Strongest T20I XI of 2018
Another exciting year of cricket has gone by and another one is underway. There were some exceptional talents discovered and some breathtaking encounters witnessed during 2018.
T20 fans also had a lot to see and admire as there were plenty of bilateral tours scheduled throughout the year.
In this article, we form the strongest possible T20I XI of players formed by players of all teams based on their performance in 2018 alone.
#1 Shikhar Dhawan
33-year-old Shikhar Dhawan always impressed in ODIs but could never really cement his place in India's T20 team. However, the left-handed batsman came to his own last year around and performed phenomenally well in the shortest format of the game in 2018.
In the 18 T20Is, Shikhar played last year, he made 689 runs with an average of 40.52 and a superb strike rate of 147.22. There were some very important knocks which he played and they included six half-centuries as well as three scores in 40s.
The experienced opening batsman will soon be seen playing in the 2019 IPL for Delhi Capitals and will hope to guide his team to success.
#2 Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch had a brilliant 2018 as he scored 531 runs in 17 T20 Internationals for Australia. Finch also hit two fifties and one record-breaking century (score of 172* against Zimbabwe) in 2018. The 32-year-old had an average of 40.84 and made his runs with a blistering strike rate of 176.41.
His form, however, slumped in the second half of 2018 and he could not manage a very big total. The Aussie player will be looking to give a strong performance for his national team in the upcoming World Cup.
The limited-overs specialist also finally got a chance to represent his national team in Test matches last year as he made a debut against Pakistan on October 7, 2018.
#3 Babar Azam
Lahore-born Babar Azam had a phenomenal year in 2018. It can also be called his breakthrough year in terms of T20 matches. The 24-year-old Pakistani batsman played 12 T20Is and scored 563 runs with a mind-boggling average of 62.55 and strike rate of 126.51. He also hit 6 fifties in the year and looked much more mature as a batsman.
The talented youngster was phenomenal for the national team in Tests as well during 2018 and scored 616 runs in eight Tests.