Dhawal Kulkarni picks his current best IPL XI, chooses MS Dhoni as the captain over Rohit Sharma

The indefinite postponement of the IPL 2020 has kept players away from the game. However, that hasn’t held them back from dishing out their opinions on social media. At a time when COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the cricketing scenario, many players have come up with their XIs of all sorts.

To keep up with the trend, Dhawal Kulkarni also joined the bandwagon and listed out his XI. Kulkarni, in an Instagram live session with CricTracker, built a side consisting of XI current best players in the IPL.

Talking about the opening combination, Kulkarni assigned the responsibility to Chris Gayle and Rohit Sharma. Both the players are known for their explosive display of batting while representing their respective franchises. Gayle was a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore before shiting his base to Kings XI Punjab. The left-handed opener was also retained by the Punjab franchise ahead of IPL 2020.

Speaking of Rohit, he has been an indefensible part of the Mumbai Indians franchise since shifting from now-defunct Deccan Chargers. Rohit has been the most successful IPL captain, having led MI to four IPL titles.

Dhawal Kulkarni chose Virat Kohli at the No.3 position

Kulkarni slotted two Royal Challengers Bangalore stalwarts– Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers– at the No.3 and No.4 position respectively. Despite RCB’s title drought, Kohli and De Villiers have been a vital part of the Bangalore franchise.

The next two players in the line were two Chennai Super Kings’ vice-captain and captain– Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. Kulkarni also assigned the captaincy to Dhoni over Rohit. Furthermore, Kulkarni also included another CSK veteran Dwayne Bravo in the squad. To complement Bravo, Kulkarni slotted Hardik Pandya as the second all-rounder of the squad.

Kulkarni chose Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan to steer the spin department of the side. Since donning the Sunrisers Hyderabad jersey, Rashid has made his presence felt by delivering many impressive spells. In 46 IPL matches, the Afghanistan spin maestro has scalped 55 wickets at an economy of 6.55.

To finish things off, Kulkarni included two India internationals– Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar– in the squad. While Bumrah is known for his pace and toe-crushing yorkers, Bhuvneshwar is recognized for his ability to swing the ball.

Dhawal Kulkarni’s current-best IPL XI: Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Dwayne Bravo, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.