T20 World Cup 2021: Australia's strongest predicted playing XI for the tournament

Cricket fans all over the world have marked their calendars with the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 being just a couple of months away. The global tournament will take place in UAE and Oman this year in October-November. With T20 becoming a fan-favourite format in recent years, several teams have their set of T20 specialists. Hence, followers of the game must gear up to witness some exciting action over the 22 yards.

Australia are one of the teams to watch out for in the showpiece event.  The Aussies have as many as five ODI World Cup titles alongside a couple of Champions Trophies. However, the T20 World Cup is still elusive for them. Their best campaign in the tournament came in 2010 where they advanced to the finals but lost the title match to arch-rivals England.

Hence, Australia would be raring to end their drought this year. It won’t be much wrong to say that the Aussie side isn’t as strong as it was a decade ago. However, the team still has many potent T20 stars, who can shine in the Arab Nations.

Meanwhile, here is Australia’s predicted playing XI for T20 World Cup 2021

1. Aaron Finch (Captain)

The dashing opener is one of the most dangerous T20 openers going around and his record in the format speaks volumes of his abilities. Finch likes to go after the bowlers from the outset and his obsession with big knocks makes him even more lethal. In fact, the 34-year-old is the only player to have two scores in excess of 150 in T20 internationals.

The highest T20I score, 172, also belongs to Finch. These facts exhibit Finch’s caliber and opposition teams must beware of the fact. Besides shining with the bat, Finch has also done a fine job in the leadership department. Having led Australia to the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, the swashbuckler would like to go a couple of steps further this time around.

Meanwhile, Finch hasn’t been at the top of his A-game lately. His continuous failures would have worried the team management as well. However, dropping the national team’s captain ahead of a showpiece tournament won’t be wise. Hence, selectors and board members must back Finch and the opener would be determined to deliver.