IPL 2018: Eoin Morgan Picks His IPL XI, Snubs Countrymen

England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan had a tough task making up his fantasy Indian Premier League’s (IPL) dream team. The ongoing Twenty20 league has been competitive so far, with most of the games going down the wire.

Morgan picked his best XI and the squad looks quite formidable.

The Ireland-born cricketer picked Rishabh Pant in his side even though he went for Mahendra Singh Dhoni when it comes to keeping the wickets.

Virat Kohli and his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate AB de Villiers made the cut and the team also features the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Hardik Pandya, and Sunil Narine.

Fast bowler Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah and Siddarth Kaul sum up the fast bowling line-up while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan is a solitary frontline spinner in the side.

No English capped player in the XI:

Morgan though defended his decision of not picking any English players.

All-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes haven’t really fired for their respective sides while Jason Roy and the rest of the batters had odd good games under their belt.

“This is all relative to the performances that have gone so far. I don’t have any of my England mates in there – not out of preference,” he said.

Kohli-Pant to open, MSD in the middle

The skipper opted for the left-right combination of Kohli and Pant.

“Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli are very strong openers – though Kohli, by his standard, would probably expect even more from himself,” Morgan stated.

 

“AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, and Hardik Pandya form a pretty formidable middle-order, and then you’re into the guts of your bowling attack with Sunil Narine and Adil Rashid as your spin threat and then Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah and Siddarth Kaul as your pace attack, with all of their variations. It’s a pretty formidable line-up, a very strong squad. Though it’s probably worth well over $25m,” Morgan said.

Eoin Morgan’s IPL XI:

Rishabh Pant

Virat Kohli

Ambati Rayudu

AB de Villiers

MS Dhoni (WK)

Hardik Pandya

Sunil Narine

Jofra Archer

Rashid Khan

Jasprit Bumrah

Siddarth Kaul

Also, Read: IPL 2018: Siddarth Kaul Reveals his Inspiration in the T20 League