Iqbal Abdulla Names His All-Time IPL XI

While the whole cricketing fraternity has come to a standstill due to the dangers of the Coronavirus, perhaps the biggest upset for fans has been the postponement of Indian Premier League (IPL). Now, that the league will not be happening ant time soon, players such as Iqbal Abdulla has used the opportunity to name his all-time IPL XI.

While the cash-rich league was supposed to start from March 29, it had to be postponed, because there was a big risk of exposure of players and fans to the deadly virus.

Now, that the IPL has been postponed until 15 April, Abdulla is using this break to reminisce on the history of the lucrative league, by naming the list of best players from the 12-year-old illustrious history of IPL.

For the unversed though, Abdulla came through the ranks of India U19 team and went on to represent Sikkim in domestic cricket, and teams such as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL.

Iqbal Abdulla reveals his all-time IPL XI:

The 30-year-old all-rounder Iqbal Abdulla picked up Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma and AB de Villiers as openers of his all-time IPL XI. At number three, Abdulla went for the man who has 5368 runs in the league, the second highest-tally by any player, Suresh Raina.

Next up, he opted for Indian skipper Virat Kohli at number four, and the captain’s duties went to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, at number five. Needless to say that Dhoni will also do the wicket-keeping duties in Abdulla’s all-time IPL XI.

Furthermore, Abdulla named Mumbai Indians duo Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya alongside West Indies superstar Andre Russell as all-rounders.

Iqbal Abdulla makes a surprising pick in the bowling department:

In the bowling department, Abdulla went for Ravichandran Ashwin and Afghanistan ace Rashid Khan as spinners. For pace bowling, he decided to go with Jasprit Bumrah, which was a surprising inclusion, but it goes on to show Bumrah’s meteoric rise to prominence since his debut.

Abdulla named Ravindra Jadeja as the 12th man and named himself as the 13th player in the list.

Iqbal Abdulla’s all-time IPL XI:

Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (c) (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Iqbal Abdulla.