India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin picked his all-time Indian Premier League (IPL) XI. Ashwin did not include himself in the side and picked Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) MS Dhoni as the captain of the team over Mumbai Indians (MI) Rohit Sharma. Ashwin did not pick a single player for his current franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer picked Rohit and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend Virat Kohli as openers during a conversation with Kris Srikkanth on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka. He ignored the likes of Chris Gayle and David Warner. At no.3, he picked his former CSK teammate Suresh Raina followed by MI's Suryakumar Yadav.
After Suryakumar, he gave former RCB batter AB de Villiers a place in the side. At no.6, he kept skipper Dhoni followed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) two-time IPL-winning all-rounder Sunil Narine. Afghanistan's T20I captain Rashid Khan who joined the IPL in 2017 found a place in Ashwin’s side as well. Rashid has represented two IPL-title winning sides Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Gujarat Titans (GT).
In the fast-bowling department, he has backed SRH's Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has two bowlers who are capable of bowling with same intensity with the new ball and the old. MI's Jasprit Bumrah and former Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga are the two fast bowlers who are capable of bowling pin-point toe-crushing Yorkers to make batters’ life hard at the crease.
Ashwin’s all-time IPL XI
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga
Ashwin wants ‘impact player’ rule to stay
Earlier, the 37-year-old also backed the infamous ‘impact player rule’ which has been criticised by many current and former cricketers.
"Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy. The other side of that argument is it doesn't encourage all-rounders. But no one is stopping them. "In this generation, they don't do it [batters bowling and vice-versa]. It's not like they're discouraged because of the Impact Player rule. Look at Venkatesh Iyer, he's currently rocking for Lancashire. There's an opportunity for innovation and it makes the game fairer." Ashwin said.
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