T20 World Cup 2022 : Out of form XI ahead of the tournament

The T20 World Cup 2022 is just around the corner. Australia will walk into the tournament as the defending champions. The T20 extravaganza will witness the best of the players assembling and battling it out for the crown. Among the top-ranked teams, there are some players who have shown their mettle in the international arena but have not performed as per expectations in recent past. A few of the batters have struggled to be amongst the runs while some bowlers have lacked bite in their bowling. Here we bring you the out of form XI ahead of the tournament: 1. Aaron Finch (C) Aaron Finch has been one of the leading opening batters in white-ball cricket. However, he has been far from his best in the last couple of months. The 35-year-old had a very dismal outing in the ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand. In those two series, he could only manage 31 runs in six games. On the back of the poor showings, Finch even hung his boots from ODI cricket. In the shortest format, though the veteran batter played some entertaining cameos in the T20I series against India, he scored just 60 runs in three innings. The Australian T20I skipper has gradually started to find his range and scored a 58-run knock in the recently culminated series against West Indies. Though Finch took 53 balls to get that, it shall give his confidence a world of good. He is currently leading the Aussies in a T20I series against England and the team management would hope that their skipper gets back to his destructive best in the build to the marquee event. 2. Temba Bavuma Temba Bavuma has played an important role in South Africa’s revival in white-ball cricket. He took the reins of the team when South African Cricket was in choppy waters and has been their inspirational leader. However, he has been able to lead the way with the bat of late. The 32-year-old returned to the international fold after a prolonged injury break in the recently concluded T20I series against India but has struggled to get back amongst the runs. He scored mere three runs in three games and looked out of sorts in those brief stays at the crease. The Proteas skipper slots in as an opener and is tasked to provide his side with brisk starts. But his poor run has meant that the team’s middle order has been exposed early in the innings. With the T20 World Cup in sight, Bavuma getting back to form is very crucial as South Africa bids for their first T20 World title. 3. Shakib Al Hasan Shakib Al Hasan has been one of the best all-rounders in world cricket across formats. Talking about the T20Is, the veteran cricketer has taken 122 wickets in 102 games which are the most by any player in the format. With the bat, he has amassed over 2000 runs for Bangladesh. However, he has looked like a pale shadow of his vintage self of late, especially with the bat. At the Asia Cup 2022, Shakib could only manage to score 35 runs in two games at a strike rate of 112.90. Though he was economical on the bowling front, he could take just a wicket. The veteran all-rounder is the most important player in the Bangladesh T20I setup. He is a match-winner with the bat and bowl and his form can very well make or break the campaign of the Bangla Tigers at the forthcoming global tournament. 4. Glenn Maxwell Glenn Maxwell is among the most destructive batters in the shortest format of the game. He can take any bowling attack apart with his swashbuckling strokeplay and has delivered for Australia time and again. However, he has been in the midst of a horror show with the bat. Recently, Maxwell featured in three T20I games against the Men in Blue and scored mere seven runs for his side. The veteran all-rounder's poor run continued in the T20I series against West Indies as well as he could manage just one run in two games. As Australia look to defend their crown at the upcoming T20 extravaganza, Maxwell’s poor run with the bat will be a point of concern for Aaron Finch & Co. He has been a vital cog in Australia’s T20 setup for over a decade and has amassed 2025 runs at a sensational strike rate of 151.45. The team management would hope the ace-all-rounder finds his mojo soon. 5. Khushdil Shah Khushdil Shah has been a proven performer in the T20 circuit and has aggregated 2127 runs in 114 games at a strike of 133.77. But the southpaw has failed to replicate it at the bigger stages and has been all at sea in the international arena of late. The 27-year-old was drafted in the middle order as the power-hitter but he has failed to perform as per expectations. Khushdil featured in five games in the recently culminated T20I series against England and scored mere 63 runs at a poor strike rate of 112.50. The Pakistan batter's performance was not that great at the Aisa Cup 2022 as he failed to have much impact in the games apart from the blistering knock of 35 runs against Hong Kong. In the six games played at the Asian tournament, Khushdil scored 58 runs at a strike rate of 120.83. Due to his dismal showings, the middle-order batter has fallen behind the pecking order. He needs to make the opportunities count so that he can be a regular feature in Pakistan’s playing XI at the marquee tournament. 