Harbhajan Singh Names His IPL 2022 XI; Picks Hardik Pandya And Umran Malik

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has unveiled his IPL 2022 XI comprising of the best performers of the 15^th edition of the richest and most popular T20 league in the world, the Indian Premier League. The tournament was won by debutant franchise Gujarat Titans, who defeated Rajasthan Royals in the final on May 29.

The former India tweaker’s team didn’t include many big names including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as he picked Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya as the captain of his IPL 2022 XI. It was under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy that GT won the IPL 2022 including winning 10 matches out of 14 in the league stage.

Pandya was also named the Player of the Final, for his 3/17 and 34-run knock against RR.

In a video on Sportskeeda, Harbhajan, who picked six Indian players and five overseas names, slotted Jos Buttler and KL Rahul at the top. Both batters finished the season as the top two run-scorers. Buttler claimed the Orange Cap with a record-breaking 863 runs in 17 matches for the Rajasthan Royals while Rahul amassed 616 runs in 15 games for new franchise Lucknow Super Giants.

Harbhajan Singh Goes For Uncapped Rahul Tripathi At No.3 Spot In His IPL 2022 XI

At the No.3 spot, Harbhajan chose uncapped Rahul Tripathi, who earned praise for his skill-set for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but narrowly missed out on an India call-up for the South Africa series.

Apart from him, power-hitters Liam Livingstone, Hardik and Dinesh Karthik also found a place in Harbhajan’s eleven, which also comprised West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell, who had an excellent outing in the tournament with both the bat and the ball for KKR.

The veteran off-spinner picked Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal as his two spinners. Umran Malik and Josh Hazlewood were the two seamers of the team with Mohammed Shami as the 12th man.

“Rashid can bat as well while his leg-spin is magical. You might ask why (there are) two leg-spinners in the team. Well, both are best, that’s why. Hazlewood and Umran would open the bowling in my team. Russell and Hardik both can come in as the third seamer. After that, there are two proper spinners, who would definitely give you eight overs on any pitch,” Harbhajan said.

Harbhajan Singh’s IPL 2022 XI: Jos Buttler, KL Rahul, Rahul Tripathi, Liam Livingstone, Hardik Pandya (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rashid Khan, Umran Malik, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Shami (12th man)

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