All-time Best T20 XI

T20 cricket has been a rage ever since it debuted in 2003 in England. However, the fame and influence of the T20 format got huge propulsion from the T20 World Cup in 2007 and then the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. Since then, there has been no stopping the 20-over format anywhere in the world. The crazy success of the IPL also gave growth to T20 leagues across the world and players got an alternate way of making money and gaining huge success in cricket, to play it professionally and gain profit from it as well. Many players have become legends thanks to them adapting to the format early on and a few ruled the world of T20 cricket. Here is the all-time best T20 XI: 1. Chris Gayle Chris Gayle (Photo Source: TheCricketWire/Twitter) No T20 XI can be complete without the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle. He adapted his game to the T20 format early on and went on to achieve crazy success in white-ball cricket. His power game of stand and deliver, complimented by a good batting technique made him a huge asset to any team in the T20 circuit. His numbers only justify as he played in perhaps all the leagues in his time, clocking 463 games in total including T20Is for West Indies. He has 14562 runs with a record 22 centuries and 88 fifties. He also owns the record for the highest individual score of 175* and for most sixes in 1056. Such sensational records mean that Gayle will remain the face of T20 cricket forever. 2. Virat Kohli Virat Kohli vs GL in 2016 (Photo Source: Twitter) Virat Kohli showed the world that a batter without power or innovative crazy shots can succeed in the T20 format as well. He is the leading run-getter in T20I cricket and one of the most celebrated batters in the T20 format and other forms of the game as well. Kohli only plays in the IPL due to BCCI rules. But even in the IPL, he rules the batting charts with 7263 runs in 237 matches with 7 centuries and 50 fifties. He scored 973 runs in a single IPL edition in 2016 with a record of four tons. Overall he has 11965 runs in 374 T20s with eight tons and 91 fifties with an average of 41.40. 3. Suresh Raina Suresh Raina. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) India's Suresh Raina is a no-brainer in the list of all-time XI in the shortest format of the game. In fact, the southpaw was the first to score a hundred for India in T20Is, post which he also made a reputation with his destructive and aggressive yet orthodox batting technique. Becoming the first player to score 5,000 runs in the Indian Premier League, he is also regarded as the Mr. IPL, and rightly so. Apart from his century against South Africa in T20 World Cup 2010, his blitzkrieg knock of 87 runs off mere 25 deliveries took everyone in awe of the way he could swing his blade to his will, and still manage to find the sweet spot of his marauding blade. Playing for Chennai Super Kings, Raina played a pivotal role in their four championships between 2010 and 2021. The UP-born was fondly regarded as 'Chinna Thala' by CSK fans for everything that he has given to the franchise. 4. Rohit Sharma Rohit Sharma Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images) Rohit Sharma has been one of the greatest T20I batters in the world and even in the IPL, his record is unbeatable. In 424 T20 matches, he has 11035 runs with six centuries and 74 fifties and has hit 479 sixes. Out of these, 3853 runs have come for India with four centuries including a 35-ball ton. In the IPL, Rohit Sharma is one of the most successful captains, tied with MS Dhoni for most IPL trophies with five titles to his name for Mumbai Indians. He has 6211 runs in 243 IPL games with one century and 42 fifties. He also has a hat-trick to his name in IPL, which came for Deccan Chargers. 5. AB de Villiers Ab de Villiers. (Photo Source: Twitter) South Africa’s AB de Villiers can be called a freak of nature based on the kind of cricketing shots he played. The former South Africa batter is known as Mr. 360 Degree for his innovation with the bat, which he used to a great extent to make a name for himself in T20 cricket. De Villiers played T20 leagues across the world but is more famous for his exploits in the IPL for Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore. In 340 T20 matches, de Villiers scored 9424 runs with four centuries at a strike rate of 150.13. He scored 5612 runs in 184 matches in IPL with three centuries at a strike rate of 151.69 and a best score of 133*. He hit 436 sixes in his T20 career and retired as an all-time great of the T20 format in 2021. 