Irfan Pathan picks Kane Williamson as skipper in his 2019 World Cup XI

The 2019 edition of the World Cup came to a close with a nail-biting final between New Zealand and England at the Lord’s. After 102 overs of extreme twists and turns, the Eoin Morgan-captained Three Lions clinched the contest in the Super Over and became holders of the trophy for the first time. It was also the first occasion, the Brits qualified for a World Cup final after 1992.

After all the excitement in the tournament, the cricketing fraternity is busy picking the best XI of the tournament. The latest to join the bandwagon is Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan. He went for the left-right combination of Rohit Sharma and David Warner as his openers. Rohit became the first ever batsman to notch as many as five tons in the mega event, though he failed in the semis.

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Warner also finished with 647 runs with three fifties and as many tons. At number three, Irfan picked Kane Williamson, the Player of the Tournament. The Kiwi captain had a couple of centuries as well. India captain Virat Kohli’s was Irfan’s number four. It didn’t spring a surprise that Irfan went for all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. The Bangladesh cricketer scored 606 runs and got 11 wickets.

Ben Stokes had four scores in the 80s in the World Cup, including the one in the final at the Home of Cricket. Irfan picked him as the second all-rounder after Shakib. Pathan went for Jos Buttler as his wicket-keeping option. Buttler got a fifty in the final that eventually turned out to be decisive. In the fast bowling department, Irfan picked Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah.

Starc ended with 27 wickets and became the leading wicket-taker in a single World Cup edition, surpassing Glenn McGrath. Archer, making his maiden appearance in the tournament, picked up 20 wickets and also bowled the Super Over in the final.

Bumrah was exceptional, having ended with 18 wickets. He fetched wickets for his captain whenever he was handed the ball. Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal ended with 12 wickets in eight games and he was Pathan’s lone specialist spinner in the eleven.

Here is Irfan’s World Cup XI: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Kane Williamson (c), Virat Kohli, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.