Indian Premier League XI

A selection of the best-possible eleven from 2013's edition without the four-foreign players constraint.

Yahoo! Cricket

A list of the best-possible XI from this season’s Twenty20 skirmish – selected with the hopeful assumption that each player will perform to the best of his ability and without restrictions on the number of imports in the outfit. The team: Gayle, Hussey, Kohli, Watson, de Villiers, Dhoni, Pollard, Bravo, Harbhajan, Steyn, Narine.

The Openers: Chris Gayle and Michael Hussey

With almost 1,500 runs gathered a breakneck clip between them, RCB’s and CSK’s leading lights dazzle out any competition at the top of the order. While Gayle is known to prefer the aerial route, Hussey is rather more discriminate – not that that stops him from maintaining a more-than-healthy rate of accumulation.

Two aces upfront - not the most pleasurable scenario for opposing bowlers.

The Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shane Watson and AB de Villiers
Even if Gayle and Hussey without much damage, the three batsman that follow can each turn the game on its head with their bludgeoning bats. Kohli was in terrific form this year and also led Bangalore ably – though typically he did lose his cool on a number of occasions.



Watson was the pivot of Rajasthan Royals’ several successful chases, and also chipped away with his medium pace. That De Villiers did not allow Gayle sand Kohli to outshine him this season speaks volumes by itself.

The Gamechangers: MS Dhoni, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo

Nothing is impossible so long as Dhoni is at the crease. The Chennai captain spent the entire IPL aloof from the media but was his usual explosive yet unperturbed self in the field. Dhoni single-handedly helped Chennai complete tough chases early in the competition and proved that he remains the toughest nut to crack.

For Pollard, an upscale of his batting position was the tonic Mumbai needed to attain their first domestic T20 title. Six-hitting Pollard, fittingly, was Man of the Match in the final where he creamed Purple Cap winner Bravo with disdain.

Prior to Pollard collaring him in the title match, Bravo was a resounding success, picking up a record 32 wickets ad striking telling blows with the bat.

The incisive attack: Harbhajan Singh, Dale Steyn and Sunil Narine

The ‘Turbanator’ turned back the clock as he rediscovered the attacking aspect to his off-spin, a facet that had been missing from his bowling for almost three years now. Harbhajan was instrumental in Mumbai’s success and was difficult to pick in varying conditions.

Still, his influence on the outcome of a match pales in comparison with Steyn’s. The South African fast bowler was a stand-out hit, his pace unplayable, his out-swing nonnegotiable, and his impact in a weak batting side – Sunrisers Hyderabad – unquestionable.

If at all anyone matched Steyn’s scorching impact, it was Kolkata Knight Riders’ Narine. The ‘mystery’ spinner confounded batsmen across teams and not one – at the end of the tournament – could claim to have sorted him out for good.

12th man: Rohit Sharma.
The only reason Rohit misses out being part of the main XI is for Dhoni's far-greater leadership credentials. No matter, the young Mumbaiite displayed enough character with the bat and leading the side to be a direct inclusion in any Twenty20 outfit.