AUS vs SA: Australian Players Snub Kane Williamson, Shaheen Afridi As They Pick World ODI XI

The Australian cricket team selected the best possible playing XI from the participating nations in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 in India. International superstars Shaheen Afridi, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, and David Warner failed to make it into the World Cup XI.

Australian players selected five players from the Indian National Cricket Team. Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc was the lone Australian in their ODI World XI. The team also features two English players, one from Pakistan, one from Afghanistan, and one from South Africa.

Virat Kohli Is Probably The Best ODI player – Mitchell Marsh

Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, and Ashton Agar were named the World XI on the Fox Cricket YouTube channel. Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli, and Babar Azam were picked as the top four batters.

“Rohit Sharma has got three double hundreds in international cricket so he pretty much picks himself,” said Head.

“Virat Kohli is probably the best ODI player ever to play the game,” said Mitchell Marsh.

“He’s [Babar] probably a little younger than other guys, he’s sort of following the footsteps pretty quickly behind Virat. He’s a few runs behind but again his numbers are unbelievable,” said Hazlewood.

Rashid Khan Picked As Specialist Spin Bowler In the Line Up

England players Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler were selected for the No. 5 and No. 6 positions, respectively. Indian all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will be the two all-rounders in the team, providing balance to the squad with both batting and bowling.

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was the only specialist spin bowler, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc serving as the pace bowlers in the attack. Notably, only five bowling options were selected, as Ben Stokes is playing as a specialist batter in the World Cup 2023.

World ODI XI: Rohit Sharma (IND), Quinton de Kock (SA) Virat Kohli (IND) Babar Azam (PAK) Jos Buttler (ENG) Ben Stokes (ENG) Hardik Pandya (IND) Ravindra Jadeja (IND) Rashid Khan (AFG) Mitchell Starc (AUS) Jasprit Bumrah (IND)

Also read: AUS vs SA: Gautam Gambhir Opens Up On Mitchell Marsh’s Costly Dropped Catch Against India, Says ‘Australia May Not Reach The Semifinals’