Champions League T20 2014: Early Prediction for Team of the Tournament

With the qualifying programme for the 2014 Champions League Twenty20 having got underway on Saturday, we attempt to predict what the Team of the Tournament may be after next month’s final in Bangalore.

So choosing from all 12 squads ahead of the kick-off for the actual competition on Wednesday, these are the 11 players that we expect to shine over the course of the next three weeks in India…

*All IPL stats are taken from www.iplt20.com

1. Dwayne Smith (Chennai Super Kings)

Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press

Big-hitting opener Dwayne Smith has a truly terrifying T20 strike rate of 133 and 124 for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and West Indies respectively, while the 31-year-old Bajan all-rounder is also a vastly under-rated performer when armed with a ball in his hand.

2. Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras)

Eranga Jayawardena/Associated Press

Elegant Cape Cobras opener Hashim Amla is a fine example of how you do not need explosive power in order to be successful in this form of the game, with the bearded South Africa Test-match skipper striking it at an impressive rate of 122 runs per 100 balls in T20Is.

3. Faf Du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings)

Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/Associated Press

In-form Super Kings and South Africa right-hander Faf du Plessis is currently ranked as the fifth-best batsman in the world by the International Cricket Council in this shorter format of the game after consistently shining for his country in T20I cricket during the past two years.

4. Brendon McCullum (Captain, Chennai Super Kings)

Bikas Das/Associated Press

Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum is one of the world’s most dangerous T20 batsmen, with the 32-year-old the only man to have ever scored two international tons, while his 158 from just 73 balls against Delhi to begin the inaugural IPL is the competition’s second highest score.

5. Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings)

Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press

Not only is India and Chennai middle-order batsman Suresh Raina the only player in history to have made over 400 runs in all seven IPL seasons, but the power left-hander is also the competition’s leading run scorer with 3325, including one century, at a strike rate of 142.03.

6. Robin Uthappa (Wicketkeeper, Kolkata Knight Riders)

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Kolkata stumper Robin Uthappa finished as the leading IPL run scorer this year after compiling an aggregate of 660 at a stunning strike rate of 137—a record that included eight successive knocks of 40 or more as the 28-year-old’s franchise won the tournament in June.

7. Glenn Maxwell (Kings XI Punjab)

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Hugely destructive Kings XI Punjab all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was awarded Player of the IPL this season after the right-handed Victorian hit the ball to all parts on his way to making 552 runs in 16 innings at a mind-boggling strike rate of 187, including a record for the year of 36 sixes.

8. Ravichandran Ashwin (Chennai Super Kings)

Saurabh Das/Associated Press

Tall India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is not currently rated by the ICC as the fifth-best bowler in the world for nothing, with the Chennai tweaker one of the hardest players to score off in T20 cricket, as a career economy rate of only 6.53 runs per over (RPO) in the IPL since 2009 shows.

9. Mitchell Johnson (Kings XI Punjab)

Morne de Klerk/Getty Images

It would be no surprise if feared paceman Mitchell Johnson continued his stunning recent form with the ball for Australia in this competition, especially if the left-armer displays the same performance levels—24 scalps in 17 games—that helped the Mumbai Indians win the 2013 IPL.

10. Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Bikas Das/Associated Press

Knight Riders off-spinner Sunil Narine—ranked the second-best T20I bowler in the world by the ICC at present—is incredibly hard to score off in this format of the game, with the 2012 Player of the IPL going at 5.7 and 5.77 RPO for West Indies and his franchise respectively.

11. Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians)

Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press

Mumbai’s Lasith Malinga has taken 119 wickets in the IPL while maintaining an impressive economy rate of only 6.53 RPO. He won the Purple Cap in 2011 after picking up 28 scalps, and the fast bowler also led Sri Lanka to victory in the final of this year’s World T20.

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