IPL 2020 | Virender Sehwag names Virat Kohli skipper in his IPL XI; Ishan Kishan named 12th man

Mumbai Indians asserted their dominance throughout IPL 2020 and claimed their fifth title by defeating Delhi Capitals in a brutal fashion to win the final by 5 wickets. After the conclusion of the grand league, many cricket pundits and former players have picked their best team of IPL and Virender Sehwag is the latest addition to the list, where added almost all the dependable players in his squad.  

Sehwag went ahead with Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Devdutt Padikkal as his openers – one being the Orange Cap winner and the other scoring over 450 runs in his maiden IPL season. Mumbai Indians batsman Suryakumar Yadav gets slotted on the number 3 position in Sehwag’s team for his consistency, followed by Kohli at No. 4 and surprisingly, picked him as his skipper as well ahead of title-winner Rohit Sharma. To add to the surprise, he placed David Warner at the number 5 position on his team. 

“He (Suryakumar) has performed brilliantly since the last three seasons and he’s shown consistency. At No. 4 I’ve picked Kohli. He always scores runs and hence I’ve given him captaincy as well. He’s an aggressive player and captain and can take the team along with him.” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

“At No. 5 I’ve picked David Warner because he’s been in great form and scored runs. I was confused whom to pick as captain – David Warner or Virat Kohli – but went ahead with Kohli because he can open the innings as well as bat in the middle order.”

Sehwag included AB de Villiers in his Playing XI at No. 6 position, where stated that the competition was fierce with Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya being the top contenders. 

“The competition was fierce for No. 6 – Pollard and Pandya were contenders, but based on this year’s performance, I’ve picked ABD,” Sehwag added.

Among bowlers, Sehwag chose first and second-highest wicket-taker this season in the form of Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, along with KXIP pacer Mohammed Shami. While selecting leg-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan as his two frontline spinners. Ishan Kishan, who smoked 30 sixes, the most by a player in this year’s IPL, gets picked as the 12th man.

Sehwag's XI:- KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli (c), David Warner, AB de Villiers (wk), Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Ishan Kishan (12th man)