The T20 World Cup is almost here and the International
Cricket Council has been busy making preparation for the tournament and
building hype around it via their digital platforms.
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On Wednesday, ICC posted a
link which contained a video of West Indies T20 Captain Kieron Pollard. The legendary
all rounder was asked to choose five players he would pick for his World T20
Cup XI before anyone else.
The tweet from ICC is captioned, “Three from the West
Indies, and a player each from India and Sri Lanka ?
Kieron Pollard’s top five players boast #T20WorldCup titles and outstanding
records ?”
His top five choices include three of his teammates from
West Indies, an Indian legend and arguably the best Sri Lankan bowler of the
short format.
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This man would get a spot in every cricket fanatic’s T20
World XI and unsurprisingly, he was Pollard’s first pick. Even at 42 years, he
remains one of the best batsmen of the short format. Widely known as the
universe boss he has left his mark in every stadium he has set foot in.
He has played in 446 T20 matches and scored 14261 runs at a
strike rate of 145.87. He managed to score 175* runs in an IPL fixture playing
for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The Sri Lankan great was the man Sri Lanka’s complete bowling
line-up relied on. His spell used to send shudders down the batter’s spine. His
unconventional action made it extremely difficult to judge the ball.
In the 295 games he played, Malinga took 390 wickets with an
economy of just over 7. The yorker king took retirement from all formats of the
game on September 15, 2021.
The mystery spinner was forced to change his action after
facing a ban from the ICC. He had a big role to play in West Indies’ maiden T20
World Cup trophy triumph.
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He has managed to make a comeback after going through a rough
patch and remains one of the top cricketers in the world.
He chose India’s captain cool as the man behind the stumps
and few would make another choice. Arguably, the best finisher of white ball
cricket MSD led India to glory in every format of the game. He scored 6861 runs
in his T20 career at an average of 38.54 with a strike rate 134.82.
Kieron Pollard
Pollard’s fifth choice was the man himself. He is the second
most prolific T20 batsman in World cricket, just after his compatriot Chris
Gayle. While his batting ability would make him a starter in any team in the
world, Pollard’s bowling ability is an added plus.
Who would be a part of your five a side World T20 team? Let
us know in the comments.
