2013 Champions League T20 best XI

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.