Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar has his best XI of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The fifteenth season of the cash-rich league was completed on Sunday, with Gujarat Titans (GT) defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the high-voltage final to win the prestigious trophy.
Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Tendulkar said that he has chosen the eleven only on the basis of the players’ performances this season, and it has nothing to do with players’ reputations or past performances.
“It’s got nothing to do with players’ reputation or their past performances. It is purely based on their performances this season and what they have been able to achieve this season,” said Tendulkar.
The Mumbaikar picked Hardik Pandya as the captain of his team. Pandya led Gujarat to the epic title victory in their maiden season, impressing one and all with his superior captaincy. Tendulkar also heaped praises on Pandya, stating his ‘clear mind’ was the reason why the star all-rounder was able to taste the success this year.
“Hardik was the standout captain this season. He was clear in his mind, proactive. I always say that don’t regret, celebrate. If you are able to celebrate, it means the captain is outsmarting the opposition, and that is what Hardik did,” added Tendulkar.
The former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper went with Jos Buttler and Shikhar Dhawan as openers as he wanted a left-right combination at the top. Tendulkar reckoned Buttler was the most dangerous batter in the IPL 2022. Notably, Buttler won the orange cap as he finished IPL 2022 with jaw-dropping 863 runs to his name, including four centuries.
“He (Shikhar Dhawan) accelerates beautifully and keeps rotating the strike. A left hander is always handy, and Shikhar’s experience will also come useful. What a season he (Jos Buttler) has had. Fabulous. I can’t see any player more dangerous than him in this IPL. There are a couple, but when Buttler gets going, not many can catch up,” mentioned Tendulkar.
For the middle and lower middle-order, Tendulkar went with the likes of KL Rahul, Pandya, David Miller, Liam Livingstone and Dinesh Karthik. All the mentioned players have had a major impact with their respective performances. While Rahul (616 runs), Pandya (487 runs), Miller (481 runs) were in the top-10 leading run getters’ list, Livingstone (437 runs at 182.08) and Karthik (330 runs at 183.33) were on the list of top-5 batters with highest strike rates this season.
Tendulkar picked Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal as spin pair among the bowlers, while he went with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami for the pacers. Notably, Chahal won the purple cap this year after finishing with 27 wickets to his name in 17 matches. Similarly, Shami (20), Rashid (19) and Bumrah (15) have also had a fruitful season with the ball.
Here is Sachin Tendulkar’s IPL 2022 XI:
Jos Buttler, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (captain), David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Dinesh Karthik, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.