cricket

Updated: Apr 07, 2020 17:39 IST

Former Australia cricketer Shane Warne picked his Indian Premier League (IPL) XI, featuring only Indians, during a live video session on a popular social media platform Instagram. With no international or domestic cricket going on due to coronavirus pandemic, former and current cricket stars are keeping themselves busy by engaging with fans on social media.

Warne, who led Rajasthan Royals to the historic first-ever title in 2008, did the tough job to list his IPL XI, featuring players from just the host nation.

Rohit Sharma and Virender Sehwag have been named as openers in the side as Warne went for firepower upfront. Virat Kohli takes up his favourite number three position while Yuvraj Singh comes at number four.

Hard-hitting batsmen Yusuf Pathan comes in at number five as Warne heaped praise on his former Royal’s teammate. “Yusuf scored one of the best hundreds against Mumbai Indians and he also played a great knock in the IPL final in 2008,” he said in the video.

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Warne referred to Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the finisher of the side while Ravindra Jadeja was asked to fill in as the designated all-rounder.

Jadeja along with Harbhajan Singh offer good variety of spin bowling, not to forget Yusuf and Yuvraj, who had a knack of picking crucial wickets.

Warne surprisingly included Siddharth Trivedi and Munaf Patel alongside Zaheer Khan in his side. Both Trivedi and Munaf played with Warne at Rajasthan Royals during their title-winning campaign and that might have tipped the scale in their favour.

Warne’s all-India IPL XI: Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Siddharth Trivedi, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan