The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was inarguably the most competitive season comprising the best T20 cricketers across the globe. Mumbai Indians (MI) played a dominant role throughout as they got their hands onto their 5th IPL title by beating Delhi Capitals (DC) and registered their first titular win in an even year.
There were some top-class exhibitions by both Indian and overseas cricketers that left the fans wanting for more as the tournament came to a closure. While many cricket experts have been picking their Best XI comprising the standard rule of four foreign players, Pommie Mbangwa, former Zimbabwean cricketer turned commentator, has picked an 11-member team comprising only overseas cricketers.
Mbangwa picks Eoin Morgan as the Skipper
Pommie Mbangwa picked the duo of David Warner and Quinton de Kock as the openers for his Overseas XI. Both Warner and de Kock scored in excess of 500 runs, with the former crossing the 500-run mark for the sixth straight year in IPL. He was re-appointed as SRH’s skipper and in spite of some initial troubles, Warner steered the Hyderabad-based franchise into the playoffs with dominant wins over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the last leg of the league stages, eventually losing out to DC in Qualifiers-2.
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Meanwhile, de Kock, who had a second consecutive 500-run season, emerged as the second-highest run-getter for MI with 4 fifties, averaging over 35, and a strike rate of 140-plus. At No 3, Pommie picked RCB’s star cricketer AB de Villiers who scored 454 runs with 5 fifties comprising a well fought43-ball 56 in the Eliminator versus SRH. Also, this was RCB’s first playoff appearance since 2016.
The former Zimbabwean cricketer picked Eoin Morgan at number 4 and appointed him as the skipper of his Overseas XI. Morgan took up the captaincy in midway IPL 2020 and snatched 3 wins in 7 matches. The likes of Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard have been roped in at number 5 and 6 to add strength to the middle-order. Buttler batted in the middle-order for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on four occasions in IPL 2020 and recorded scores of – 70*(48), 9(12), 22*(11), and 35(22).
Pollard was, yet again, highly effective for the Mumbai Indians as he clobbered 268 runs at an average of 53.60 and a jaw-dropping strike rate of 191.43. The Caribbean all-rounder bowled on a few occasions and scalped 4 wickets with his slower deliveries.
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At number 7, there’s Chris Morris who missed out on the earlier matches owing to injury but backed up with top-notch exhibitions from the moment he was picked in RCB’s playing XI. The Protea all-rounder was pretty economical this season as he scalped 11 wickets while averaging under 20 and an economy rate of 6.63.
Jofra Archer, who was adjudged as the ‘Most Valuable Player’ for picking 20 wickets and scoring 113 runs, is followed by spin sensation Rashid Khan and pacer Trent Boult who have picked 20 and 25 wickets respectively.. Kagiso Rabada was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament as he bagged his Purple-Cap with 30 wickets and ensured DC a spot in their maiden final appearance.
Pommie Mbangwa’s IPL 2020 Overseas XI
1. David Warner (SRH)
2. Quinton de Kock (MI)
3. AB de Villiers (RCB)
4. Eoin Morgan (KKR) (C)
5. Jos Buttler (RR)
6. Kieron Pollard (MI)
7. Chris Morris (RCB)
8. Jofra Archer (RR)
9. Rashid Khan (SRH)
10. Trent Boult (MI)
11. Kagiso Rabada (DC)
