No Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli; Mahela Jayawardena’s Names First 5 Picks of Dream T20 Team

Mumbai: Times have not been good for Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardena with MI out of the playoffs race in IPL 2022. Despite the bad times, Jayawardena picked five players from the current era he feels would be his first five picks for dream T20 team. It was rather surprising to see the names of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma missing as Jasprit Bumrah was the only Indian he picked in his team.

Hailing Bumrah, Jayawardena said that what is most impressive about the MI speedster is his ability to bowl at any stage.

“Jasprit Bumrah is a guy I have always admired as he is capable of bowling in different phases of an innings,” Jayawardena told ICC. “He is another wicket-taking option and, when you need guys to close an innings off, there is no one better than Jasprit Bumrah,” he added.

He picked two Pakistani cricketers in his list. Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi made it to the coveted list.

“He had a great World Cup last year, bowls very well with the new ball and is more than capable of getting some swing early too. He is a wicket taking option too that bowls very well at the death as well, so can be considered a good attacking option,” he said on Shaheen Afridi.

“I know he does often open the batting for Pakistan, but I think he can bat in that middle order. He is a good player of spin and a very busy player,” Jayawardena said while praising Rizwan.

The other two players in his list are Rashid Khan and Jos Buttler.