Afro-Asia ODI XI among current international cricketers

Asia and Africa have produced some of the best cricketers over the years. Back in 2007, Asia XI and Africa XI locked horns in a series and the matches turned out to be absolute nail-biters. The likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh, Mashrafe Mortaza, AB de Villiers, Shaun Pollock and many others graced their presence. The quality of cricket wasn’t disappointing and kept everyone at the edge. Even 13 years later, the two continents have managed to put forth some prolific names. Among the Asian teams, Bangladesh have come up the ranks even as India have been dominating the rankings for quite a while. In fact, if a team is formed combining the best cricketers from Asia and Africa, it can defeat the best in the business. The Afro-Asia XI can be a team that can be a feared one around the world. In the article, let’s take a look at the best Afro-Asia XI: – 1. Rohit Sharma Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter) Rohit Sharma’s numbers speak for him. Having scored three double tons, he has shown the ability of making starts court. Bowlers are aware that he’s going to make them pay if allowed to get the measure of the conditions. Starting his career as a middle-order batter, Rohit was often bashed for throwing his wicket away. But he learned the art of blending caution with his attacking approach. In 2019, he became the first batsman to smash five centuries in a single edition of a 50-over World Cup. The Nagpur-born is also a ferocious player of the pull-shot, sometimes off the front foot as well. Rohit is 33 and is at the peak of himself, though he has had to face a few injury concerns. The opening batsman has been one of the major reasons behind India’s continued dominance in the ODI format. 2. Quinton de Kock (wk) Quinton de Kock . (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Quinton de Kock has recently been the ODI skipper of the South Africa national team, replacing Faf du Plessis. It goes without saying that the southpaw has shown enough consistency to be blessed with the role at the helm. The 27-year-old gave a glimpse of his potential when he mustered three tons in a row versus India back in December 2013. From there, De Kock didn’t take a backward step. The Gauteng-born has over 5,000 runs at a decent average around 44. The left-hander doesn’t mind countering fire with fire and it has paid rich dividends for him. Having notched 15 centuries and 25 fifties, the youngster also knows the art of grinding an opposition down. While the Proteas are going through a transition period, De Kock has the ingredients to make his team a powerhouse again. 3. Virat Kohli (C) Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter) Virat Kohli seems to transcend himself everytime he steps on the cricket field. He remains oblivious of the chaos around him and focuses on his action plans. To start with, he used to be a tad careless, but as his career progressed, he underwent an incredible transformation. He has infused discipline in his life and that has rubbed off positively, both on his personal as well as his professional field. The Delhi-born has close to 12,000 ODI runs in 248 matches. And going by the form he has been in, Virat is expected to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries. The Indian skipper also averages nearly 60 in the format, numbers which are generally unheard of irrespective of generations. At the age of 31, Virat has every chance of creating records that may never be broken. 4. Babar Azam Babar Azam. (Photo Source: Twitter) Babar Azam has been Pakistan’s most prolific run-scorer in ODIs by a country mile. The Men in Green has slumped to a few failures over the last couple of years, but it hasn’t impacted Babar’s performance by any means. The Lahore-born isn’t flashy and hardly resorts to ambitious strokes. Yet, he scores runs at a fair clip, making life tough for bowlers. The 25-year-old already has 11 centuries.The average around 54 also speaks volumes about him. Batting in the middle-order, he has shouldered the mantle of playing throw the innings with the others giving him the apt support. A number of experts have also backed him to become Pakistan’s next ODI skipper due to his level-headed approach. Babar also shone in the 2019 World Cup, also scoring a century against New Zealand. 5. Rassie van der Dussen Rassie van der Dussen of South Africa. (Photo by Anesh Dibiky/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Rassie van Dussen has forayed into Proteas cricket back in January 2019 and has managed to create the right impressions. The 31-year-old is a kind of batter, who takes calculative risks and hardly lets the situation unnerve him. In his second ODI itself, he churned out an unbeaten 80, guiding his team to a five-wicket victory. His unbeaten stand of 127 with Andile Phehlukwayo beat every other odd against Pakistan. Van der Dussen also made the cut for the 2019 World Cup where he had scores of 50, 41, 67* and 95. The Transvaal-born could have gotten a couple of centuries, but luck eluded him both times when he was in the 90s. However, seven fifties in 21 ODIs aren’t meek numbers. Rassie averages a stunning 70.70 and it’s not a surprise that he has started featuring regularly in the South Africa side. 6. Shakib Al Hasan Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: