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| ASIA XI |
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| ROW XI |
T20’s has taken the world by storm
since it’s inception a decade and a half ago. During this time, we have seen
the game has evolved leaps and bounds with lots of innovations. Players coming up
with Cricket skills which were not even dreamt of before this. In the past few
weeks we have seen a lot of talks around the ICC Teams of the decade released
for all three formats. Here I am trying to break it down to two teams finding
out the best possible combinations for and Asian XI and the Rest of the World
XI of the decade.
THE OPENERS:
Asia XI: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
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| Rohit-Dhawan in action |
Rohit, “THE HITMAN” Sharma is one of
the most prolific six hitters in world cricket today. Probably, the move to
open the innings with him re-ignited the batting prowess of Rohit. He is
definitely considered as one of the most feared batsman in full flow. He also
has the record for highest individual ODI score of 264. When in song, the Hitman’s
batting is a sight for sore eyes for his fans and devastation for the
opposition.
Pairing up with Sharma, we have
Shikhar “Gabbar” Dhawan. He has a happy knack of scoring big runs against
bigger opponents and more on the bigger stage. With shots all around the ground
and consistent performances, he sneaks in to the team surpassing the likes of Tamim
Iqbal, Fakhar Zaman or a Kusal Parera.
ROW XI: Chris
Gayle and David Warner
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| Brothers of Destruction |
“THE UNIVERSE BOSS” What can you say
about Chris Gayle. He is the boss of T20 Cricket undoubtedly. The hard hitting
opening batsman form the first choice opener for any team across the globe. He
is a definite bowlers nightmare hitting sixes at will. With all the power he
has, he is also useful in sneaking in one or two overs in case some of the
bowlers are not having a good day.
Who would want to be the bowler if he
is able to give a single to Chris Gayle and turns around and see David Warner
taking guard. The little man from Australia is a pocket rocket and has the
ability to bulldoze the opposition with heavy hitting right from ball number
one.
NUMBER
3:
ASIA XI: Virat
Kohli
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| King Kohli |
Lot of debate around who is the best.
For me and most will agree, Virat Kohli is currently the best. The chase master
will be able to cement his spot in any team solidifying the middle order. Over
the years, we have seen him as one of the best chasers of a Cricket total. His
mind must be working like a computer while chasing down totals. Remember the
2016 T20 World Cup match against Australia.
ROW XI: Kane
Williamson (C)
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| Captain Dependable |
Mr. Dependable for any team. He brings
a level of calmness after the storm the top two will bring in. Skills to manipulate
balls and also increasing the pace of the innings depending on the match
situation. With such a cool head on his shoulders, I would also like to make
him the captain of this team.
NUMBER
4:
ASIA XI: Shakib
Al Hasan
 |
| Shakib Al Hasan |
He has been one of the most consistent
All Round Cricketer over the years claiming the Number 1 sport for a number of
years. The Left Handed middle order batsman has score runs at a rapid pace all
over the world. He is also one of the front line bowlers for Bangladesh Cricket
team. With a quality left arm orthodox bowling, he is one of the most
economical spinners in World Cricket. He will be slotted to fill in the number
4 position of my Asian XI
ROW XI: Ben
Stokes
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| Ben Stokes hitting towards the Cow Corner |
He will remember the name, Carlos Brathwaite forever. Conceding four sixes in the final over of the 2016 T20I finals, Stokes gifted the Cup to the West Indies Cricket team. But the most important thing is the way he bounced back making it up with the bat in the 2019 ODI World Cup Final. Brute power in the middle order and consistently giving four quality overs to any team, this special player will walk in at the number 4 position in my ROW team.
NUMBER
5:
ASIA XI: MS Dhoni
(WK and C)
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| Dhoni goes big |
Captain cool took India to the inaugural
World T20I title with a barely inexperienced team in 2007. Over the years, he
earned the name of the best finisher in World Cricket. Not just with bat, his
gloves also does the magic. Having the fastest hands in World Cricket, he is a
nightmare for batsmen behind the stumps. Bangladesh Cricket team will definitely
remember him for the 20 meter dash run out knocking Bangladesh out of the World
Cup T20I, 2016.
ROW XI: AB De Villiers
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| Mr 360 |
“Mr. 360” The batting maestro, ABD has
to be one of the most destructive finishers of the Cricket world. His ability
to hit one line of ball to 8 different directions makes him the most special
player in the list. Moreover, he is someone who can be Mr. Dependable when the
team is in trouble and also can consistently hit any bowler out of the park at
will while finishing the innings.
NUMBER
6:
ASIA XI: Hardik
Pandya
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| Hardik Pandya |
Brute power. The middle order batsman
can tear apart any bowling line ups with his unique hitting prowess. Yes, this
guy can hit a long ball and can continue hitting throughout the innings. The
fact that he also brings four good overs up his kitty, makes him very special.
ROW XI: Jos
Butler (WK)
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| The power hitter |
The most feared keeper batsman at this
point of time. He will be devastating from the time he comes to the crease and
has the talent to clear the ropes from ball one.
NUMBER
7:
ASIA XI: Shahid
Afridi
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| Boom Boom |
We get into the bowling All Rounders.
