All-time T20 World Cup XI
The T20 World Cup 2022 is all set to be held in Australia from October 16 to November 13. This year’s event will be the eighth edition of the tournament. The inaugural T20 World Cup was played in South Africa in 2007. India became the first team to win the coveted trophy when they defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in a pulsating final in Johannesburg.
Having stumbled at the last hurdle in 2007, Pakistan went all the way in 2009, defeating Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s to be crowned champions. England emerged as surprise champions in 2010, winning the competition that was held in the West Indies.
The Windies are the only side to have lifted the T20 World Cup more than once. They thumped hosts Sri Lanka in the 2012 final in Colombo and stunned England in 2016 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata as Carlos Brathwaite clobbered Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes. In between, Sri Lanka won their maiden crown in 2014, defeating India in a low-scoring final in Dhaka.
Hosts Australia are the defending champions in the T20 World Cup. They thumped New Zealand in a one-sided final in Dubai last year. As teams prepare to resume their battle for T20 supremacy, we look back at the previous editions and pick the Dream XI of the T20 World Cup.
Openers: Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma
West Indies’ Chris Gayle and India’s Rohit Sharma will open the innings for the T20 World Cup dream team. They could form a fire and ice combination and would also give the team a left-right combination at the top.
Gayle is the second-leading run-getter in the tournament. He has smashed 965 runs in 33 matches at an average of 34.46 and a strike rate of 142.75. The “Universe Boss” has two hundreds and seven fifties to his name at T20 World Cups.
He clubbed 117 off 57 balls against South Africa in 2007 in a losing cause and 100* off 48 balls in a chase of 183 against England during the 2016 edition.
Rohit also has an impressive T20 World Cup record. In 33 matches, he has scored 847 runs at an average of 38.50 and a strike rate of 131.52. He hit an unbeaten 50 against South Africa in Durban in 2007 and contributed 30* off only 16 balls in the final of the same edition.
Hitman’s highest score in the T20 World Cup, 79*, came off 46 balls against the Aussies in the 2010 edition. It was a terrific knock, albeit in a losing cause.
Middle order: Virat Kohli, Mahela Jayawardene (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Marlon Samuels
Virat Kohli averages an exceptional 76.81 from 21 matches in the ICC event. He has notched up 845 runs in 19 innings with eight not outs and a strike rate of 129.60. Kohli has 10 fifties to his name in the competition.
His highest T20 World Cup score of 89* came off 47 balls in the 2016 semi-finals against West Indies. It wasn’t enough to lift India into the final. Earlier, he scored 82* off 51 in the Super 10 match against Australia to knock out the opponents. Kohli also scored 77 in the 2014 final, but Sri Lanka went on to win the summit clash.
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Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene is the leading run-getter in the T20 World Cup. He would be the captain of the dream team. In 31 matches, he scored 1016 runs at an average of 39.07 and a strike rate of 134.74. He smashed a 64-ball 100 against Zimbabwe in 2010 and an unbeaten 98 against West Indies in the same edition.
South African maverick AB de Villiers would be the keeper-batter in the T20 World Cup dream XI. He played 30 matches and smashed 717 runs at an average of 29.87 and a terrific strike rate of 143.40. De Villiers hammered 69* off 28 balls against England in the 2014 edition. He was the Player of the Match for scoring 63 and taking three catches in the 2009 group match against India.
Inconsistent West Indian Marlon Samuels did not produce great numbers in the T20 World Cup either. But he made the list because he top-scored for the team in both finals that the Windies won. He was the Player of the Final for his 56-ball 78 in 2012, and followed it up with an unbeaten 85 off 66 in the 2016 triumph.
All-rounders/ bowlers: Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan, Dale Steyn, Lasith Malinga, Umar Gul
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is the second-leading wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup. He claimed 39 wickets in 34 matches at an average of 23.25 and an economy rate of 6.71. On the batting front, he contributed 546 runs, including two half-centuries, at a strike rate of 154.23.
Shakib Al Hasan, who will captain Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2022, is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. He has picked up 41 wickets in 31 matches at an average of 17.29 and an economy rate of 6.43. With the bat, the southpaw has contributed 698 runs at an average of 26.84 and a strike rate of 124.64.
South African legend Dale Steyn had an impressive career at the T20 World Cup as well. In 23 matches, he picked up 30 wickets at an average of 19.30 and an excellent economy rate of 6.96. His best of 4/17 came against New Zealand in Chattogram during the 2014 edition.
Former Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga picked up 38 wickets in 31 matches, while averaging 20.07 and maintaining a respectable economy rate of 7.43. He blew away England with figures of 5/31 in Pallekele during the 2012 edition. Malinga was also the captain when Sri Lanka were crowned champions in 2014.
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Umar Gul is a surprise entry in the list, but the former Pakistan pacer did have a memorable career in the marquee ICC event. In 24 games, he claimed 35 wickets at an average of 17.25 and an economy rate of 7.30. He registered incredible figures of 5/6 against New Zealand at The Oval in 2009.
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