Best XI Of The Decade Across Three Formats

Best XI Of The Decade Across Three Formats: Over the last decade, the landscape of international cricket has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. With each passing year, a new cricketing league and even new format is being introduced by some or the other nation which imports players from around the globe. These showpiece events are in addition to the international cricket that these players play throughout the year.

Also Read: Top 5 Bowlers With Most Test Wickets In 2019

One of the most significant challenges today for the players is to adapt to the ever-changing formats during the year. Players have to maintain the peak level of fitness to thrive in all the versions of the game. Another hurdle for the athletes is to know how best to use their skillset according to the format. And very few players flourish in the ever-changing environment.

As the decade comes to an end, we take a look at best XI of the decade across three formats:

Rohit Sharma:

Rohit Sharma has undoubtedly established himself as one of the top batsmen in this decade. The present decade saw his rise, thanks to his promotion at the top order in 2013 in limited-overs cricket. The Mumbai batsman’s bulk of runs have come during his stay at the top order. The 32-year old has scored 6977 runs in 135 innings while opening the batting and has averaged at least 50 each year till date from 2013.

The veteran is the highest run-getter in T20 internationals with 2633 runs. India’s limited-overs vice-captain is the only batsman to score four T20 international hundreds, all of which came in this decade. Hence, his sound technique and attacking persona makes him one of the dangerous players in white-ball version.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma initially struggled in red-ball cricket. Similar to the start of his career, he batted in the middle-order and couldn’t get going. That changed when the elegant right-hander opened even in Tests against South Africa this past October. In his first Test series as the opening batsman, he received the award for the man of the series for mustering 529 runs in three Tests at a jaw-dropping average of 132.25.

David Warner:

The little dynamite from New South Wales endured a rather sedate 2018. However, when taken into account the decade, David Warner stands out. Warner made his Test debut in 2011 and has scored over 7000 runs in 83 matches at a healthy average of 48.22. He is one of the few opening batsmen today who can put the pressure on the bowlers straight away through his attacking intent.

It was in the year 2014 that the 33-year old cemented his spot as the regular member of the team. He averaged 36.91 that year and averaged above 50 every year post that, except in 2018 in which he played only five games. Warner made a thundering comeback in 2019 by scoring 647 runs in the 2019 World Cup.

As far as the T20I cricket is concerned, the format remains his forte. Since his debut in 2009, the southpaw’s numbers in each year may not reflect impressive numbers. However, given the veteran’s attacking intent, it is not hard to understand why he is a constant pick. In 2019, David Warner has scored 287 runs in only six games with a century.

Virat Kohli (c)

In this very decade, hardly any line-up remains complete without the inclusion of Virat Kohli. The Indian captain currently rules all three formats, staying at the top of the ICC rankings for both Tests and ODIs and is the highest run-scorer in T20Is. Kohli initially affirmed his status as one of the rising ODI batsmen earlier in the decade and gradually became the best. The number one ODI batsman currently has 11609 runs under his belt and remains well on track to become the highest run-getter in the format.

The 31-year old made his debut in 2011 soon after the World Cup that year. He couldn’t particularly exemplify the patience to thrive in Tests. The tour of Australia in late 2014 was the turning point in which he accumulated 692 runs across four Tests. After that, the Delhi batsman slowly rose through the ranks and became a gritty middle-order player.

Virat Kohli was the sort of player whose gameplay wasn’t mainly suited to T20 cricket. Nevertheless, he dismissed that through his insane power-hitting abilities and brisk running throughout the innings. Kohli received the man of the tournament award in 2014 and 2016 ICC World T20. He is also currently the highest run-getter in T20 internationals along with Rohit Sharma with 2633 runs.

Babar Azam:

Babar Azam could be one of the surprising names in the list since he made his international debut in only 2015. However, his inclusion comes as a result of a meteoric rise in both ODIs and T20Is. He is one of the few batsmen at present to be in the top ten rankings in all the formats. Having made his 50-over debut for Pakistan in 2015, the 25-year old, he has 3359 runs at 54.18. His best year was 2017 in which he averaged 67.08 in 18 games, mustering 872 runs. The elegant right-hander is ranked at number three in ICC ODI rankings.

Babar’s T20 career is even more prolific. He is currently the number one ranked T20I batsman. It was only in 2016 that the Lahore-born made his first T20 appearance for the national team and climbed to the top rankings by the ending of 2018.

Babar Azam, for all the exploits in white-ball cricket, is yet to mark his territory in the longest format. He is presently finding his feet in Tests, having made his way to the top ten rankings on the back of some heavy-run scoring against Sri Lanka.

AB De Villiers:

The former South African cricketer is one such player who changed the landscape of limited-overs cricket through his clean hitting in all parts of the ground. Abraham Benjamin De Villiers shocked the world by announcing his retirement in 2018, and that was the only year in this decade, he averaged less than 40 in ODIs. The 35-year old’s average stands at 53.50 with 9577 runs in 228 games.

In Tests, De Villiers batted in the middle-order almost throughout his career and possessed the potential to change the complexion of the game. His illustrious Test career included 114 games in which he mustered 8765 runs at 50.66. As much as his reputation was as a match-winner in T20 cricket, De Villiers couldn’t win any ICC tournament for South Africa. He averaged only 26.13 in 78 T20I games with a modest strike rate of 135.17.

Ben Stokes:

If there is a quintessential all-rounder who stands out at the end of the decade, it is Ben Stokes. The Kiwi-born English all-rounder resurrected his career from a trail of controversies to win the World Cup for England this year. In 50-over cricket, winning the World Cup remains the highlight of his career.

