World Cup 2019: Best XI from the axed players for the tournament

The top eight nations that will be participating in the ICC Cricket World Cup, later this year, have announced their respective provisional squads for the mega-event. The squads, according to the guidelines of the ICC, can be changed till the 23rd of May, that is, around a week before the World Cup starts. Teams have made some surprising inclusions and exclusions of players for the event, but are expected to make their squads look better in the coming weeks.

Some of the players have been left out of nowhere when many expected them to walk into the team. Nevertheless, few of them are still part of the standby list but then, these cricketers will have to wait for injuries to the players in the squad at the moment.

While these are provisional squads selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, there are certainly some players who could have played in the tournament but won’t, at least for now.

Here we bring you the best XI from the axed players:

1. Reeza Hendricks (South Africa)

The elegant right-handed batsman was overlooked for the World Cup by the South African team management. They went for the experienced campaigner and currently out-of-form batsman Hashim Amla for the big tournament. While some people have come out being critical of this decision of Cricket South Africa, few still see Hashim Amla as the better choice, given his record and experience. Hendricks, nonetheless, is a brilliant batsman and will open the batting in this team.

2. Ambati Rayudu (India)

Another unfortunate exclusion from the World Cup, Ambati Rayudu averages over 45 with the bat in ODI cricket. Virat Kohli, the skipper of the Indian cricket team, had hinted a few months ago about Rayudu playing at No. 4 for India at the World Cup, but sadly, due to his unimpressive show with the bat after that, he was left out of the provisional Indian squad for the big tournament.

Ambati is a good batsman, who has shown his mettle in the top-order as well as in the middle-order many times. He has been opening the batting for CSK in the IPL since last year and has done a good job. So, he will open the batting with Reeza Hendricks.

3. Peter Handscomb (Australia)

This Aussie batsman, many thought, was almost certain to find himself in Australia’s provisional squad for World Cup, to be held in England later this year. Handscomb was brilliant in the ODI series against India in March, earlier this year, as he scored 236 runs in 5 matches at an average of over 47. He then averaged a shade over 30 against Pakistan after the India-series.

He would have expected himself to travel to England with the team, but unfortunately, he wasn’t picked with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner returning to the fold. He would’ve definitely been hard done by it. Handscomb will bat at number three in our XI.

4. Dinesh Chandimal (C) (Sri Lanka)

Being one of the better and more experienced batsmen in Sri Lankan cricket, Dinesh Chandimal would surely have expected himself to play for his country in the mega event. As it turns out, that is very unlikely to happen at the moment, as he, the former skipper of the team, doesn’t feature in Sri Lanka‘s World Cup squad.

Chandimal is a lovely, technically sound batsman, who has shown his potential at the highest level quite a few times. He could’ve provided stability to the team in the middle-order but went out of favour courtesy poor form. He will bat at number four in our team and do the job.

5. Rishabh Pant (WK) (India)

The exclusion of this young Indian lad, known for playing attacking cricket while batting and taking some superb catches while keeping the stumps, from the provisional World Cup squad surprised a lot of people. Rishabh has been playing well of late and could have possibly been a deserving player to travel with Kohli and co. to England in a month or so.

But the selectors and the skipper opted for experienced Dinesh Karthik ahead of him and Pant remains in the standby list now. He will be the wicketkeeper in this team and will also take up the role of a finisher.

6. Farhaan Behardien (South Africa)

Farhaan Behardien is one of the most underrated all-rounders in world cricket. It is quite baffling to see him out of the national side every now and then. Behardien could’ve provided the perfect final flourish for South Africa in the death overs in World Cup. He was also in decent form in the domestic One-Day tournament this season.

Playing for the Titans, Behardien plundered 328 runs in 10 innings batting lower down the order at an impeccable average of 46.85 and a strike-rate of 103.79. His six-hitting prowess will also be missed by the Proteas and most importantly, Behardien can roll his arm effectively in the middle-overs also striking gold with the ball at times.

7. Todd Astle (New Zealand)

The Kiwi in his mid-thirties is another player who was ignored by his team for the upcoming World Cup. Astle is a useful spinner who besides controlling the flow of runs, can also chip in with a wicket or two, in important situations. He can also be a decent batsman for a bowling-allrounder, as suggests his ODI batting average of over 26.

He, pretty likely, won’t be travelling to the United Kingdom with his team with the spinners selected in the New Zealand squad are pretty good. He will be the wrist spinner in this time and also will bat at seven to eke out some important runs late in the innings.

8. Akila Dhananjaya (Sri Lanka)

The 26-year-old will also miss the mega-event, as the 15-man squad that Sri Lanka released earlier this week, doesn’t feature his name. The mystery spinner can be very good on his day, as he already has a 6-wicket haul, two 5-wicket hauls and two 4-wicket hauls, to his name in just the 32 ODI innings he has plied his magic in.

Akila Dananjaya was compared with Dhananjaya de Silva by the Sri Lankan selectors according to reports and the latter won the race. He will be the second spinner in this XI and will bowl in tandem alongside Astle.

9. Junaid Khan (Pakistan)

One of the unluckiest cricketers, Junaid Khan, was dropped unceremoniously after the recently concluded ODI series against England. He played only two matches out of five and was expensive like every other bowler of his team. On the flip side, Mohammad Amir wasn’t included in the provisional World Cup squad and had to prove himself in England series to earn a ticket to the tournament.

But as it turned out, Pakistan lost the series by 4-0 and the management felt the need for Amir’s experience. Amir couldn’t play even a single game due to suspected chicken pox and walked back into the World Cup squad at the expense of Junaid. Junaid should consider himself unlucky once again as he could’ve been a handful in England during the tournament.

10. Josh Hazlewood (Australia)

Being one of the better bowlers in world cricket right now and still getting dropped for the World Cup, is certainly not a good feeling for anyone, be it you, me or Josh Hazlewood. The tall Aussie pacer, some believe, should have been picked instead of the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile or Jason Behrendorff, for the once-in-four-years mega-event.

Hazlewood was confident of getting fit in time for the warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup. But the selectors wanted him fully fit for the all-important Ashes later in the year and hence didn’t pick him.

11. Taskin Ahmed (Bangladesh)

The day Bangladesh announced their squad for the World Cup, this young fast-bowler was seen crying in front of the media. The 24-year-old’s economy-rate in ODI cricket might not be that impressive, but his 45 wickets in just 31 innings give everyone an idea of his wicket-taking abilities.

Taskin Ahmed sure is heartbroken because of his axing from the squad, just like the ten other players in this list (or maybe a bit more than them), but considering his quality of bowling and past performances, we won’t axe him from our team. He will bowl in tandem with Josh Hazlewood. Hope it makes things a little better for young Taskin!

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