Cricket365's Team of the CLT20

Cricket365
October 6, 2013

Ajinkya Rahane dominated at the top of the order and Jimmy Neesham made for a surprising backbone, while Pravin Tambe showed that age is just a number in the bowling department.

1. Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan Royals) Close, but no: Shikhar Dhawan (Sunrisers Hyderabad) Big match temperament of the highest order served the hard-hitting opener very well through the business end of the tournament, and all but booked the 2013 CLT20's top run-scorer a berth in India's squad for next year's World Twenty20.

2. Dwayne Smith (Mumbai Indians) Close, but no: Henry Davids (Titans) Mumbai's opening combination has long been a vessel for rotation, but this year found a solid constant in Smith, who was deservedly named Player of the Series. His ability to adjust to the conditions at the Feroz Shah Kotla was instrumental.

3. Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings) Close, but no: Evin Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago) Murali Vijay's poor stretch of form often saw Raina at the crease sooner than ideal, with the cool, calm and collection of the talented left-hander rising to challenge on almost every occasion. His part-time spin, too, had its place.

4. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians, captain) Close, but no: Rahul Dravid (Rajasthan Royals) Tipped as a future national captain, Sharma bolstered his credentials with a title-winning campaign. His management of a team lined with veterans, the inexperienced and a handful of overseas recruits was exemplary.

5. Jimmy Neesham (Otago Volts) Close, but no: Ryan ten Doeschate (Otago Volts) From the qualifying precursor to the tournament proper, the all-rounder maintained a superb stretch of form with bat and ball – and showed exactly what the national selectors see in him ahead of a testing tour of Bangladesh.

6. Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals, wicketkeeper) Close, but no: Parthiv Patel (Sunrisers Hyderabad) Samson wasn't the Royals' first-choice wicketkeeper throughout, but was strong enough to be chosen as a specialist batsman too – and duly obliged, particularly in the final. His quickfire vigil, however, went in vain.

7. Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings) Close, but no: Kevon Cooper (Rajasthan Royals) The consummate professional, the West Indian all-rounder again looked after the needs of his Indian franchise to a lengthy extent. The ball, rather than the bat, was his more successful weapon of choice this time.

8. Ian Butler (Otago Volts) Close, but no: Ravi Rampaul (Trinidad and Tobago) Conditions across India were far from conducive for seamers, but the experienced Butler extracted threatening carry and zippy pace – for the most part. The right-armer was largely the Yin to left-armer Neil Wagner's Yang.

9. Sunil Narine (Trinidad and Tobago) Close, but no: Pragyan Ojha (Mumbai Indians) Top of the pile in the International Cricket Council's rankings for Twenty20 International bowlers, the spinner lived up to his billing at domestic level, and earned a lucrative contract with the Cape Cobras for it.

10. Pravin Tambe (Rajasthan Royals) Close, but no: Nick Beard (Otago Volts) A mere handful of days before his 42nd birthday, the talented leg-spinner proved age, indeed, is just a number. What started with promise against the Lions, continued with success against Chennai, and ended in disappointment against Mumbai for the tourney's top wicket-taker.

11. Nathan Coulter-Nile (Mumbai Indians) Close, but no: Marchant de Lange (Titans) Lumped with Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell, Coulter-Nile had a lot to prove in holding up his third of the Australian trinity at Mumbai – and did so with maturity beyond his 25 years. That spell against Trindiad and Tobago almost single-handedly put the eventual champions in the final.