Best XI of IPL 2021 stars who will miss the ICC T20 World Cup
The second phase of IPL 2021 is currently underway in the United Arab Emirates. Just two days after the Indian Premier League's summit clash, which is scheduled for October 15, the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup will begin in the Middle East.
A majority of the IPL 2021 stars will represent their nations at the mega event in the UAE and Oman. However, some of the top performers of the ongoing Indian Premier League season have been excluded from their national squads for the T20 World Cup 2021.
In this article today, we will form a strong playing XI of cricketers who have done well in IPL 2021 but will be missing at the T20 World Cup.
(Please Note: This playing XI has been made considering the ICC T20 World Cup squads as on October 5, 2021)
Openers - Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shikhar Dhawan
Ruturaj Gaikwad is the only batter to have scored a century in the IPL 2021's UAE leg. The Chennai Super Kings star has amassed 521 runs in 13 innings and is only behind Punjab Kings' IPL captain KL Rahul on the IPL 2021 Orange Cap leaderboard.
Opening the innings for this team along with Gaikwad is Delhi Capitals batter Shikhar Dhawan. The southpaw captained the Indian cricket team earlier this year against Sri Lanka. He is one of the three batters to have scored 500+ runs in IPL 2021, but was ignored by the Indian selectors for the T20 World Cup.
Middle Order - Faf du Plessis, Sanju Samson (wk) and Rahul Tripathi
Faf du Plessis retired from Test cricket to focus on shorter formats. The South African star has performed exceptionally well for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021, but failed to earn a spot in the national squad for the T20 World Cup.
Wicket-keeper Sanju Samson has scored 483 runs in 13 IPL innings this year. However, the selectors have preferred to go with Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan over the Rajasthan Royals skipper. Uncapped batter Rahul Tripathi completes the middle-order. The KKR star has scored 356 runs in 12 innings this IPL season.
All Rounders - Sunil Narine, Chris Morris and Shardul Thakur
Sunil Narine has been a game-changer for KKR in IPL 2021. The Caribbean star, who will miss the upcoming T20 World Cup, has scored 34 runs and scalped ten wickets for Kolkata this year. Most importantly, he has an exceptional economy rate of 6.42.
Chris Morris and Shardul Thakur are the two pace-bowling all-rounders of this team. While Thakur is present in the reserves of the Indian squad, Morris was ignored by the South African selectors. Both pacers are among the highest wicket-takers in IPL 2021.
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Bowlers - Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan
Uncapped Indian pacers Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan will lead the team's pace attack. The two fast bowlers have bagged a total of 48 wickets in IPL 2021 and are the top two bowlers on the IPL 2021 Purple Cap leaderboard.
Yuzvendra Chahal, who was shockingly excluded from India's T20 World Cup squad, has been in great form in IPL 2021's UAE leg. The right-arm leg-spinner has taken ten wickets in five matches of the 2nd leg so far.
Playing XI of IPL 2021 stars who will be missing in T20 WC
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, Sanju Samson (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Chris Morris, Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan.