World Cup XI
What a world cup it has been! And it couldn’t have ended in a better way. It was a World Cup filled with some stellar performances, some unfortunate moments, some funny moments and what not!
Well now is the time for me to share my World Cup XI from this edition.
#1 Rohit Sharma- 5 centuries in a single World Cup. I don’t think it requires more explanation than that. He was in the form of his life in this World Cup scoring 648 runs at an average of 81. Many have criticised his inconsistency in scoring fifties, it was either a hundred or a failure. But he defied all odds and scored hundreds for fun. I didn’t see a reason to exclude him from this XI.
#2 Jason Roy- His numbers may not do justice to what he has actually done in this World Cup for the eventual winners but he has been magnificent. Battling through a hamstring niggle, he scored 443 runs in just 7 innings at an average of 63.29. Many would have gone for David Warner for this position but I feel that his contribution has been invaluable.
#3 Kane Williamson- What a captain he is! I wouldn’t hesitate to put him in that team just based on his captaincy but considering that he scored 578 runs as well, he cannot be left out. There has been no player as impactful as him in this edition of the World Cup.
#4 Joe Root- Though he may have tailed off a bit in the later part of the tournament but still he has been integral at the №3 position for England. His part time off-breaks also proved to be handy for Morgan. With 556 runs next to his name, he makes it to my World Cup XI at the №4 position.
#5 Shakib Al Hasan- It’s been one of the best All-round perfromance ever seen in a World Cup by Shakib Al Hasan. He became the first to score 600+ runs and pick 11 wickets in a single World Cup. This performance surely cannot be ignored and he makes it to the team easily.
#6 Ben Stokes- He has been arguably the saviour for England throughout this World Cup. His knocks against Sri Lanka, Australia and against New Zealand in the final showed his true potential as he resurrected the team from very bad situations. Being the Man of the Final, he deserves to be a part of this team.
#7 Alex Carey- For me, the moment of the World Cup was Alex Carey carrying on after getting hit on the jaw by a fierce Jofra Acher- bouncer in the Semi Final. He has been the best Wicket-Keeper by far in this World Cup and also ammased 375 runs.
#8 Mitchell Starc- His performances proved to be vital for Australia and he also broke the record of most wickets in a single World Cup by picking up 27 wickets in total. He also got two 5 Wicket Hauls in this edition and was by far the bowler of the tournament for me.
#9 Jofra Archer- From not being included in the provisional squad for England to bowling the Super over for them in the final, it has been quite a journey for Jofra Archer. He got the maximum number of wickets for England in a single World Cup- 20. His fierce pace combining with terrific variations surely makes him a player to watch out for in the next few years.
#10 Lockie Ferguson- Aggression was one of the main strengths ofthe West Indian fast bowlers in the 70s and 80s and it has been redifined by Lockie Ferguson in my opinion. Bowling consistently over 150 kmph made him very difficult to play and he got a total of 21 wickets.
#11 Jasprit Bumrah- He is arguably the best white-ball bowler in the world right now and his impact as a bowler in this World Cup has been unparalleled. His numbers surely do not do justice to his performance but it’s evident by the fact that each opposition just looks to play him out and not lose a wicket in his quota of 10 overs.
