Hardik Pandya has named MS Dhoni and not Rohit Sharma, his Mumbai Indians captain, as the skipper of his all-time Indian Premier League XI. Pandya, who made his IPL debut in 2015, has played for the Mumbai-based franchise since and Sharma has led the side in all these seasons.

Seasoned India all-rounder Hardik Pandya made his Indian Premier League debut playing for the Mumbai Indians in the 2015 edition. He soon became a recognized player and made his ODI debut for India in the following year. While Rohit Sharma has been his Mumbai Indians captain from the start, it was under MS Dhoni’s leadership that Pandya made his international debut.

Now as the thirteenth edition of the IPL still remains undecided, the 26-year-old all-rounder named his all-time preferred IPL XI. In his team, he named Dhoni as the captain and wicketkeeper while Rohit Sharma found a place as one of the openers. As Sharma’s partner, Windies T20 giant Chris Gayle was named. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Suresh Raina make up the top order.

After Dhoni, Pandya named himself to claim the seventh spot. Further on, Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan are the spinners in his XI and Pandya’s Mumbai Indians teammates Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga are the pacers in the squad.

Hardik Pandya’s all-time IPL XI: Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Hardik Pandya, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga.