T20 World Cup: Combined best XI of IND-PAK players in tournament's history

India versus Pakistan - the greatest rivalry in cricket saw some gruesome contests over the past. Both the teams have won one T20 World Cup each and will eye for their second in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. The Men in Blue defeated their arch-nemesis Pakistan to win the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 while Pakistan conquered the world in 2009 by beating Sri Lanka on the night of the finals. When it comes to their rivalry, Pakistan has won only once in the six times that these two sides have faced each other in T20 World Cup. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan bashed the Indian bowlers in 2021 to win their first match ever match against India in any format of the World Cup. Despite India’s dominance over the years, it is never an easy job to build a combined XI of both teams. However, let's take a look at- Best-combined XI of India and Pakistan from the T20 World Cup 1. Rohit Sharma The Indian captain Rohit Sharma was part of the squad when India won the T20 World Cup in 2007. In the four matches that he got to represent in 2007, the Hitman scored 88 runs which includes a Man of the Match knock against South Africa in the group stage of the competition. The 35-year-old is the fourth leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup. He has scored 847 runs in the 33 matches that he played in the competition. With a strike rate of 131.52, Rohit averages 38.50 in the competition. More than his batting strength, the team and the entire nation will bank on him to help India win their first ICC trophy in almost ten years. Rohit and company will come to the World Cup following a disastrous Asia Cup where India lost two of their three super four matches. They would hope to turn things around when India begins their campaign in the T20 World Cup on the 23rd of October at Melbourne Cricket Ground. 2. Gautam Gambhir The hero of the finals, Gautam Gambhir was an integral part of India winning the first-ever T20 World Cup in 2007. His knock of 75 against Pakistan at Johannesburg helped India win their maiden T20 World Cup. Now, 14 years and 7 championships later, India will once again look to walk on the same path and win their second title in history. Coming to Gambhir, the southpaw smashed 524 runs in the 21 matches that he played in the tournament. With a strike rate of 118.01, the 40-year-old averaged 26.20 in the tournament. The former opener has now joined politics and also is a full-time broadcaster. He is also the captain of the India Capitals side which plays in the Legends League Cricket. Apart from that, Gambhir is also the mentor of the Lucknow SuperGiants franchise in the Indian Premier League. 3. Virat Kohli With just two runs behind Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli is the fifth leading run-scorer of the tournament. Even though he has been tremendously successful in international cricket, the former India captain is still eyeing his maiden T20 World Cup. In 21 matches that Virat played, he scored 845 runs in the tournament. The 33-year-old averages 76.81, which is the best for a player playing at least 10 matches in the T20 World Cup. He also has a decent strike rate of 129.60 in the tournament. The poster boy of Indian cricket, Kohli was out of form for quite some time but he was back to his best in the recently concluded Asia Cup. He was the second highest scorer of the tournament but most importantly, his return back to form is what is more satisfying for the team. Captain Rohit Sharma and a million other supporters of the team know the importance of batting star for the upcoming T20 World Cup and beyond. 4. Shoaib Malik Shoaib Malik is the most successful batter for Pakistan in the history of the tournament. With 124 matches in the format, Malik is just behind Rohit Sharma (136) in the list of most number of T20I matches in history. Even at 40-years-age, Malik was still in contention for selection in the 2022 T20 World Cup but the Pakistan team decided against the idea. Malik played 34 matches in the tournament and scored 646 runs in the process. With a strike rate of 123.28, Malik averages 34 in the tournament. He also played a knock of 24 runs in 22 balls in the finals and helped Pakistan beat Sri Lanka to win the T20 World Cup in 2009. Malik also has three wickets to his name in the tournament. Shoaib also holds the record of the highest partnership for the 5th wicket in T20I cricket. He along with Misbah Ul Haq put up 119 runs against Australia in 2007 and no one has been able to break it till date. With 2435 runs, the veteran also ranks 10th in the list of most runs in T20Is. 5. Yuvraj Singh The 40-year-old Yuvraj Singh was the vice-captain of the side when India won the inaugural T20 World Cup. The southpaw in that same tournament smashed six sixes against Stuart Broad and alerted everyone of what he can do in the shortest format of the game. With that, he became the fastest player (12 balls) to hit a half-century in T20I cricket. Yuvraj has 593 runs in the 31 matches that he played in the T20 World Cup. He averages 23.72 and has a strike rate of 128.91 in the tournament. The all-rounder also has 12 wickets to his name in the tournament. He bowled at an average of 7.26 in the tournament. The two-time World Cup winner was however heavily criticised in the 2014 T20 World Cup when he scored just 11 runs from the 21 balls that he faced against Sri Lanka in the finals. India lost the match by 6 wickets and hasn't been able to lift an ICC Trophy since 2013. 