No place for Shreyas Iyer or Travis Head as Aakash Chopra reveals his IPL 2024 Team of the Tournament

The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end last Sunday with the final between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

It was a one-sided affair in the title decider as KKR thrashed SRH by eight wickets to clinch the title for the third time. The Shreyas Iyer-led side thoroughly dominated the contest and completely outplayed SRH to make KKR only the third team after Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings to win the title thrice.

SRH captain Pat Cummins' decision to bat first completely backfired as KKR bowled out the Hyderabad-based outfit for just 113 runs. Barring Cummins (24), no other SRH batter could score more than 20 runs. At one stage, SRH were reeling at 77 for 7 before Cummins' cameo helped them post a 100-plus total. In reply, KKR chased down the total inside 11 overs thanks to Venkatesh Iyer's unbeaten 52-run knock from just 26 balls.

Aakash Chopra reveals his IPL 2024 Team of the Tournament:

With IPL 2024 done and dusted, former India opener Aakash Chopra has revealed his Team of the Tournament. The former cricketer-turned-commentator sprung a number of surprises in his team although he named a star-studded XI.

He started by picking Sunil Narine and Virat Kohli as openers while snubbing the likes of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Kohli finished IPL 2024 as the highest run-scorer, scoring 741 runs with the help of one century and five half-centuries. On the other hand, Narine put up an explosive display as an opener for KKR, scoring 488 runs with the help of one century and three fifties.

"There is no doubt about one person being in this team, that's Sunil Narine. In batting, he scored runs, which includes a century. Consistency's name became Sunil Narine in the first half of the tournament and he has bowled strongly as well. I think Sunil Narine will be there in all teams," he said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

"His partner will be India's Virat Kohli. Firstly, he is the Orange Cap winner, and secondly, how well he has played. You can check the strike rate, runs, century, quality, intent, passion or aggression - it was Kohli's Virat season this year," he added.

For the number three and four spots, Chopra picked Rajasthan Royals duo Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag. Parag finished the season as his team's highest run-scorer, scoring 573 runs including 4 fifties. On the other hand, Samson scored 531 runs with the help of five fifties.

"I have given the No. 3 spot to Sanju Samson. He was batting at No. 3 and scored a lot of runs. One of his most consistent seasons which you discuss about and praise. Sanju Samson is also my team's keeper. He has given match-winning performances as well," he said.

"At No. 4, I have given a place to his teammate Riyan Parag. Suryakumar Yadav's name also came to my mind here but I am going with Riyan. He has given match-winning performances and has played extremely well as an uncapped Indian. It was his breakthrough season," added Chopra.

Speaking further, Aakash Chopra picked Shivam Dube at number five ahead of the likes of Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Reddy. For the number six spot, he went with Nicholas Pooran ahead of Heinrich Klaasen. For the allrounder's slot, Chopra went with Andre Russell.

"I am keeping Shivam Dube at No. 5. There were discussions about whether he should be kept, whether Venkatesh Iyer or Nitish Reddy's name can come here. I am going with Shivam Dube because he has batted at a different level. Till the time he wasn't selected for India, he was destroying the opposition," he explained.

"After that, I have Nicholas Pooran. It could have been Pooran or Heinrich Klaasen but I have gone towards Pooran because firstly, I get a left-hander. His batting has been incredible, that is true for Heinrich Klaasen as well but I am still going with Nicholas Pooran.

He further picked Pat Cummins as the captain of the team ahead of Shreyas Iyer, saying: "Now comes the captain of the tournament. Although Shreyas Iyer lifted the trophy for sure and his captaincy was also very good, I am going with Pat Cummins.

"I liked Pat Cummins' captaincy a lot. I will put my hand up and say that I didn't have 100% confidence but he did very well. Pat Cummins is the captain of my team," he added.

Chopra concluded by picking Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, and Varun Chakravarthy as the other bowlers in his star-studded team.

Aakash Chopra's Team of the Tournament for IPL 2024:

Sunil Narine, Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy