Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has picked his dream T20 team, comprising of four Indian players including star duo of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter also picked three Indians – MS Dhoni, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Mayank Yadav – as his backups.

At the top of the order, de Villiers paired Kohli with Australia’s Travis Head. Rishabh Pant and Cameron Green were his other picks in the top-order.

In the middle, de Villiers put his former South Africa teammates Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller as his two finishers. Klaasen made history recently as he became the most expensive retention in the history of IPL, with SRH splashing Rs 23 crore to stop him from entering the auction.

In the bowling department, de Villiers picked two spinners — Rashid Khan and Sunil Narine — and three pacers — Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kagiso Rabada.

He also explained the reason behind snubbing Chahal from the playing XI and why he picked Rashid ahead of him.

“I love the guy (Rashid). He is your magical bowler. You bring him on when the game is on the line in those middle overs. He can get you 2-3 (wickets) in no time, and you can also hold the bat. He can win you the game with a bat in hand as well. Great on the field, great attitude towards the game,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

“He’s (Chahal) not in the main side because he doesn’t bat as strong, maybe not as strong in the field as a Rashid Khan. So, Rashid still tips him there only by a small margin though. But there’s no better bowler in the world as a backup other than Yuzi Chahal,” he added.

AB de Villiers’ dream T20 team

Virat Kohli, Travis Head, Rishabh Pant (wk), Cameron Green, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah.

Reserves: MS Dhoni, Mayank Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal