Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has picked his best XI of IPL 2024, but there was no place for SRH openers – Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. KKR lifted their third IPL title after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.
Aakash Chopra picked Sunil Narine for his consistent performances with both bat and ball. The southpaw scored 488 runs in 14 matches of IPL 2024 at an average of 34.86 and a blistering strike rate of 180.74. Furthermore, Narine scalped 17 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 21.65 and a parsimonious economy rate of 6.69.
“There is no doubt about one person being in this team, that’s Sunil Narine. In batting, he scored runs, which includes a century. Consistency’s name became Sunil Narine in the first half of the tournament and he has bowled strongly as well. I think Sunil Narine will be there in all teams,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra picked Virat Kohli as Narine’s opening partner. Kohli amassed 741 runs in 15 matches of IPL 2024 at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69 and played an instrumental role in taking RCB to the playoffs.
“His partner will be India’s Virat Kohli. Firstly, he is the Orange Cap winner, and secondly, how well he has played. You can check the strike rate, runs, century, quality, intent, passion or aggression – it was Kohli’s Virat season this year,” the former India opener added.
The renowned commentator picked Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag for the number three and four positions respectively. Samson scored 531 runs in 15 matches at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.47 in IPL 2024 whereas Parag scored 573 runs in 14 innings.
“I have given the No. 3 spot to Sanju Samson. He was batting at No. 3 and scored a lot of runs. One of his most consistent seasons which you discuss about and praise. Sanju Samson is also my team’s keeper. He has given match-winning performances as well,” he elaborated.
“At No. 4, I have given a place to his teammate Riyan Parag. Suryakumar Yadav’s name also came to my mind here but I am going with Riyan. He has given match-winning performances and has played extremely well as an uncapped Indian. It was his breakthrough season,” the former KKR player added.
Chopra picked Shivam Dube and Nicholas Pooran to complete his top six in his best XI team.
“I am keeping Shivam Dube at No. 5. There were discussions about whether he should be kept, whether Venkatesh Iyer or Nitish Reddy’s name can come here. I am going with Shivam Dube because he has batted at a different level. Till the time he wasn’t selected for India, he was destroying the opposition,” he explained.
“After that, I have Nicholas Pooran. It could have been Pooran or Heinrich Klaasen but I have gone towards Pooran because firstly, I get a left-hander. His batting has been incredible, that is true for Heinrich Klaasen as well but I am still going with Nicholas Pooran,” the reputed commentator added.
Chopra picked Andre Russell as the seam-bowling all-rounder and picked SRH captain Pat Cummins as the leader of the team. Russell picked 19 wickets in 15 matches whereas Cummins bagged 18 scalps in 16 games.