6. Asif Ali Asif Ali is a ferocious striker of the cricket ball and is known for his six-hitting prowess. His power-hitting exploits were on display at the T20 World Cup 2021 where the 31-year-old smashed 57 runs in six games at a strike rate of 237.50. At the upcoming global tournament, eyes will again be on him to deliver the goods with the bat. Moreover, without the services of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, Asif’s role will be more crucial in the T20 extravaganza in Australia. But the power-hitter has not been in the best of touch of late. In the T20I series against England, he scored mere 34 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 136.00. Further, Asif has looked off-colour in the ongoing T20 Tri-series in New Zealand. He has scored 29 runs in three matches played so far and at a mediocre strike rate of 120.83. The destructive batter will need to shoulder more responsibility and score big runs for the Men in Green. 7. Mohammad Nabi Mohammad Nabi has been a giant of a player in the T20 circuit. In the international arena, he has featured in 101 games in the shortest format and accumulated 1669 runs at a strike rate of 140.37. In the bowling front as well he has taken 83 wickets at an economy of 7.30. Nabi plays the role of a finisher for his national side but has not done justice to the role in the recent past. In the T20I series against Ireland, the veteran all-rounder scored mere 25 runs in five games at a strike of 96.15. His lean patch continued at the Asia Cup conducted this year and scored 16 runs in four innings at a poor strike rate of 76.19. Nabi’s woeful outings have meant that the Afghan side has not been able to finish their innings on a high. Afghanistan’s skipper has been a vital cog in the batting lineup and him getting back amongst the runs is important as the Blue Tigers bid for glory at the upcoming T20 World Cup. 8. Harshal Patel Harshal Patel is India’s death overs specialist heading to the marquee event. He is renowned to strangle batters with his slower balls and has dipping yorker up his sleeve which has proven to be quite tough for batters to tackle. However, the 31-year-old was sidelined for a couple of months due to a rib injury and has not been the same bowler since his return. The Gujarat-born featured in three T20I games against Australia and took just one wicket leaking runs at an alarming rate of 12.37. Harshal’s misery with the ball continued in the South Africa series. Though he took two wickets in three games, he conceded runs at an economy of 10.00. Considering India's pace-spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming global tournament, Harshal’s poor outings have only added fuel to India’s death bowling woes. The death-overs specialist needs to get back to his best soon or else the World cup hopes of the Men in Blue could be in jeopardy. 9. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal has been India’s premier spinner in white-ball cricket in the last couple of years. He has been a major strike force for Rohit Sharma & Co. in the middle phases of the game. But it has been seen that the form of Indian leg-spinner has tapered off in the recent past. Chahal’s bowling lacked venom at the Asia Cup. Apart from the game against Sri Lanka where the wily spinner picked a three-wicket haul, he could only manage a lone wicket in the rest of the three games. Then in the three games against the Aussies, he took two wickets leaking runs at an economy of 9.12. The 32-year-old is known for his wicket-taking prowess and so his dwindling returns at the stroke of the T20 World Cup will concern the team management. Chahal has been a match-winner for the Men in Blue and would look to make amends at the grandest stage of them all. 10. Mustafizur Rahman Mustafizur Rahman is a leading fast-bowler for Bangladesh in white-ball cricket. In the shortest format, the left-arm pacer has bagged 94 wickets in 73 matches at an economy of 7.79. He has been a go-to bowler for the Bangla Tigers in crunch situations but the 27-year-old has not been at his best in the recent past. At the 15th edition of the Asia Cup, Mustafizur was not able to deliver with the ball and took just one wicket in two games. Also, he gave away runs at an economy of 8.85. The veteran bowler is Bangladesh’s pace-spearhead and the team management would have expected more from him. Mustafizur bowled decently in a game against UAE taking two wickets at an economy of below eight. But again in the ongoing Tri-Series in New Zealand, Mustafizur leaked 48 runs in four overs against Pakistan without taking a wicket. Bangladesh’s death overs specialist needs to get back to his consistent best if Shakib & Co. are to pose a tough challenge at the global tournament. 11. Mohammad Hasnain Mohammad Hasnain's name has come up the ranks very fast in Pakistan Cricket. He has been included in their T20 World Cup squad and has the ability to rattle the opposition batters with his pace. However, the youngster tends to get carried away often and concedes a lot of runs in his four-over spells. In four T20Is, he played against England in recent bilateral series at home, Hasnain returned with the figures of 0/51, 1/36, 2/40 and 1/32. Though he picked up four wickets, the fast bowler got some stick from the top England batters and it is a matter of concern for the Men in Green. Hasnain might not be the first-choice pacer in Australia but he should be ready with confidence to deliver in case he makes it to the playing XI.

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