Best XI of the players who performed well in Asia

One of the few things which set cricket apart from most other sports is the effect of playing conditions on the performance of players. The type of soil, grass, wind and even climate in different countries make a huge difference in the performances of players. Players who are unaccustomed to pitches in a particular country often struggle to make an impact during the matches played in the stadiums of that nation.

Cricketers from the Asian countries like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh have often failed to perform up to their potential in countries like South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA Countries) and vice-versa.

Pitches in the subcontinent often tend to support spinners while those in SENA countries are much more suitable for pacers. Players from all the cricket playing nations are prone to hitting a dip in their form as soon as they come out of their comfort zone.

Despite such hardships, many players from SENA countries and the Caribbean have managed to perform well in Asia. On the other hand, players from the subcontinent have traditionally enjoyed success in the matches played here.

Here we discuss the Best XI of the players who have performed well in the Asian countries:

1. Rohit Sharma

Opening the batting is the power-hitter from India. Popularly known as the ‘Hitman’ amongst his fans, Sharma has grown-up from a prodigy to one of the central figures in Team India across all formats.

After a few mediocre years at the beginning of his career, he experienced a change in fortune after he was promoted up the order to open the batting. Since then, he has grown from strength to strength to become one of the most successful openers in the modern era.

As far as limited-overs cricket is concerned, Rohit Sharma has enjoyed tremendous success both in and outside Asia. However, in the longest format of the game, he has managed to perform exceedingly well only in the home conditions. Nevertheless, his batting prowess makes him one of the most dangerous batsmen in the subcontinent.

In 2019, he was the highest run-scorer in the ODI series against West Indies with 258 runs in 3 innings. He topped the scoring charts in the Test series versus South Africa also wherein he scored 529 runs in just 4 innings with 2 centuries and a double hundred. All of his ODI double hundreds were also scored in home conditions. Thus, it would be safe to guarantee his position as an opener in this XI.