The year 2019 witnessed a number of One-Day International (ODI) matches. The focus towards ODIs was maximum, mainly because of the 50-over World Cup held in the middle of the year.
The World-Cup gave cricket fans the memories to cherish forever. Especially the nail-biting final between England and New Zealand.
Overall, cricketers produced staggering performances in the current year, with some being the best amongst all.
Harsha Bhogle, the veteran Indian commentator, came up with his best XI of ODIs for Cricbuzz on Saturday.
Bhogle picked the opening pair in the form of India’s Rohit Sharma and England’s Jason Roy. Rohit had an exceptional 2019, and with no surprises, he ended the year as the leading run-scorer (1490). The Indian vice-captain had an incredible World Cup as well. He scored 648 runs at a breathtaking average of 81.
Jason Roy, on the other hand, was the second-highest run-getter for England in 2019. He averaged 70-plus and bagged 845 runs in 12 games.
For the third and fourth positions, Bhogle chose Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Pakistan’s run-machine Babar Azam. Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs this year (1377), while Babar is at the fifth spot with maximum runs (1092) in 2019.
The Hyderabad commentator has picked Bangladesh’s pride Shakib Al Hasan and BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year’ Ben Stokes, who can bat at no. 5 and 6, respectively. The duo scored 1465 runs in the current year.
When it comes to the wicket-keeper, then England’s Jos Buttler finds the place in Bhogle’s ODI XI of the year. However, he was confused between Australia’s Alex Carey and Buttler, but eventually, went for the English wicket-keeper batter.
For the pacers, Bhogle picked Australia’s Mitchell Starc, England’s Jofra Archer, and India’s Jasprit Bumrah. The trio has taken 75 ODI wickets in 2019.
India’s chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is the lone specialist spinner in the team. The left-arm bowler took 32 ODI wickets in 23 matches.
Harsha Bhogle’s ODI XI of the year 2019
Rohit Sharma, Jason Roy, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav.