6. MS Dhoni (C-WK) MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL) Who better to captain the all-time best T20 XI, than MS Dhoni, who has won the T20 World Cup for India and five IPL titles apart from a couple of Champions League trophies as well for Chennai Super Kings. One of the greatest minds to play the game of cricket, MS Dhoni is credited with inspiring many youngsters with his exploits and guidance as he continues at the age of 42. In 377 T20 games, MS Dhoni has 7271 runs with 28 fifties to his name with a strike rate of 134.49. He is the only lower-order batter to score more than 5000 runs in the IPL. But MS Dhoni’s value is counted in his leadership and captaincy, apart from his finishing skills with the bat and amazing keeping behind the stumps, where he has 214 catches and 87 stumpings. 7. Kieron Pollard Kieron Pollard. (photo Source: ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty Images) Kieron Pollard, just the name is enough to remind everyone of what an all-rounder he has been, especially with his success in the 20-over format. Pollard has been a part of the champion West Indies side that lifted the T20 World Cup on two occasions - 2012 and 2016. He achieved similar success with his IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians, with whom he won all the five titles that they've lifted thus far. A useful strike bowler, a blistering batter, and a gun fielder both in the deep and the inner field, Pollard was the go-to man in almost any situation of the game. In fact, he was that kind of a player any captain would want in their side. Playing more than 600 T20s and still counting, the Trinidad all-rounder has scored more than 12,000 runs and scalped 300-plus wickets to his tally. Next, he will be seen captaining the MI Emirates side in the ILT20 2024. 8. Dwayne Bravo Dwayne-Bravo. (Photo Source: X/Twitter) Another veteran T20 great, who continues to ply his trade in T20 leagues is Dwayne Bravo. A two-time T20 World Cup winner and winner of multiple T20 titles across the league, Bravo is undoubtedly the greatest-ever all-rounder to play the format. His natural talent with both the bat and the ball has been unmatched and he wowed everyone in his prime with his athletic fielding as well. As for his numbers, Bravo has 6905 runs and 619 wickets in 564 T20 games for West Indies and various T20 leagues across the globe. His impact was in the death overs, where he not only fooled the batters with his slower deliveries but could also bowl a mean and fast bouncer to unsettle them. 9. Rashid Khan Rashid Khan (Photo Source: Twitter) Perhaps the best spinner in the T20 format, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan has impressed one and all with his guile and amazing ability of leg spin bowling. Just 25 years of age Rashid Khan has already played 410 T20 games and picked 556 wickets his best if 6/17 and he is one of the few bowlers to take four wickets in four balls in T20I cricket. Amongst his huge haul of wickets, 130 scalps have come for Afghanistan in just 82 matches, an impressive feat no less. He is set to make some huge records given the time he has on his hands and the rate at which he keeps picking wickets. 10. Bhuvneshwar Kumar Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo Source: Twitter) One of the best death overs and swing bowlers in the T20 format, Bhuvneshwar Kumar might not have the numbers like some of the greats, but his impact has been amazing. In a career marred with injuries and form issues, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has managed to carve out a name for himself for India and in the IPL. Bhuvneshwar has played 270 T20 matches, picking 288 wickets. He has 5 five-wicket hauls to his name with a best of 5/4. This is also one of the cheapest fifers in T20 cricket and Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains the first Indian bowler to take fifer in all three formats of the game. 11. Lasith Malinga Lasith-Malinga. (Photo Source: Twitter) Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, by far, is the greatest T20 bowler ever. The bowler from Galle with a slingy action, Malinga redefined fast bowling with both the new ball and in death overs with his penchant for yorkers. His yorkers are considered to be one of the deadliest, which in his prime, Malinga used to deliver at over 145 kph. Malinga, as captain, won the 2014 T20 World Cup for Sri Lanka, apart from winning titles in T20 leagues across the world. He played a total of 295 T20 games and took 390 wickets with a best of 6/7. His economy was 7.07. But the interesting fact about Malinga is that he is the only bowler to take four wickets in four balls twice in T20Is and once in ODIs.

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All-time Best T20 XI

Incredible T20 career have landed these 11 players into the all-time best XI in the 20-over format of the game.

6. MS Dhoni (C-WK)

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