Amid lockdown in several countries, cricketers are shifting their focus towards social media platforms or trying different things to engage with their fans and followers. In the process, South Africa speedster Lungi Ngidi has revealed his best T20 XI he has played with or against.
Ngidi picked four Indians, four South Africans and one each from Australia, England and Afghanistan. The Durban-born bowler started the business by picking his countryman Quinton de Kock and India’s Rohit Sharma as openers.
De Kock has played 44 T20 internationals and scored 1226 runs with an impressive strike-rate of 136, while Rohit is the second-highest run-scorer in the shortest format. The Indian deputy has featured in 108 T20Is and clubbed 2773 runs with a strike-rate of 138.78.
Ngidi then picked Indian captain Virat Kohli and his former teammate AB de Villiers for the third and fifth place, respectively. Kohli is the highest run-scorer in T20Is, scoring as many as 2794 runs in 82 games with an outstanding average of 50.80. De Villiers, who plays for RCB in IPL headed by Kohli, has played 78 matches and amassed 1672 runs with a strike-rate of 135.
Ngidi went with former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis for the number four position. The Pretoria-born has played 47 T20 games at international level and scored 1407 runs with a strike-rate of 134.12. He has also smashed eight fifties and one hundred in the shortest format.
For the next two positions, the 24-year-old went for former India captain and his IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni and England’s all-rounder Ben Stokes. Dhoni is the third-highest run-scorer in T20Is for India. In 98 games, the wicket-keeper batsman has scored 1617 runs. When it comes to Stokes, then in 26 games the southpaw has scored 305 runs and taken 14 wickets in the shortest format.
Among bowlers, Ngidi has picked Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, India’s Jasprit Bumrah, and his teammate Kagiso Rabada in the role of pacers. Bumrah has taken 59 wickets in 50 games, while Rabada has 30 scalps to his name in 24 matches. Hazlewood has only played 7 T20Is and grabbed 8 wickets.
For the spin department, the Northerns bowler selected Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan. In 48 games, Rashid has claimed 89 wickets which is the fourth highest in the shortest format of the game. Two times, the leggie has taken a five-wicket haul in T20Is, while three times he has earned a four-wicket haul.
Here is Lungi Ngidi’s T20 XI:
Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes, Rashid Khan, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah.
Not a bad team…@NgidiLungi reveals the best XI he has played with and against.
Thoughts?🤔#ProteaFire pic.twitter.com/n7RvVlqR6Q
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) April 24, 2020
