IPL 2020: Sanjay Manjrekar picks his best XI of the tournament

Former Indian cricketer and current commentator Sanjay Manjrekar picked his best eleven of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL). To start with, he named the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) duo of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Even as both got runs at similar averages, their skipper Rahul came under the pump a wee bit for his strike-rate, especially while batting in the powerplay.

At three number three, Manjrekar went for Suryakumar Yadav, who scored a magnificent half-century in the Qualifier 1 against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Sanjay didn’t go for Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) skipper, who didn’t quite have the greatest of outings bearing mind the standards he has set over the years in the T20 tournament.

“My No. 3 is Suryakumar Yadav, which is great for someone like him to have made it to this IPL XI. He bats at No. 3 and I don’t think any No. 3 has batted as well and as consistently as he’s done. It’s not just about runs and consistency but also about the quality of shots as well that he’s played,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

No Kagiso Rabada in Sanjay Manjrekar’s XI

At number four, the veteran picked AB de Villiers, who was arguably the most fluent batsman for the Challengers in the T20 league. Manjrekar picked up KXIP’s Nicholas Pooran at number five. As his all-rounder, he zeroed in on Axar Patel. Sanjay reckoned that Axar has been an under-rated star, but turned up with some crucial performances in critical situations.

“Axar Patel is my batting all-rounder. He flies under the radar, but this IPL, he’s delivered the match-winning, little doses of impact performance to make a difference,” he stated.

In the fast bowling department, he went for Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer. Bumrah is currently the Purple Cap holder and has picked 10 wickets in his last three matches.

However, Manjrekar refrained from picking DC’s Kagiso Rabada, who has 25 wickets to his name. In the spin department, Manjrekar went for the leg-spin duo of Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Here’s the IPL XI:

KL Rahul [WK], Mayank Agarwal, Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, Nicholas Pooran, Axar Patel, Rashid Khan, Jofra Archer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah