 14 matches at an average of 23.83. Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan with 497 runs has done fairly well for himself but KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav just made the cut, courtesy their consistent superlative performances.
The Quint has come up with a more or less a new Indian T20 side based on performances in IPL 2018. Let’s take a look at the players who have made the cut.
KL Rahul
There is no second thought about this selection. Rahul may have been absent from the national side for a considerable period, but after this IPL we are sure that his exclusion from the side, for the shortest format, will be regarded as nothing less than a blasphemy.
Rahul has owned this position from his first match. Amassing 659 runs in 14 innings, he has been the only silver lining in the otherwise patchy season for the Kings XI Punjab. Rahul has solely been responsible for giving the Punjab side great starts. He has also showed enough maturity to hold his bat for a greater part of the innings.
Suryakumar Yadav
Joining Rahul at the top of the order would be Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav. Just like Rahul, Suryakumar has been the fulcrum of the team around which other batsmen have built their innings.
Till last season, Suryakumar used to bat down the order for Kolkata Knight Riders. However, with the Mumbai Indians, he has made good use of the opportunity given to him at the top of the order. Suryakumar, Mumbai Indians’ most consistent performer with the bat this season, has managed 512 runs in his 14 outings till now.
Virat Kohli
Who else for the number three position but Virat Kohli. It hardly matters to Captain Kohli which format he is playing. He just knows how to ace, like he has been doing for the national side day in and day out.
With 530 runs from 14 innings, this IPL has just been another walk in the park for the skipper. Sadly, he hasn’t been able to convert his fifties to three digit scores. Lack of support from his teammates at the start of the season explains Royal Challengers Bangalore’s yet another lacklustre performance this year.
Rishabh Pant
If it was upto us then Rishabh Pant would surely be part of all T20 squads all around the world at least at this moment, courtesy his out-of-the-world 128 runs off 63 balls. Obviously one innings has never justified anyone’s place in a side but Pant’s frequency and ferocity with the bat has been the clincher.
With one century and four half-centuries en route to his 684 in 14 innings at a strike-rate of whopping 173.60, Pant is the perfect man at the number four position, who can accelerate at will.
Ambati Rayudu
The Hyderabad batsman has been a revelation for Chennai Super Kings this season. Having amassed over 602runs in the tournament, Rayudu played the role of the floater in the side – comfortable both at the top of the order as well as in the middle order.
The highlight of Rayudu’s batting has been the rate at which he has been scoring. Batting at a strike rate of more than 150, Rayudu is the perfect man for the death overs. In fact, he can replace one of the two openers when needed. CSK’s most consistent player this season, it was only apt that he scored the winning runs for his side in the final on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain)
It has been like a comeback season not only for the Chennai Super Kings, but also for their ‘Thala’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It’s after five years that Dhoni has been able to breach the 400-run mark. Couple of mediocre innings at the end of the edition ensured that the CSK captain doesn’t cross 500 runs this time around.
There is no iota of doubt that he is the best person behind the stumps in the IPL, but his exploits with bat have just made his case stronger.
As far as captaincy is concerned, you can’t overlook the captain who has won the tournament three times, the most recent being the previous edition. So, Captain Cool pips Kohli for the captaincy post.
Hardik Pandya
After a sluggish start, Hardik Pandya found his form at the later half of the tournament but unfortunately couldn’t take his side through to the play-offs. With 18 wickets, Junior Pandya was once second only to Punjab’s Andrew Tye, who with 24 wickets won the ‘Purple Cap’. Eventually, he finished with the same number of wickets from his 14 matches.
If Jasprit Bumrah has been the death knell in the dying overs, Pandya has been the eerie prelude to that. At ease with opening the bowling as well as bowling the last over, Pandya has also shown enough heroics with bat to make him the perfect contender for the all-rounder slot in the team.
Krunal Pandya
Senior Pandya also makes the cut, thanks to his innate ability to stay at the top of his game in all the departments, Be it batting, bowling or fielding, Krunal will hit that crucial six or conjure a wicket from no where to bring his side back into the game.
As per fielding is concerned, he is the live wire taking catches under pressure or saving important runs to turn the course of a match. With 12 wickets and 228 runs, Krunal will be an asset for any team.
Umesh Yadav
When Kolkata Knight Riders decided not to bid for Umesh Yadav it was quite surprising because he was consistent with the side. With his new side, Royal Challengers Bangalore, he has continued his form, giving them regular breaks at the start of the innings. With his economy less than 8 runs, Umesh will complement a Hardik Pandya well to bowl in tandems from both ends. He is fourth on the bowlers’ list with 20 wickets to his name.
Mayank Markande
There are very few spinners in the game who will flummox Mahendra Singh Dhoni with their googly and that too in their debut match. The 20-year-old Mayank Markande is one of those rare entities. He ended his first IPL outing with a figure of 3/23. From there on, Mayank has gone onto pick 15 wickets in 14 appearances and has been a regular feature in the Mumbai Indians side. A smooth action with a nicely disguised googly, along with his current form, helps him to make the cut ahead of other senior bowlers.
Jasprit Bumrah
At this moment it is impossible to complete a T20 squad without Jasprit Bumrah. With near perfect death bowling, he has become an indispensable asset for any side. Bowling figures like 1/15, 1/17 and 1/19 and 17 wickets at an economy of 6.88 to top that off, it is quite self-explanatory why this Baroda player would make it to any T20 side on this planet.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (12th Man)
Bhuvi has been the core of the Sunrisers’ pace attack, bowling impressively both at the start and the end of the innings. Even though he has not featured in all games for the Sunrisers and got only nine wickets, his effectiveness can’t be questioned. He would be a smart choice for the twelfth man position, especially with an economy of 7.88.
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