2013 Champions League T20 best XI

Ajinkya Rahane

Over the past twenty days, there has been some non-stop entertainment for the cricket fans around the world. Over 230 sixes were scored in 29 matches, more than 250 wickets fell in the mean time and the world saw the emergence of some promising talents like Jimmy Neesham and Evin Lewis.

There were a total of 12 teams gunning for glory out of which Mumbai Indians were crowned as the champions by beating Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs in the finals.

This tournament also saw two legendary batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid playing their last game of their careers wearing a coloured jersey.

The league had a total of 182 players representing their respective sides. Out of the 182, we bring you twelve top performers who earned themselves a spot in the CLT20 XI.

The team:

1. Dwayne Smith (Mumbai Indians)

The strongly built man from Barbados had a terrific CLT20 for Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai opener made sure his team used the field restrictions well in almost all matches. He gave Mumbai innings a great start time and time again and thereby setting the platform for Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard to go after the bowlers from the word go.

In the tournament, he has scored 233 runs in 5 innings at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 143 runs per 100 balls. He also took some crucial catches in the field.

In simple words, whenever Dwayne Smith started the Mumbai innings with a bang, the team did well. He was also adjudged the Player of the tournament.

2. Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan Royals)

Once again, the young Rajasthan Royals opener proved that T20 is not about slogging and pinch hitting, even some classical Test match shots will fetch you runs.

He led the Royals batting line up with more responsibilities and finished the tournament with 288 runs under his belt with an average of 58 striking at 119 runs per 100 balls.

He held the Royals innings together and made sure that his side was in the driver’s seat in each and every game. He defined the term consistency by scoring 4 consecutive fifties in 6 innings in the CLT20.

He was also the winner of the “Golden Bat” award that is awarded to the leading run scorer of the tournament. Despite these consistent performances, he could not help Royals cross the line in the finals.

3. Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings)

When you form a T20 XI, it is very difficult to leave out this promising young batsman from it. Even though Chennai Super Kings failed to reach the finals, this man had a fantastic tournament.

After the fall of an early wicket (most of the times it was Murali Vijay) he made sure that there was no further hiccups in their innings. He played fearless cricket over the past two weeks and took CSK to the semis.

He played a crucial innings in the semis against the Royals but didn’t get the kind of support he would have hoped for from the other end. He also contained the flow of runs when CSK’s spinners Jadeja and Ashwin didn’t make much impact with the ball.

With an average of 45 in the tournament, he scored 221 runs for his team at a strike rate of 145.

4. Rohit Sharma (Captain, Mumbai Indians)

Captain Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma showed his compatriots how to lead a team by example. He led Mumbai to score big in almost every game with his breath taking shots.

He was not all about power hitting but used his strengths to the maximum effect. All his innings contained a mixture of timing, placement and sheer elegance.

When Mumbai needed to score 150 runs off 13.2 overs to reach the semis, he took charge, scored a fighting 51 off just 23 balls and took his team home. Even in the finals, he scored a quick fire 33 that set the platform for Glenn Maxwell to finish the innings with a bang. He was also brilliant as a skipper as he rotated his bowlers around.

He finished the tournament with 173 runs with an astonishing strike rate of 152 and an average of 44.

He is also named the captain of our CLT20 XI.

5. Misbah-ul-Haq (Faisalabad Wolves)

Two things that never changes in Misbah-ul-Haq’s career: The first is “The Sun rising early in the morning” and the other one is “Misbah walking to the crease when his team is struggling at 15-3 and he takes them to a commendable position in the end”. Irrespective of the team he plays for, this has been his fate over the last 2-3 years.

He led his side Faisalabad Wolves into the qualifiers of the tournament. It was like a one man army as Misbah scored 195 runs in just 3 innings at a brisk pace at 146 runs per 100 balls.

He got out only once in the 3 matches and scored 13 sixes which was the maximum in the tournament with the second best was MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma with 10 sixes from 5 matches each.

The curious case of Misbah is that, out of the 410 runs scored by Wolves in the tournament, Misbah alone accounted for 195 with his fellow batsmen along with extras scored a combined total of 215.

