Current best Asian XI in T20Is

The year 2020 is a T20 World Cup year which will be hosted by Australia in October. The tournament will be preceded by the Asia Cup which is being played in September in the T20 format and is supposed to be hosted by Pakistan, though the venue will be changed as India has refused to tour the country. Anyways, given the importance of the year in T20 cricket, the Asian countries are gearing up to do their best in the format and prepare for the upcoming even down under. Each of the Asian nations in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan includes many superstars who have made a name in both international cricket and franchise-based T20 leagues as well. Many of them have a wide variety of records to their name and will be quite a handful if clubbed together to form an Asian XI of T20I cricket, given their caliber, skills, and talent. Therefore, we take a look at the Current Best Asian XI in T20Is. Here’s the best Asian T20 XI of the current players: – 1. Rohit Sharma- India Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter) Whatever has been said about the Indian opener Rohit Sharma in the shortest format of the game is very little given the number of runs he has scored for the Men in Blue team and the series he has won for them almost single-handedly. He has the record for most centuries in the international T20s with four centuries, including the joint-fastest in 35 balls against Sri Lanka. He is the second-highest run-getter in the format with 2713 runs in 99 games. Known as the ‘Hitman’ by his fans, Rohit has also hit 124 sixes in the format and even captained India to some amazing wins in bilateral and tri-series. His caliber to destroy any bowling attack on any wicket makes him a very easy pick in the best current Asian XI in T20Is. 2. Mohammad Shahzad (WK)- Afghanistan Mohammad Shahzad celebrates his hundred. (Photo Source: Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Mohammad Shahzad may be serving a ban imposed on him by the Afghanistan cricket board at the moment, but the hefty wicketkeeper-batsman has made a name for himself in the T20 format. He is the leading run-getter for his country with 1936 runs in 65 matches with one century and 18 half-centuries at a strike rate of 134 plus. Despite his portly built, Shahzad is pretty swift behind the stumps and extremely quick against the spinners. He is quite the entertainer on the field and hence has been a darling of various franchise-based T20 and T10 leagues around the world. Him and Rohit Sharma opening the innings is a nightmare for any bowling attack, no matter how good they are. 3. Virat Kohli (C)- India Virat Kohli. (Photo by Marty MELVILLE / AFP) (Photo by MARTY MELVILLE/AFP via Getty Images) Indian captain Virat Kohli will be captaining the best current Asian XI as well, given his recent record with team India, as he defeated Bangladesh and West Indies at home in 2019 and dismissed Sri Lanka with equal disdain to start 2020 on a winning note. He has also become the second Asian captain to beat New Zealand in the T20I series in their own backyard and he has done all this while leading from the front. Kohli is the highest run-getter in the format with 2794 runs in 82 matches at an average of 50.80 and 24 half-centuries to his name at a strike rate of 138.24. Kohli has been quite amazing in the format, given that he plays conventional shots and believes in running between the wickets, though has shown an inclination towards hitting the big sixes as well, but looks absolutely class while doing so. 4. Babar Azam- Pakistan Babar Azam. (Photo Source: Twitter) Often compared with Virat Kohli, the no.1 ranked T20I batsman in the world Babar Azam will come in at no.4 in this playing XI. Azam, like his Indian counterpart, is a classic player who believes in scoring runs via normal cricketing shots. He made his debut in 2015, but has made major progress in international cricket and is currently the captain of Pakistan in the T20I format. Azam has played 38 T20Is and made 1471 runs at an average of 50.72 with 13 half-centuries to his name and a strike rate of 128.13. His highest score is 97*, while he registered his first T20I series win over Bangladesh at home recently. The right-hander has the ability to anchor the innings as well as finishing the match on a high, as evident from his Vitality T20 Blast century. 5. Shoaib Malik- Pakistan Shoaib Malik. (Photo Source: Twitter) The first man to play 100 T20I matches, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik is the experienced guy this team needs. Cool and calm under pressure, Malik has won the Men in Green many matches from tricky situations. In 113 matches, the former Pakistani captain has 2321 runs at an average of 31.36 and has made 8 half-centuries with a strike rate of 124.18. Malik, who led the team in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, has made himself available for the upcoming tournament as well and given that this is the only format, the 37-year-old is currently active in, he has also decided to play beyond this T20 World Cup . Malik has been also active in T20 leagues all over the world and will be seen in PSL 2020 as well. 6. Shakib Al Hasan- Bangladesh Shakib Al Hasan (Photo Source: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images) Shakib-A-Hasan will miss the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 thanks to him being banned for 12 months by the governing body for not reporting a corrupt approach. The Bangladeshi all-rounder had a terrific 2019 World Cup, almost leading Bangladesh all the way into the knockouts. However, the T20 format is where the Jessore-born