IPL 2020: Ashish Nehra leaves out Virat Kohli from his best XI, says this MI batsman had more impact at number 3

IPL 2020: Since the conclusion of 13th season of the Indian Premier League, several former cricketers and pundits have come out and picked their best XI of the tournament. The latest to join the list is former Indian fast bowler Ashish Nehra. However, in a decision which may raise a few eyebrows, Nehra has left Indian skipper Virat Kohli out of his side and picked Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav over him.  

Nehra made it clear that his choices are solely based on the players’ performances in the recently concluded tournament. He clarified that the reason behind this selection is the impact Yadav in this year’s tournament. 

“At Number 3, I am not choosing Virat Kohli. It’s not that he has not scored runs but the impact runs were scored by Suryakumar Yadav, so I will keep him at Number 3,” said Nehra in a conversation with Star Sports. 

Nehra said his pick for openers would be the top scorer of the IPL 2020 with 670 runs, KL Rahul and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain David Warner. At number 4, he picked RCB’s AB de Villiers as “there is no T20 team completed without (him).” 

The next two batsmen in Nehra’ list were Mumbai Indians’ Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya at Number 5 and 6 positions. Kishan was the highest run-getter for his side, while Pandya played several crucial knocks in the death overs. Kishan was also Nehra’s choice for wicket-keeper, although he maintained that de Villiers could also do the job. 

The next two spots were taken by Player of the Tournament Jofra Archer and Rashid Khan, who according to Nehra can contribute with both bat and ball.  

“And then (Yuzvendra) Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah,” said Nehra. For the final slot, he presented two options, Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin. He clarified that if three pacers were required in a match, he would go with Shami or else play Ashwin. Nehra admitted that it was tough to leave out MS Dhoni but he made the decision since his performance was not up to the mark this season. 

Ashish Nehra’s best IPL playing XI: KL Rahul, David Warner, Suryakumar Yadav, AB de Villiers, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin / Mohammed Shami