6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicket Keeper, Chennai Super Kings)

Wicket Keeper MS Dhoni

The two things that went in favour of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to book a place in the XI are: 1. He is a wicket keeper 2. He is the best in the world when it comes to finishing the innings.

Out of the 5 innings he had played in the tournament, he had scored a partly 111 runs at an average of 38. What makes his performance stand out is the rate at which he scored these runs. He scored at a rate of 175 runs off100 balls that included 10 huge sixes and just four fours.

Against Sunrisers, he made their bowlers look like school children as he scored a devastating knock of 63 off just 19 balls. He was severe against Thisara Perera as he scored 34 runs in a single Perera over. He was also good behind the stumps.

7. Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings)

Dwayne Bravo takes his place in the side as a fast bowling all rounder. He didn’t have a great tournament with the bat. But with the ball in his hands, he delivered the goods for Chennai Super Kings.

He scored 49 runs at an average of 17 and took 7 wickets with an economy of 8 in the five matches he had played. He also kept things tight in the slog overs with his variations. He also delivered with his fielding skills for his team.

8. Jimmy Neesham (Otago Volts)

Many cricket fans would not have heard his name before the start of the CLT20 began. Since then he has been a revelation for his side Otago Volts.

He starred for the Volts both with the bat and the ball and almost led his team his team single handedly. In all the matches, he was just increasing his price for the next year’s IPL auction.

With the bat, he scored 145 runs at an average of 73 and a strike rate of 179. He didn’t disappoint with the ball either as he picked up 6 wickets with an economy of 7.30. He single handedly won the game against Highveld Lions that went into the super over.

But his heroics weren’t enough for the Volts to make it to the last four. Don’t be surprised if he goes to a good price in the 2014 IPL auctions.

9. Nathan Coulter-Nile (Mumbai Indians)

Champions Mumbai Indians went into the tournament without their star bowler Lasith Malinga. But once the tournament started, they didn’t feel his absence because Coulter-Nile took charge in Slinga’s absence.

He picked up 6 wickets in the 19 overs he bowled in the tournament. He was quite economical as his economy was just over 6 in this year’s CLT20.

It was difficult to hit him through the line as checked the run flow in the slog overs. The credits should be given to his skipper for using Coulter Nile well throughout the tournament. He also chipped in with some quickly scored runs towards the end.

10. Sunil Narine (Trinidad and Tobago)

Sunil Narine

One cannot simply miss out Sunil Narine while formulating his own T20 XI. In the absence of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Kevon Cooper, he single handedly took Trinidad and Tobago into the semis with some tight bowling.

As the batsmen struggled to crack his mystery, he was not given enough support from the other end. Batsmen wisely saw off Narine before taking the attack to other bowlers.

He was the second highest wicket taker in the tournament with 11 scalps under his name with an impressive economy of 4.30 and an average of 7.8 runs per each wicket.

He was at his magical best in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad in which he took 4 wickets giving away just 9 runs in his 4 overs just for a losing cause.

11. Pravin Tambe (Rajasthan Royals)

This has been the story of the tournament. A soon to be 42 year old leg spinner from Mumbai came into the limelight for the first time in his dim career.

Having not played a single first class game in his 20 year old career, Pravin Tambe emerged to the cricketing world aftermath his heroics in the 2013 CLT20.

If Narine picked up 11 wickets at an economy of 4.30, Tambe bettered him by picking 12 wickets at an unbelievable economy of 4.10 and an average of 6.5 runs per each wicket.

What makes his performance so special is that he didn’t concede a single six in the 19 overs he bowled throughout the tournament. He once again proved that even in T20’s there is life for leg spinners and old war horses.

12th Man: Evin Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago)

Trinidad and Tobago have always been a surprise package in CLT20’s. New stars emerge out of their squad in CLT20. Stars like Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine were born in the previous edition of CLT20.

This time it’s the turn of T&T opener Evin Lewis who is also the 12^th man in our CLT20 XI. The 21 year old had a terrific tournament in which he scored 211 runs at an average of 43 with a strike rate of 142 runs per 100 balls.

He got Trinidad innings off to a flier in every match they played. No wonder if he follows the footsteps of Pollard and Narine in the future.

With that we conclude our CLT20 line up.

DISCLAIMER: This is only the author’s views and doesn’t necessarily represent the views of the website.