Ricky Ponting picks Delhi star, two ex-IPL winners for his top BBL team of all-time

With the BBL 2020 in full swing, Cricket Australia has a challenge for their fans. The board has invited all BBL fans to assemble their greatest all-time BBL teams, no holds barred, to celebrate ten successful seasons of the tournament. CA has also enlisted the services of an Australian great himself - Ricky Ponting - to encourage the public and to give them some pointers on what a GOAT of BBL team would look like. Here's who made the cut to feature in the ex-Aussie skipper's side. 

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Ricky Ponting's all-time greatest BBL XI

Legendary Aussie player, coach and now commentator, Ricky Ponting picked his best team from the history of the Big Bash League. Unlike the public version of the challenge, Ponting was asked to pick his team under the older BBL rules that allowed just two international players to play for the side in any given game. Choosing to put his trust in the numbers, Ponting picked his team purely on the basis of stats.

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While there are a few surprises in his XI - most notably the exclusion of the tournament's highest scorer Chris Lynn - there can't be very many complaints with the side. It is unsurprising to see that some big names from the list, like Ponting's choice for No.1 and captain, Aaron Finch, his all-rounders, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis and his spinners of choice, Rashid Khan and Lasith Malinga are also prominent players of their respective IPL teams. Here's how his XI lines up: 

Openers: Aaron Finch (C) and Shaun Marsh

The current Renegades squad members are BBL veterans, with 112 matches and 4136 runs between them.

Numbers 3 and 4: Brad Hodge and Glenn Maxwell

Hodge was one of the earliest stars of the BBL and, playing from its most initial years, ended his career there with 50 matches and 1412 runs at an SR of 134.35. Maxwell has been on a roll since his terrible outing at the IPL this season. With a strike rate of 150.62 and 1830 runs from his 71 matches, his inclusion in this list is no surprise.

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Numbers 5, 6 and 7: George Bailey, Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade (WK)

Ponting picked his ex-Hurricanes teammate, Bailey, for his high strike rate in the death, while adding Stoinis for some of the power-hitting skills he showed us in the IPL this year and his ability to bat at most spots. Meanwhile, Wade found a spot over Alex Carey as the choice keeper for his better finishing abilities.  

Both of Ponting's international allowances feature in his bowling lineup of Sean Abbott, Rashid Khan, Ben Laughlin and Lasith Malinga. Abbott's '91' lifetime wickets and his "gun" fielding make him Ponting's first pace bowling option. Laughlin is the BBL's highest wicket-taker, with 110 scalps to his name, while Rashid and Malinga's reputations as economical, wicket-taking options are well known. 

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Image Credits: Melbourne Stars and AP