Australian cricket legend Mark Waugh has picked five players he would select in his World T20I team. Not many days ago, Waugh’s former teammate Ricky Ponting had also revealed his choices for the same. Now Waugh has also joined the list of former greats choosing first five players in their World T20I XI.
Notably, after his retirement, Waugh is associated with the game, as he is an active broadcaster for Fox Cricket. Speaking on the latest episode of The ICC Review, the Canterbury-born cricketer went with two world-class pacers, one spinner, one all-rounder and a top-order batter.
The first on the list of Waugh’s top five T20 cricketers was India’s frontline speedster Jasprit Bumrah. The Aussie termed Bumrah as the all-format bowler and reckoned the Indian superstar will fire at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
“I think he’s a fantastic bowler in all formats, actually. His ability to get wickets in T20 cricket is key. He can bowl at the death and he can bowl up front,” said Waugh.
Next on Waugh’s list was Pakistan’s pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi. The Aussie designated Afridi as a wicket-taker and a guy who can lift the team. Waugh observed that with Afridi being a left-hander makes him even more lethal.
“To open the bowling at the other end we’ll go with another right opening bowler, Shaheen Afridi from Pakistan, who is a tremendous left-arm fast bowler. He’s a wicket-taker. He sort of lifts the team. He’s a guy that other players follow. He is a left-armer so that’s another point of difference. He can swing the ball back into the right-hander, he’s quick as well, so I’ve got him number two,” added Waugh.
Waugh continued with his interest in bowlers and named Afghanistan star Rashid Khan as his next pick. The former New South Wales cricketer perceived that Rashid is supremely consistent and he is a go to bowler in every team and can also play some cameo with the bat.
“In all competitions he plays in, he’s just the one guy who you know is going to bowl four overs. He’ll probably get two or three wickets and go for 20 runs, and he can bat. He can also whack the ball over the fence,” observed Waugh.
After naming the three top notch bowlers, Waugh went with his only specialized top-order batter in the form of England’s white-ball skipper Jos Buttler. Waugh termed Buttler as the number one batter in the shortest format.
“I think he’s probably the number one batsman in world cricket in the T20 format. He’s just a clean striker of the ball. We’ve seen him in all tournaments, he just looks on a different level to other players,” explained Waugh.
At last, Waugh went with superstar all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell on his list of five best T20 players. The Australian reckoned that Maxwell is a sure-shot match-winner and carries the ability to turn the game on its head with his all-round display of cricket.
“Glenn Maxwell is the sort of player that can win you a game in the field and with the bat. With the ball, he’s probably underrated, but I think if he bats 30 balls, he’ll win you the game. So I think Glenn Maxwell, even though he’s just not a consistent player, he’s that X-factor that can win your game on any given day,” Waugh added further.
