Shakib Al Hasan's all-time IPL XI

Shakib Al Hasan, the star Bangladesh all-rounder, has chosen his all-time IPL XI. AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, both explosive hitters, are among the notable names absent from Shakib’s all-time IPL XI. That is with the IPL 2021 tournament still going on and the players being part of their respective franchises.

A breakdown of the team made by the Bangladeshi all-rounder

The 34-year-old chose Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) David Warner as openers in an interview with Sportskeeda. The middle-order of Shakib’s ideal IPL XI includes Virat Kohli (RCB), Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings), MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings), and KL Rahul (Punjab Kings). He picked Dhoni as the team’s captain and wicketkeeper, for his brilliant live cricket awareness.

Shakib Al Hasan’s all-time IPL XI is a bit different

Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (captain and wk), KL Rahul, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Shakib’s all-time IPL XI includes Rohit Sharma, the most successful skipper with five IPL titles, and Warner, the most prolific international hitter. Kohli is also the first hitter in T20 league history to amass more than 6000 runs, while Dhoni has led CSK to three IPL victories.

Shakib, who will play for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2021, believes that Bangladesh would benefit from the experience of participating in the event ahead of the T20 World Cup. The UAE will host the second part of the IPL 2021, which will be followed by the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman.

Shakib told ESPNcricinfo that he will be able to share his expertise playing in the IPL in the UAE with the rest of the national team ahead of the T20 World Cup. He explained:

“I am optimistic that the IPL will benefit everyone. We’ll spend time in such conditions and play matches as well. Mustafiz (Mustafizur Rahman) and I can tell the rest of the team about our experience. We will figure out what the other players are thinking about the World Cup and relay that information to our guys.”

Mustafizur is a member of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2021 season. On September 21, the second half of the T20 competition began and has been in full flow.

Who will win the IPL 2021 tournament as the drama continues?

The current tournament has seen its fair share of ups and downs. However, it is still not certain which four teams will qualify for the playoffs. The business end of the season has just picked up a notch and the teams are trying to get as many points as possible. That is to ensure that they make it to the playoffs of the IPL 2021 tournament.

No team or player wants to miss out on this chance to shine. It could impact their chances of making it to the Indian team. A lot of top player will want to regain their form as well. That will be a concern ahead of the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman later this year. It will be interesting to see how the players that are still active perform.

A lot could depend on the form that they have, heading into the major competition that is coming up. Virat Kohli is keen to win an international trophy, as this could be his final chance to do so as a T20 skipper. It will be his aim to deliver and go out with a bang that is indeed if he does hang up his captaincy boots in the shortest format of the game. Further, this will be his final season as the RCB skipper too and Kohli will want to will IPL 2021 and prove a point for sure.