shines the most. A brilliant batsman anywhere in the batting order, he has the game to anchor the innings, but keep the strike rotating and when the time comes, get out the big guns and blast those huge sixes as well. As the left-arm spinner, he has a genius cricketing brain and has all the variations one needs to survive in the slam-bang version of the game. His success can be gauged by the fact that he has played in almost every T20 league in the world and has found success with every team he has represented so far. 7. Hardik Pandya- India Hardik Pandya. (Photo by MARTY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images) Fans are eagerly awaiting the return of Hardik Pandya to the Indian team given that he has been out for a long time after having surgery to correct his back issues and has only reached his full fitness. He was supposed to go to New Zealand but failed to pass a fitness test which ascertains whether he can take a full bowling workload. Hardik is a jewel found by Mumbai Indians on the grounds of Baroda and has made him into a diamond who has helped them win multiple IPL trophies with his bowling and more with his explosive batting. He was used a merciless hitter in MI’s 2019 IPL success, often coming in with 2-3 overs left and blasting right off, giving the impetus his team needed. Pandya will be an exciting addition to the Indian team who are sorely missing a true fast-bowling all-rounder, which has thrown off their balance in the team. And when he returns, he will hope to go back to the entertaining cricketer that we know. 8. Rashid Khan- Afghanistan Rashid Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter) Rashid Khan maybe 20, but he has the experience of a veteran of the game. The Afghanistan leg-spinner made quite headlines for his ability to pick wickets in hoards with his fast-paced deliveries. He immediately found employment in various T20 leagues and became a household name while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. Since then, he has also captained his team in the format and has done miracles, like picking four wickets in four balls, take a hat-trick and has the best bowling figures of 5/3. He has two five-wicket hauls in the T20I format and his economy of just 6.15 is tremendous for a leggie. The no.1 ranked T20I bowler in the world, he has all the guile to trouble the best batsmen. In addition to his bowling, Rashid has also developed into a handy lower-order hitter, who is capable of scoring a few sixes towards the fag end of the innings and even win you a game out of nowhere. 9. Jasprit Bumrah- India Jasprit Bumrah world cup 2019. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) Jasprit Bumrah is another Mumbai Indians discovery who has been setting the international stage on fire with his antics with the ball. He interned under the best limited-overs bowlers of all-time in Lasith Malinga and has grown into a world-beater in a very short time. Making his international debut in 2016, Bumrah quickly rose through the ranks in the Indian team to become an important part of skipper Virat Kohli’s plans. Many detractors wrote him off because of his weird action which has almost no run-up and said he will not be fit enough to bowl in Tests. But he proved them wrong with more than 60 wickets and a hat-trick in 12 Test matches. He is also the leading Indian wicket-taker in T20Is with 56 scalps to his name in 49 matches and is perhaps the best death overs bowler in international cricket at the moment. 10. Lasith Malinga- Sri Lanka Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images) The master and someone who has been playing international cricket for over 15 years now, Lasith Malinga saw a resurgence in his career in 2019, where he was a star for his country in the World Cup and even came back strongly in T20Is, becoming captain of the team. He picked yet another record of becoming the second bowler to take four wickets in four balls in T20Is and is the only bowler to do it in ODI cricket as well. Malinga, at almost 37 years of age, maybe playing his final T20 World Cup in Australia, if selected, but not known to many is that he was captain when Sri Lanka won their only T20 World title in 2014, beating India in the finals. The man from Galle is the only bowler with over 100 wickets in T20Is with the best bowling figures of 5/6 and an economy of 7.31. Malinga is a true legend of the game and the smiling assassin will want to go out on a huge mark in the upcoming ICC event. 11. Mohammad Amir- Pakistan Mohammad Amir. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mohammad Amir shocked everyone when he decided to give up Test cricket in order to focus on the white-ball formats for Pakistan. He has been constantly criticized for his decision to retire from the five-day format, especially because he is just 27 years of age and came back from a five-year ban. Amir showed improvement in the form despite having a very lackluster 2018, becoming the leading Men in Green bowler in 2019 World Cup. He has a stellar record in T20Is, with 59 wickets in 48 matches at an economy of 6.96. He was part of the Pakistan’s 2009 World T20 winning team and is expected to go to Australia for the 2020 event as well. Given that his strength lies in swinging the ball upfront, with Bumrah and Malinga aiding him in death overs, Amir can go all out with pace in the first powerplay and get wickets with pace and swing at his disposal.

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Current best Asian XI in T20Is

Many of them have a wide variety of records to their name.

4. Babar Azam- Pakistan

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