'I look at the impact that a player has made'- Anil Kumble makes bold choice between AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni for All-time Indian T20 League XI

MS Dhoni ABD Anil Kumble

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is widely considered one of the most exciting and competitive cricket leagues in the world, and the players who have graced the field in the tournament have become legends in their own right. Ahead of the 2023 IPL season, a group of former stars, including Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Scott Styris, Parthiv Patel, Robin Uthappa, and Anil Kumble, gathered to select an all-time IPL XI in a two-part episode of "Legends Lounge" on JioCinema.

The group had a heated discussion and ultimately picked Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle as the openers. Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma were picked as the No.3 and No.4 respectively. On the question of No.5 and No.6, the players were divided on who to pick as the best fit. While most of the group picked AB De Villiers and MS Dhoni, legendary India spinner Kumble surprised everyone by choosing Dhoni over De Villiers for the No.5 slot and West Indies' Kieron Pollard for the No.6 slot.

Kumble stated that he considered the impact the particular player had in terms of winning matches from difficult positions and titles while making his choices. He argued that Dhoni's captaincy and wicket-keeping skills made him a better fit than De Villiers. Patel also picked Dhoni at No.5 but went ahead with Windies' power-hitter Andre Russel at No.6.

I looked at titles as well- Anil Kumble

“It is very difficult to get AB de Villiers in my team because MS Dhoni comes in at five as captain and wicketkeeper 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,” said Kumble.

Hardik Pandya was picked as the all-rounder at No.7, while West Indies' mystery-spinner Sunil Narine made the cut at No.8. India's Yuzvendra Chahal got picked as the second spinner at No.9, and Jasprit Bumrah and Sri Lanka legend Lasith Malinga were the consensus choices for No.10 and No.11 respectively.