Middle Order: Evin Lewis, Dwayne Smith
Due to the presence of Simmons and De Kock, Evin Lewis doesn't get to play as an opener in this XI. However, the West Indian performed brilliantly in the 2 years that he was part of the franchise, scoring 430 runs in 16 games. The explosive opener has registered two centuries in T20I cricket, but went unsold in the 2020 IPL auction.
Dwayne Smith excelled at the top of the order for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) alongside Brendon McCullum, but the dashing right-hander did play in the middle order when he was at MI and comes in at No. 4 in this XI.
The West Indian played 24 games for MI, and scored 620 runs and picked up 9 wickets. This included a stunning assault on CSK's Ben Hilfenhaus off the last three balls of the match to pull off a win, arguably the reason behind MS Dhoni's men signing Smith.
Spin-bowling all-rounders: JP Duminy, Sanath Jayasuriya
Given that no overseas spinner has played even a moderate number of games for MI in the IPL, JP Duminy and Sanath Jayasuriya have been entrusted with the responsibility of churning out a few overs in this all-time XI.
Duminy played 26 games for MI and scored 565 runs at a superb average of 37.67, with 5 fifties to his name as well. The South African also chipped in with 5 wickets at a miserly economy rate of 6.38.
Jayasuriya, on the other hand, has been pushed down from his opener's role simply because he has the experience of batting lower down the order, having done so during the initial part of his international career. The Sri Lankan's power and ability to put the foot on the pedal makes him an ideal lower-middle-order batsman, especially in a tournament such as the IPL.
And as mentioned above, Jayasuriya's handy left arm spin will lend balance to this XI.
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