IPL 2014: The best XI

Unlike much blemished previous edition which was more about controversies and shame, this years IPL has been performance heavy. Excellent matches, thrilling finishes, unbelievable catches and breathtaking batting performances have been the highlights of IPL 7.Here, we select an IPL XI,comprising of best performers from this season.This is based on the performance of players in this season only. Same rules areapplied, 4 overseas players, no less no more, shall be included.The team is in batting order:

#1 Dwayne Smith

IPL 2013 was good for Smith, IPL 2014 just turned out to be phenomenal. He has been at his aggressive best. This Caribbean slogger has sent the ball to all corners of the stadium for the entirety of the tournament.

With 559 runs to to his name and the ability to hit sixes at will, he is someone whom every team would love to have at the top.

#2 Robin Uthappa

Oh My God! Uthappa, you beauty!

655 runs in 16 matches, 10 consecutive scores of 40 and above. Making and breaking records since last month. Words are not enough to praise this lad’s sincerity in the nets and performance on the ground. He has been the best Indian batsman by quite a distance this season.

#3 Suresh Raina

This was a tough call for me. There are all kinds of performers who made it big for their teams from the number three spot.

At number 3, Raina is the one I am going with. He is an absolute game changer. He can hit the ball to any part of the ground and is a champion of crunch, pressure situations.

523 runs this season, some unbelievable batting, the one that just happened while I was writing this piece (87 from 25 balls), there are many such knocks in history books. He is good, very good.

#4 Glenn Maxwell

Number 4 is given to the best batsman available in the team. Glenn Maxwell for me has been the best batsman of the tournament. You would need more than just words to describe how he became “Glenndeep Singh Maxwell” in just one season. There was a reason that a guy like Shaun Marsh had to warm benches at his expense.

552 runs and 36 sixes later, Maxwell makes it to the most important position in the team.

#5 J P Duminy

An extremely useful batsman, this Protea was the only life saver for an otherwise awful Delhi Daredevils team.Number 5 needs a very busy player who doesnt need much breath to live on. Even if the starlets up the order fail, he can come in and bringthings back to normal.

With 20 sixes in 14 outings at a strike rate of 134, Duminy can be a nightmare for bowlers.

#6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk)

If you want a make a team which can win big games, you need a captain who has been there, done that!This man here, can feature in any list of cricket, past, present or future for what he has achieved. He is known for being the best skipper in the world, for winning the biggest trophie.

But, Dhoni is arguably the greatest, most powerful finisher alive in the world today. No one and absolutely no one can touch him when he gets going.

As a wicket keeper, he is our country’s greatest find in history, and as a skipper, the most successful.

#7 Akshar Patel

Akshar Patel was an unknown entity when the season started. By the end of the tournament, he has become a household name and also finds him in the Indian team for the ODI tour of Bangladesh next month.

Kings XI Punjab’s purchases were praised at the auction in February, but a lot of critics pointed out to the lack of a world-class spinner in their ranks. KXIP coach Sanjay Bangar knew what he was upto and unleashed young Akshar Patel, who has been a revelation with both bat and ball.

#8 Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine is one, who has paid back every single penny that his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders with his performance. It is fair to say that there is no better spinner in the world in T20 cricket right now.

20 wickets this season and a regular renter of the Purple Cap, he is one overseas player every team would die to have.

#9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Just when one thought he was losing his grip over things with some ordinary bowling in Indian colours, Bhuvneshwar Kumar just spread a pin drop silence across the room full of his critics.

With 20 wickets this season and the long trail of international experience behind him, Kumar is a no-brainer to lead the bowling in this line-up.

#10 Mohit Sharma

23 wickets in 16 matches, the current holder of the Purple Cap, a sure shot match winner with over 40 wickets in just 2 seasons, this youngster brings joy to fans of fast bowling. He is tall, strong and fit and deserves a place on the team.

#11 Sandeep Sharma

A revelation this season in the IPL, Sandeep Sharma has been a key factor for Kings XI Punjab’s recent successful run.

Part of the U19 World Cup winning team in 2012, this bowler from Punjab is good. With 18 wickets in 11 matches, Sharma has been one of the most impressive aspects of this season. He along with Narine, Mohit Sharma and Bhuvi can chastise any batting line up in the world.