IPL XI: Dream Team of the Tournament

Who would walk into your dream IPL team? Based on performances so far, our expert picks the players who’d make the cut.

We are at the final leg of the group stages of the IPL 2011. We have a good sense of the final four that will make it to the knockout stage - Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore can only lose it from here. Rajasthan and Kochi will have to pull off something special and will need a few results to go their way. The bottom four do not have a chance of advancing beyond the league stages.
This article recognizes the top performers in the IPL and comes up with the IPL XI based on performances in the tournament so far. 

Openers

Picks: Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag
Gayle is an automatic selection even though he’s only played five matches - 328 runs at an average of 82 and a strike rate of 205. He tops the batting momentum chart for all batsmen with a rating of 86, well ahead of second place Sehwag who is at 64. Speaking of Sehwag, he is unlikely to remain the Orange Cap holder after being ruled out for the rest of the tournament, but his performances so far are good enough for him to make the final XI. The openers who missed out are Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh and Sachin Tendulkar. Michael Hussey missed out as an opener but….

Middle Order

Picks: Ambati Rayudu, Virat Kohli, Michael Hussey,
We all know Hussey can bat in the middle order, and you could probably play him at 5. His tournament record of 43.1 runs per innings is second only to Gayle. Ambati Rayudu has had a fantastic tournament and shown he’s capable enough as a wicketkeeper; he is seventh overall on the batting momentum charts with a rating of 55 and is by far the best keeper-batsman in the tournament. Virat Kohli has been solid with an average close to 50. The unlucky batsmen who miss out are Rohit Sharma, Subramaniam Badrinath, Suresh Raina and Kumara Sangakkara. 

All-rounders

Picks: Yuvraj Singh, Albie Morkel
Yuvraj is an easy pick for the batting all-rounder; he’s averaged 42 at a strike-rate of near 140. With the ball, he’s been handy with an economy rate of just over 7, though he hasn’t picked up a ton of wickets. Albie Morkel is in more as a bowling all-rounder, with 13 wickets in the tournament. He cracks the top ten in terms of bowling efficiency and brings in a seam option (to complement Yuvraj and the part-time spinners). Yusuf Pathan is unlucky to miss out, despite having the fourth best economy rate of the tournament. However, the side needs the balance of playing a seamer which helps Albie make the cut.

Bowlers

Picks: Lasith Malinga, Doug Bollinger, Rahul Sharma, Shane Warne
I went with two quicks and two spinners based on performances and ensuring balance in the bowling attack. Malinga has 24 wickets, the second highest wicket taker is at 13 - enough said. Doug Bollinger brings in variety with some left-arm pace, and he’s looked good with 11 wickets at 6.2 runs per over that put him third on the bowling efficiency charts.  Rahul Sharma has been outstanding with 13 wickets at just 5.16 runs per over, by far the best economy rate of the tournament. Shane Warne, with 11 wickets at 6.1 runs per over and with the experience he brings to the table, makes the final XI. The intangibles helped him trump Iqbal Abdulla, who is unfortunate to miss out. Warne though, brings in leadership experience and would be the perfect captain of the IPL XI.