Former Pakistan Captain was at one time the highest T20I wicket taker. The
format helped his bowling explode as the variations and speed he used to bowl,
became extremely difficult for any batsman to pick. He was instrumental in 2009
World T20I victory for the Pakistan team. Once holding the fastest ODI Century,
we all know what kind of destruction he can have with the bat. Although he
could not show consistency, I would still go with him at number 7 hoping to get
a quick fire 25-30 runs from his bat.
ROW XI: Andre
Russel
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| Russel Pumped Up |
“The Muscle” Russel has to be the
hardest hitter of the Cricket ball of all time. He at the crease is really
intimidating. He can change the scorecard with the blink of your eyes and also
capable of making a mockery of run chases. Give him 50 runs to chase in 3
overs, you will back him to get those 6 out of 10 times. He was instrumental in
the West Indies World T20I triumphs. He can also be lethal with the ball in
hand and also one of the most athletic fielders going around.
NUMBER
8:
ASIA XI: Rashid
Khan
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| T20 Cricketer of the Decade |
T20I player of the decade for a reason.
The leg spinner from Afghanisthan has been a revelation for the T20 Cricket
around the world. Till today, no batsman is able to crack the code of how to
tackle Rashid. With the fast arm action, it is difficult to pick which way the
ball is turning. The trajectory does not allow the batter to dance down the
wicket. He is a nightmare to any batting unit as he is both economical as well
as a wicket taker. He also comes in handy with the bat late in the innings,
capable of striking some lusty blows.
ROW XI: Sunil
Narine
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| The Magician |
The mohawked spin wizard from the
Carib Islands made his presence felt in conquering two World T20I titles for
the West Indies Cricket Team in 2012 and 2016. One of the most economical
spinners in T20 format bowls a very nagging line and length at a flatter
trajectory spinning the ball both ways with an unorthodox action. He is one of
the most successful Mistry spinners whose code is yet to be fully cracked. He can
single handedly win games for any team with his bowling. Things got a bit more
interesting when he started showing his batting power when he was promoted
during one of the BBL game. He just grabbed the opportunity and became almost a
certain opening batsman for almost all franchise Cricket he played around the
world. He became the highlight package as a whirlwind opening batsman, smashing
bowlers all over the park.
NUMBER
9:
ASIA XI: Mohammed
Amir
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| Mohammed Amir |
After coming back from his fixing ban,
Amir never looked back and became the backbone of Pakistan bowling lineup. His
ability to swing the ball at pace with a left armers angle is pretty difficult
to handle for the top order. Since I already have Malinga and Bumrah in the
same line up, I would prefer Amir to bowl as many overs as possible while the
ball is new and swinging to ensure maximum damage.
ROW XI: Jofra
Archer
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| Jofra Archer |
The big Englishman may be a new bee in
the Cricket world but boy, has he made a mark or what? The lanky fast bowler just
jogs to the crease and with a strong action, he manages to bowl with pace
around 150 KMPH mark, hitting the deck hard and bouncing the balls at an
uncomfortable height for the batsmen and also a have a very good yorker and
slower ball up his sleeve. Also capable of hitting some lusty blows towards the
end of the batting innings.
NUMBER
10:
ASIA XI: Jaspreet
Bumrah
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| The Toe Crusher |
Arguably the best death bowler going
around in the last 4-5 years. Taking ten steps, hopping towards the wicket with
an unusual straight arm action, he can nail the ball on the block hole almost
every delivery. The master toe crusher has a very deceptive slower ball as
well.
ROW XI: Kagiso Rabada
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| The Wonder Boy |
The young South African sensation edges past Trent Boult or Mitchel Starc because of his wicket taking abilities during the death overs. It is almost a given that KG will be taking at least two or three wickets with his death bowling reducing the run flow during that period. He is a bit different from a Bumrah as he is more of a hitting the deck bowler and relies more on his variations.
NUMBER
11:
ASIA XI: Lasith
Malinga
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| The Ultimate Toe Crusher |
The man with the most T20I wickets, “The
Slinger” Malinga has to be the best death bowler in T20 format. The slinging
action allows the ball to come out of the hand almost from the front of the
Umpire’s shirt or tie. He is always bowling in the powerplay and the death
overs, but he is always up to the task. His special in swinging toe crushers
are almost impossible to negotiate specially for the lower middle order or the
tail enders during the end of the innings. Also as a weapon, he has a very
deceptive slower bouncer. He along with Bumrah bowling in the death overs definitely
will bring out a lot more toe caps from the doctors bag than usual.
ROW XI: Imran
Tahir
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| Imran Tahir's Sprint after a Wicket |
The never so old man, Imran Tahir is
very well known for his sprint after getting wickets. The leg spinner from
South Africa has a happy knack of chipping away with opponents wickets and
cherish those moments with a sprint celebration. He along with Narine can chock
the opponents in the middle overs with their economical and attacking spin
bowling.
This is my take on the T20 specialists
of the decade if there is a possibility of Asia Vs ROW match. I have considered
the international matches as well as the franchise cricket tournament that are
been played while picking the players.
By Sayandeep Dutta
View My Blogs At: https://stumpmiccricket.blogspot.com/
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