World Cup 2019: Best XI made up of unsung heroes
Some of the players in the recently concluded World Cup 2019 were not regular picks in their team, while some others were preferred only in the latter part of the tournament. A few of these were also established players who weren't consistent apart from one or two cameos. Still others were silent performers, and the cricket world was not even cognizant of the fact that their contributions were invaluable to their respective teams.
These players were not expected to be match-winners. But they ended up being unsung heroes who could have changed the fortunes of their teams had they been given an early initiation and a long run in the tournament.
On that note, let us take a look at the best XI from the World Cup made up entirely of unsung heroes.
#Openers
Kusal Perera (wk) and Liton Das
Kusal Perera came into this World Cup with the reputation of being a big-hitter and the heir apparent to Sanath Jayasuriya. Perera is looked at as a different player after his Test innings of 153 against South Africa.
In this World Cup, after scoring a solid 78 against Afghanistan, Perera played a cameo against Australia when he slammed 52 off 36 balls. He made 64 off 51 balls against West Indies too.
Perera finished the World Cup with a strike rate of 111. He is the opening batsman and the wicket-keeper in this team.
Liton Das was not considered by the Bangladesh team for the first four matches. But he made an immediate impact in his very first match as he scored a swashbuckling 94 off 69 balls against West Indies.
Das’s innings combined with Shakib Al Hasan’s hundred made sure that Bangladesh could successfully chase down a record score of 322. They managed to reach that massive target with 8 overs to spare.
In the 5 matches that he played in the World Cup, Das scored 186 runs at an average of 46 and strike rate of 110.