In a topsy-turvy decade for English cricket in Tests, Stokes’ emergence was the high point. He gained the spotlight in the 2013-14 Ashes in Australia when he was the lone century-maker from his side in the series. Stokes went on to score 258 against South Africa in Cape Town in England in 2016.

Two years later, the 28-year old bowled the hosts to a thrilling victory against India in Birmingham by picking up four wickets in the second innings. But his moment of reckoning came this past August when Stokes struck 135 to power the Brits to an unlikely victory in Leeds.

The Kiwi-born is yet to establish his territory in T20s for England. He came within a touching distance to bowl England to their second T20 title in 2016. While there is no doubt that Stokes possesses all the skills in his repertoire to create magic even in T20s, he hasn’t done anything notable in the format of late. The forthcoming T20 World Cup next year in Australia serves the southpaw with an opportunity to gift England another World Cup.

Quinton De Kock (wk):

As far as the limited-overs cricket goes, Quinton De Kock opens the innings for the Proteas. Equally, no other wicketkeeper-batsman has been as prolific as De Kock since his debut in 2013. In 115 games, the left-handed batsman averages 45.02 with 4907 runs. He has also effected 158 dismissals. However, even at number seven, the southpaw can be trusted upon to churn out the runs with ease.

The 27-year old took over the T20 captain for South Africa in September 2019 and levelled the series against India at home in his first assignment. He averages 30.85 in 38 T20I games with 1018 runs to his name. In the whites, Quinton De Kock plays the role of what Adam Gilchrist used to for Australia back in their heydays.

The 27-year old bats at the lower middle-order and is capable of launching a counter-attack from the word go. This was evident in the first Test against England that concluded on the 29th of December. With the Proteas tottering at 111-5 in the first innings, the left-hander struck relatively quick innings of 95 to propel his side to 284. He crafted another blazing knock of 34 in the second innings as South Africa beat England by 107 runs.

Ravindra Jadeja:

Over the years, Ravindra Jadeja has remained in and out of the Indian side. Yet, whenever given a chance, the all-rounder has hardly disappointed. His game-changing ability with both the bat and ball makes him an indispensable cog in the Indian team. When the performance with the bat and ball doesn’t click, Jadeja can pull off some fielding masterclass to dent the opposition.

Since his debut in 2009, the 31-year old has featured in 159 ODI fixtures with a batting average of 31.26, which is not too bad for a lower-order batsman. His career highlight in ODIs in this decade was playing a crucial role in India’s victory in 2013 Champions Trophy when he scored 33 off 25 balls and picked two wickets. The Saurashtra all-rounder was the leading wicket-taker in that edition with 12 wickets.

In T20Is either, he doesn’t have impressive numbers with a batting average of 11.64 and bowling average of 31.23. But the energy that he brings in that competitive version has augured well for India so far. In the longest version of the sport, Jadeja’s stocks have been rising continuously. In the last three years (2017, 2018, 2019), his batting average stands at 41, 45.60, and 62.50 and he has also accumulated 54, 25, and 21 wickets respectively during these years.

Ravichandran Ashwin:

Ravichandran Ashwin played his last limited-overs game for India back in 2017. With India preferring wrist-spinners over finger spinners, the Tamil Nadu off-spinner has remained out of favour. However, with plenty of experience under his belt in both T20Is and ODIs, he can be penetrative against any opposition on any track.

Since Ashwin’s debut in 2010, he has 150 ODI wickets in 111 games. In T20Is, the 33-year old is the joint-highest wicket-taker for India along with Yuzvendra Chahal with 52 wickets. In whites, Ashwin is the leading spinner for India and has an astounding 362 wickets in 70 Tests.

Mitchell Starc:

It was through Mitchell Starc that left-arm seamers became one of the most dangerous and wicket-taking phenomena in any version of the game in this decade. When it comes to limited-overs cricket, Starc is an automatic inclusion for any side. The New South Wales-born became the leading wicket-taker in 2015 and 2019 World Cup apart from not going wicketless in any World Cup game. He has 172 scalps from 85 games.

Even for T20 cricket, the 29-year old is an effective new-ball bowler with 39 wickets from 28 games at 18.41. In the current Australian summer, he took eight wickets across five games. While Starc is one of the gun bowlers in white-ball cricket, he is a tad ineffective in Tests.

However, in recent times, a little tweak in his bowling action has enhanced his wicket-taking ability. In the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, the left-arm speedster has 11 wickets from two Tests at 16.91. In 2015 in Perth against New Zealand clocked a speed of 161.3 km/h, the fastest ball in the history of cricket.

Dale Steyn:

Perhaps the greatest fast bowler of this generation, Dale Steyn proved with his fast bowling prowess that he can get the ball talking, irrespective of the conditions. Yet, frequent injuries have curtailed his progress. This past August he bowed out from Test cricket, finishing as South Africa’s most successful fast bowler in the format.

His best year in the decade was 2018 when he took 12 wickets from five games at 11.83. However, the 35-year old succumbed to injury and couldn’t feature even in a single World Cup game. Steyn has 196 wickets from 125 ODI games over. Dale Steyn has the unique ability to make the ball swing when it is new and generating the reverse swing when it gets old.

The veteran has also played 44 T20 matches and took 61 wickets for South Africa. Steyn’s most successful year in T20 cricket in this decade was 2013, having taken seven wickets in four games at 11.00.

Also Read: 5 Indian Players Who Could Be Part Of Asia XI Squad