Twitter) There’s been stages when Shakib Al Hasan put forth single-handed efforts to drag Bangladesh out of precarious positions. The Jessore-born racked ups runs at will in the 2019 World Cup with a couple of centuries. Moreover, he delivered with his left-arm spin with a five-wicket haul against Afghanistan. Despite that, the Tigers fell short of the semis, showing the lack of support for the 33-year-old. Even former ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza had admitted that Shakib’s absence from the side leaves a massive void. The veteran is currently in a suspension period and will be making a comeback only after October 2020. The Tigers have strained to fill in his slot. With 6,323 runs and 260 wickets, Shakib has managed to carve his name amongst the all-time greatest all-rounders in ODI cricket. 7. Shadab Khan Shadab Khan. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Shadab Khan has mostly cemented himself a spot as Pakistan’s premier leg-spinner and he has hardly let his team down. In 43 ODIs, Shadab has 59 wickets at an economy of 5.02, showing his effectiveness. The 21-year-old gives the leather a fair amount revs and has beaten batsman without much fuss. In conditions conducive to spin bowling, the youngster becomes a brute force to reckon with. He was also decent with his leg-breaks in English conditions where spinners don’t make much of an impact. Parking aside his batting, Shadab isn’t the poorest of batsmen either. The Mianwali-born has an average of 25.92 with three half-centuries. Of late, he shone with the bat while playing for the Islamabad United in the PSL. He was confident to the extent that he even batted at number three. 8. Kagiso Rabada Kagiso Rabada. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Kagiso Rabada breaths fire whenever gets a chance with the leather. He is a whole-hearted cricketer and hardly drops the towel. The 24-year-old has turned out to be a genuine wicket-taker for South Africa ever since he made his debut against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2015. In only his second ODI, Rabada managed to get a hat-trick. His career only took an upward trend from there onwards. In 75 ODIs, the Johannesburg-born racked up as many as 117 wickets. His economy of 4.99 can’t be deemed as the worse. In the 2019 World Cup, he wasn’t quite at his best and was also a bit down on pace. Nevertheless, he had a stature big enough to be dropped. At the age of 24, Rabada has a bright future in the offing. Rabada hasn’t played an ODI though after the mega event last year. 9. Lungi Ngidi Lungi Ngidi. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) Lungi Ngidi hasn’t had a long career thus far, but he hasn’t flattered to deceive by any stretch of the imagination. But in this short while, he has managed to grab quite a few eyeballs. It’s been a couple of years since the 23-year-old forayed into international cricket. In 26 ODIs, Ngidi already has 53 wickets to his name. In South Africa’s home season in 2020, the speedster was excellent without a doubt. Recently, he picked up a six-wicket haul against Australia in Bloemfontein. It not only gave the Proteas a six-wicket win but also an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Even in the game prior to that at the Boland Park in Paarl, the talented fast bowler churned out three wickets. In fact, in his previous eight matches, Lungi got five three-wicket hauls, excluding the six-fer. 10. Mustafizur Rahman Mustafizur Rahman. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images) Mustafizur Rahman has been erratic in recent times owing to which his spot in the Bangladesh team has also been questioned. However, his lack of form has mostly been in Test and T20I cricket. In ODIs, the Satkhira-born has weaved magic. In only 58 matches, the left-arm pacer has notched 109 runs with as many as five five-wicket hauls. He has been the skipper’s go-to-bowler in critical phases. He has been a tad prone of giving away runs, but he has been able to make up for it with regular breakthroughs. Even in the 2019 World Cup, Fizz, as he is popularly known, was arguably Bangladesh’s standout performer. The 24-year-old last played in the ODI series against Zimbabwe where he got two wickets. Even in the future, Mustafizur is expected to carry on his good form. 11. Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Bumrah. (Photo Source: Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Jasprit Bumrah’s ability to nail yorkers with precision has earned him loads of praises from the cricket fraternity. Lasith Malinga’s constant guidance in the Mumbai Indians have also helped the fast bowler to a great extent. He has also developed the slower deliveries, making him a tough prospect. In 64 ODIs, the Ahmedabad-born has 104 wickets, most importantly at an economy of 4.55. Bumrah is a bowler, who knows how to soak in pressure, and it’s a reason why the skipper employs him in the powerplay and at the death. Due to unusual action, batsmen around the globe have found it arduous to pick him. Th 26-year-old recently returned from a stress fracture on his lower back. Though he is yet to strike form in 2000, it seems to be a matter of time before he finds his rhythm.

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Afro-Asia ODI XI among current international cricketers

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