ICC World Cup 2019: Best XI from the league stage of the tournament

The league stages of the World Cup 2019 have come to an end and it all boils down to the knockouts now. India will face New Zealand in the first semi-final while it will be Australia against England in the other game. Thus far, the tournament has provided the fans with a great level of entertainment and it surely promises more for these last three games.

Also, during the course of the 45 matches that were played in the league stage, we’ve witnessed several spectacular performances. Some of the players have achieved the improbable with the bat while the bowlers continued to be fiery as usual and picked up a lot of wickets. Based on their performances and statistics, the Best XI that is possible has been made which is listed below.

Here is the Best XI of players from the league stage of the World Cup

1. Rohit Sharma | India

With five centuries and a fifty in the last eight games that he has played, Rohit Sharma has completely owned the World Cup 2019 with his batting exploits. Never ever in his career so far, he has been so consistent. With every game that he plays, several records are tumbling. At the end of the league stage, the Indian vice-captain has scored at an average of 92.43. His only two failures, where he couldn’t get big scores, came in the games against Windies and Afghanistan. He is making numbers look silly with his exploits.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 8
Runs: 647
Average: 92.43
S/R: 98.77

2. David Warner | Australia

David Warner is not far behind Rohit Sharma but has played one game more. The former Australian vice-captain has also had an unbelievable run in the tournament. He already scored three centuries and there are three half-centuries to complement that. While Warner has received some criticism for playing slow at times, he really made up for it and has been a real match-winner for Australia. He scored 638 runs at an average close to 80.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 9
Runs: 638
Average: 79.75
S/R: 89.48

3. Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan has stunned many with his consistency in the tournament. He has really unleashed the beast in him and we’ve probably never seen an all-rounder dominating as much as he did in the tournament. The veteran cricket is the only player apart from Rohit and Warner to have breached the 600-run mark. Shakib has hit two hundreds and five fifties in the tournament and has even picked up 11 wickets. He was easily the best performer for Bangladesh.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 8
Runs: 606
Average: 86.57
S/R: 96.03
Wickets: 11

4. Kane Williamson | New Zealand

Kane Williamson, on most occasions, has done the bulk of the scoring for his team. It was between him and Joe Root who are both real match-winners and there isn’t much of a differentiating factor. But Kane has played only 7 innings and has nearly scored as many runs as Root has done in 9 innings. Williamson can mould his game according to the situation and adapts to different conditions really well. In this line-up of power hitters, he adds a great sense of calm and can take up the role of an anchor.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 9
Runs: 481
Average: 96.20
S/R: 77.20

5. Aaron Finch (C) | Australia

Australian captain Aaron Finch will not be able to open the innings in this eleven. But he is quite an aggressive player and is capable of going after the bowlers right from the first ball. Thus, he is decent enough an option at number five. Finch is amongst the top-five leading run-scorers in the tournament and has led his troops from the front. He scored 507 runs in 9 innings at an average of 56 and has taken the responsibility of getting his team off to lightning starts more often than not. Finch has also registered two tons thus far.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 9
Runs: 507
Average: 56.33
S/R: 102.21

6. Jonny Bairstow (wk) | England

Jonny Bairstow has been the best wicket-keeper batsman in the league stages of the tournament. Amongst the batsmen who don the gloves, he seems to be the best option. But just like Aaron Finch, he will also have to bat out of position. However, that shouldn’t be a huge problem for him either as he is a great striker of the cricket ball. Bairstow is generally safe behind the stumps and has registered consecutive hundreds in the last two matches that England played.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 9
Runs: 462
Average: 51.33
S/R: 97.26

7. Ben Stokes | England

Amongst the all-rounders, Ben Stokes has been the most influential. While he might not have scored any hundreds in the tournament, he adds an excellent balance to this team as he did for England. Ben Stokes has registered four half-centuries and has been highly consistent with the bat down the order. His team didn’t require his bowling services much. But whenever he was thrown the ball, he didn’t disappoint. He bowled some extremely economical spells and even picked up some important wickets.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 9
Runs: 381
Average: 54.42
S/R: 95.01
Wickets: 7

8. Hardik Pandya | India

It was between Hardik Pandya and Shaheen Afridi for this spot. Shaheen, in just five games, has picked up 16 wickets including a four-wicket haul and a five-wicket haul. But while forming an eleven, it is equally important to finding the right kind of balance. The modern-day game needs depth in the batting and Hardik Pandya can provide the team with that. He can smash a six off the first ball that he faces and is great with the ball as well. Moreover, he is an excellent fielder and thus finds a slight edge over Afridi.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 8
Runs: 194
Average: 32.33
S/R: 139.56
Wickets: 9

9. Mitchell Starc | Australia

Mitchell Starc has had an excellent tournament with the ball and has led the way for Australia in the bowling department. The left-arm pacer has played some truly fabulous cricket and was extremely smart with the way he went about things. Starc has picked 6 wickets more than the next bowler on the highest wicket-takers list and his yorkers have been a delight to watch. He has now levelled the record of Glenn McGrath who was picked up the highest wickets in a single World Cup (2007).

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 9
Wickets: 26
Average: 16.61
Economy: 5.18

10. Lockie Ferguson | New Zealand

Lockie Ferguson is another bowler who has maintained a great level of consistency throughout the tournament. There are four bowlers who have picked up 17 wickets in all in the league stage of the tournament. Of those, Ferguson has bowled the least number of overs; nearly 10 overs less than the others. He has picked only one four-wicket haul in the league games that he has played which shows how consistently he has picked up wickets in almost every game for New Zealand. His economy rates in the tournament have also been top-notch.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 7
Wickets: 17
Average: 18.58
Economy: 4.96

11. Jasprit Bumrah | India

The No.1 ODI bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, is a must in this eleven. Currently, there is no one else better than him at the death and he is excellent with the new ball as well. Bumrah has been one of the biggest match-winners for India and can win you game single-handedly. No opposition has been able to target him and score runs off his bowling freely. Given his capability to bowl at any stage of the innings, it makes him an excellent addition into this Best XI.

His stats from the league stage

Matches: 8
Wickets: 17
Average: 19.52
Economy: 4.48