5 Indians, 3 South Africans, 2 Australians, And 1 Players From New Zealand Make The Cut As Anil Kumble And Matthew Hayden Pick Their Team Of World Cup 2023

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden and legendary leg spinner Anil Kumble selected their best XI from the 2023 World Cup league stage. The former cricketers included five Indian players, but no players from the Pakistan cricket team made it to the XI.

The selections were made in anticipation of the World Cup semi-finals. The qualified teams for the semi-finals include India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The upcoming matches will feature India against New Zealand and South Africa against Australia.

They Are My Number One and Number 2 – Matthew Hayden

In a conversation with ESPNcricinfo, Matthew Hayden picked Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma as openers, emphasizing their dynamic performances in the powerplay. Hayden expressed confidence in their ability to score runs at the top of the batting order.

“QDK for me has been the standout player. Rohit Sharma for obvious reasons. Those two inside the powerplay have been dynamic,” said Hayden.

“If I had to put my life on two players getting runs in this World Cup. They are my number one and number two,” he further added.

Rachin Ravindra Is Certainly The Breakout Young Player – Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble lauded Rachin Ravindra as the breakout young player of the World Cup, expressing a preference for him at No. 4 in the batting order. Kumble emphasized the challenge of selecting just two players in a tournament with many standout performances.

“He is certainly the breakout young player of this World Cup. I am sure I would certainly go for Rachin Ravindra, whether you put him at no. 3 or no. 4, it doesn’t matter. He has been batting at 1, 2, 3, 4, you can put him wherever,” Kumble said.

“Virat Kohli, for sure. Yes, he has batter no. 3 for India. So if he bats no. 3, Rachin Ravindra bats no. 4. If Ravindra bats no. 3, we can use the right-left combination. It is very difficult to pick in a World Cup, your two choices,” Kumble added.

Kumble and Hayden selected Glenn Maxwell and Heinrich Klaasen as their choices for the fifth and sixth batting positions in their World Cup XI. They justified the selection of Maxwell and Klaasen. Emphasizing their impressive strike rates, especially against spin.

They selected Marco Jansen, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah as the three pace bowlers in the squad. The duo picked Ravindra Jadeja and Adam Zampa as the two specialist spinners. Zampa is the leading wicket-taker with 22 scalps in the tournament.

Matthew Hayden and Anil Kumble’s World Cup XI: Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Maxwell, Heinrich Klaasen, Ravindra Jadeja, Marco Jansen, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Adam Zampa

Also read: AUS vs SA: Matthew Hayden Picks His Australia Playing XI For Semi-Final; Leaves Marcus Stoinis