ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Strongest ODI XI consisting of at least one player from each team
As we step forward to the year 2019, all our focus has now shifted to the pinnacle of world cricket, the ICC Cricket World Cup, which is all set to begin in the fourth week of May.
Since the grand tournament is being hosted in the home of cricket, England would be confident about their chances in the tournament. Likewise, the defending champions, Australia, are also sure to gain some boost-up after the return of their premier batsmen, Smith Smith and David Warner.
Now, let us look at the strongest ODI XI which consists of at least a player from each of the ten Word Cup playing nations, based on how they fared in 2018:
Top Order (1-3)
Tamim Iqbal/Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal was phenomenal for Bangladesh in 2018. Scoring 684 runs with the bat for his team, Iqbal emerged out as one of the most valuable players in the Bangladeshi camp.
Although Shakib Al Hasan was as important as Tamim for Bangladesh, keeping the team combinations in mind, the opener gets a spot in our line-up.
Scoring at an average of 85.50 and a strike rate of 76.34, Tamim also smashed two centuries and six half-centuries for his team. If a team is in search of a solid opener who can hang on from one end comfortably, Tamim Iqbal is the man to look out for.
Jonny Bairstow/England (WK)
Picking just one player from the world's No. 1 ranked ODI side would be a tough task for anyone. Both Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler fulfilled their roles excellently for England.
Nevertheless, Bairstow was also one of the two centurions for England when England humiliated their rivals Australia by scoring nearly 500 runs in a single ODI inning.
However, Bairstow was clinical as a top-order batsman throughout the year and became one of the only three batsmen in the world to cross the 1000 ODI runs barrier in 2018.
Despite the fact that Buttler kept the wickets for England regularly in 2018, Bairstow is certainly capable of taking the responsibility of standing behind the wickets with the gloves on, not to forget, he keeps the wicket in Tests for England.
Virat Kohli/India (Captain)
Was there any doubt regarding this? Absolutely no.
Kohli was simply unstoppable in 2018, as he scored tons of runs everywhere in the world. The Indian skipper led the batting charts in 2018 with 1205 runs at a godly average of 120.5 and an excellent strike rate of 102.11.
The skipper also scored six hundreds and three fifties in the calendar year and ensured a historic ODI series win in South African soil with his batting masterclass.
The only Indian batsman closer to Kohli’s heroics was Rohit Sharma, who also crossed the 1,000 run barrier in 2018, but was not as consistent as King Kohli. Unsurprisingly, Kohli is also the skipper of our dream team.