6. MS Dhoni The captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the first-ever captain to win the T20 World Cup. Be it with bat or his leadership skill, Dhoni always played a decisive role whenever he played for India. He is one of the most successful captains that India has ever produced and was part of every T20 World Cup that India won. He was part of the squad in all the previous editions of the tournament except for 2021 when India announced him as the mentor of the side. The 41-year-old smashed 529 runs in the 33 matches that he played in the tournament. With a strike rate of 123.88, Dhoni averages 35.26 in the tournament. Being a wicketkeeper, Dhoni has the most dismissals (32) in the history of the tournament. Dhoni also holds the record of captaining most matches in the tournament. In 2019, he announced his retirement from international cricket but features regularly in the IPL. He is the captain of the Chennai Super Kings team and has four IPL trophies to his name. 7. Shahid Afridi Shahid Afridi is one of the most destructive batters that this format has ever seen. The all-rounder had an enormous contribution to helping Pakistan win the 2009 T20 World Cup. Based on his contributions, the 42-year-old was adjudged as the Man of the Match in the semi-final as well as in the final of the tournament. Popularly known as Lala, Afridi was the eighth-leading run scorer and fifth-leading wicket-taker when Pakistan won their first and only T20 World Cup in history. He also ranks sixth in the list of most wickets (98 wickets) in T20I cricket. In the 34 matches that he played, he has 546 runs to his name. Even though Afridi had a spectacular strike rate of 154.23 in the tournament, he had a very poor average of 18.82 in the tournament. However, with 39 wickets to his name, Afridi is the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of the tournament. 8. Ravichandran Ashwin The off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is India’s most successful bowler in the history of the T20 World Cup. His inclusion in the 2021 version of the tournament did raise some eyebrows but the team management backed him and he will once again represent India in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. The 36-year-old played 18 matches in the tournament and picked up 26 wickets in the process. At 6.01, Ravi Ashwin has the best economy among players with a minimum of 25 wickets in the tournament. In the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin’s batting skill will be tested in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The team management has decided to go ahead with experience and that’s why dropped Ravi Bishnoi to pick Ashwin. Just like in the IPL, he will be partnering with Yuzvendra Chahal in the tournament as India is aiming to win their second title in this format. 9. Saeed Ajmal Saeed Ajmal had an astonishing career and is considered as one of the best spinners ever to don the green jersey. He was instrumental for Pakistan when they won the T20 World Cup in 2009. With 12 wickets to his name, Ajmal was the third-highest wicket-taker during that campaign. Overall, the 44-year-old is the fourth most successful bowler in the history of the tournament. He had 36 wickets to his name from the 23 matches that he played. He has an economy rate of 6.79 in the tournament and averages 16.86 only. Ajmal was unfortunate as his career was cut short because of being banned for illegal action. Despite that, in the limited opportunities that he got, the off-spinner shattered some records and made his own. In the history of T20I cricket, Ajmal with 19 wickets, ranks first in the list of most wickets taken stumped. Also with 85 wickets, Ajmal is the 9th most successful bowler in the shortest format of the game. 10. Umar Gul Umar Gul was the leading wicket-taker and one of the most influential figures for Pakistan in the 2009 T20 World Cup. He was also the leading wicket-taker of the tournament in the 2007 World Cup but Pakistan failed to defeat India in the finals. He however helped the team win their maiden title by beating Sri Lanka in the 2009 T20 World Cup final. The speedster with 35 wickets is the joint fifth leading wicket-taker of the tournament. Being a bowler who used to bowl up front and in the death, his economy of 7.30 is pretty impressive. He also averages 17.25 in the tournament. Currently, the former Pakistan international is the bowling coach of the Afghanistan team. He is shaping up the likes of Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq and many other pacers in the country. With his experience in this format of the game, Gul can inspire the Afghanis to do well in the tournament. 11. Mohammad Amir The left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir has been impactful for Pakistan in the limited matches that he played. He could have been a part of the Pakistan squad in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup but because of a poor relationship with the Pakistan cricket board, Amir didn’t find his place. Coming to the tournament, the 30-year-old played 17 matches and picked up 17 wickets in the tournament. He has an average of 26.17 and an economy of 7.17 in the tournament. Even though the figures look quite average, the numbers never tell the story of his impact. After the initial years of playing cricket, Amir was banned from the game after he was found guilty of match-fixing. He then made his return and became one of the leading bowlers of the Pakistan team. He now plays franchise cricket all over the world.

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T20 World Cup: Combined best XI of IND-PAK players in tournament's history

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