One can’t really say that it was the year for T20s in International cricket as all the teams had their focus on the 50-over World Cup held in June-July this year. After the completion of the ODI World Cup, the teams shifted their focus back in the shortest format in order to prepare for the next year’s T20 World Cup.
In 2019, a lot of fresh faces impressed everyone with their game, along with the big fishes who continued to leave their impact by showing the consistency. Having said that, it’s still very difficult to pick the best XI of T20, but the veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle came up with a solution.
On Cricbuzz, Bhogle picked his T20 XI of the year. For openers, he went for Australia’s David Warner and India’s KL Rahul. Warner averaged 70-plus in the T20s and scored over 1200 runs in 25 innings. The southpaw has also smashed two centuries and 13 fifties in this format. KL Rahul, on the other hand, has amassed 1262 runs in T20s with an average of 50.48. Rahul will also be the wicket-keeper of his team.
For the middle-order, Bhogle has decided to pick the best pair of the game in the form of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. In 24 innings, the Indian skipper scored 930 runs while his partner in crime in Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), De Villiers, has clubbed 1580 runs in 43 innings.
Bhogle has chosen West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard for number 5. However, he was confused between the Caribbean power-hitter and Australia’s Glenn Maxwell, but eventually, went for the skipper of West Indies team.
For the 6th and 7th positions, the Hyderabadi commentator has picked Windies’ giant Andre Russell and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi. In 40 matches, Russell took 33 wickets and scored 950-plus runs. Nabi has also been impressive with his numbers this year. In 47 games, he scored 873 runs and took 32 wickets.
Rashid Khan has been chosen as the spinner in Bhogle’s T20 XI of the year along with the experienced South African, Imran Tahir. The duo has taken 137 wickets in 102 T20 appearances.
Among the pacers, Bhogle went for England’s Chris Jordan, Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, and Indian bowler Deepak Chahar. Jordan claimed 41 wickets in 33 matches while the Sri Lankan legend took 34 in 26 games. Chahar, on the other hand, has taken 55 T20 wickets this year.
Here’s Harsha Bhogle’s T20 XI of the year 2019
David Warner, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Jordan, Deepak Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Imran Tahir.
