Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble does not include AB de Villiers in this IPL XI

Former Indian skipper and spin legend Anil Kumble says that it will be very difficult for him to pick AB de Villiers over MS Dhoni. He also gave an explanation…

By Swagata Choudhury

April 19, 2023

2 min read

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Former Indian skipper and spin legend Anil Kumble says that it will be very difficult for him to pick AB de Villiers over MS Dhoni. He also gave an explanation for choosing the former Indian skipper over him.

Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble does not include AB de Villiers in this IPL XI

The former South African skipper has been one of the best batters in the Indian Premier League since its inauguration. He has been associated with RCB in the league and under him, the franchise reached new heights. Prior to IPL 2023, the Jio Cinema is coming up with “Legends Lounge” which features the top players of this league. Players like Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Scott Styris, Parthiv Patel, Robin Uthappa, and Anil Kumble will be picking up participants for the tournament.

For the fifth position, a dilemma was faced between the two batters. One was CSK’s skipper MS Dhoni and the other one was RCB’s dependable batter AB de Villiers. Anil Kumble preferred CSK’s heartbeat over AB de Villiers. According to him –“It is very difficult to get AB de Villiers in my team because MS Dhoni comes in at five as captain and wicket-keeper and Pollard at six. I would look at the impact the particular player has had at No. 6 in terms of winning matches from difficult positions and of course, titles is something that I looked at as well, at No. 6”

De Villiers was the sixth-highest run-scorer in IPL, He mustered a total of 5,162 runs and his highest score in an. single innings was 133. He’s also regarded as one of the best batters that the sport has ever seen. Initially, CSK’s all-rounder Dwane Bravo and KKR’s player Sunil Narine were chosen for the No.7 and No.8 spot. However, Bravo got replaced by Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga.

It’s still a shocking fact that Virat Kohli, couldn’t make it to the final team. He has the highest runs in a single season of IPL (973).