5 Spectacular Players Who Should Have Been Included In The Asia XI Squad

In order to commemorate their founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will host two Asia XI vs World XI Twenty20 exhibition matches in the month of March. For the same, the BCB had requested other countries to send their players a couple of weeks ago.

On Tuesday, the list of players who will take part in the Asia XI vs World XI T20 matches was released wherein not a single Pakistani player was included, however, six Indian players made the cut for the Asia XI squad.

Despite the fact that an array of stars will be on the roster when Asia XI clash with World XI, there are some spectacular players who have missed out in the Asia XI in particular.

Today, we will be listing below five players who should have been included in the Asia XI squad:

5) Mohammad Nabi

Afghanistan’s experienced campaigner Mohammad Nabi has the ability to turn the game on its head, although the all-rounder was snubbed from the Asia XI squad.

However, one reason for leaving out Nabi from the squad could be the presence of all-rounders such as Thisara Perera and Sandeep Lamichhane. The Asia XI squad looks well stocked in terms of all-rounders maybe that’s why Nabi was left out.

The 35-year-old Afghanistan player recently bid adieu to Test cricket. He will instead focus on performing for his Indian Premier League (IPL) side Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to make the national team squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

4) Mashrafe Mortaza

The exclusion of Mashrafe Mortaza from the Asia XI squad would have raised eyebrows however those calling the shots at BCB have decided to leave out the current Bangladesh ODI skipper as he has already announced his retirement from T20I cricket, back in 2017.

While in the past, a few Pakistani players who had retired earlier, did play for the World XI, however, lighting doesn’t strike twice and the BCB have opted not to include the 36-year-old in the Asia XI squad.

For the better part of last year, there have been speculations regarding Mortaza’s future, but he was nonetheless selected to lead the Bangla Tigers against Zimbabwe for their recent ODI series. He won’t be seen in the Asia XI vs World XI exhibition matches though.

3) Rohit Sharma

Indian explosive opener Rohit Sharma will also miss the Asia XI squad owing to an injury that he picked up in the fifth T20 match versus New Zealand. After assessing the injury, the BCCI ruled him out of contention for further matches and sent the 32-year-old back to India.

Since then Rohit has been recuperating from the setback and is keen to work his way back to full fitness. The right-handed opener was in good form before he injured himself and would have been a big crowd puller for the Asia XI vs World XI matches.

This could be a blessing in disguise for Rohit and India, as the player would like to return to match fitness ahead of India’s home ODI series against South Africa, and then there’s the IPL as well, where he will captain the Mumbai Indians (MI). With so much cricket lined-up, its good that Rohit will return to action slowly and steadily.

2) Jasprit Bumrah

Another marquee Indian player who missed out on the Asia XI squad was Jasprit Bumrah, who has been struggling for form lately. Ever since Bumrah returned from his previous injury, the bowler has failed to find the sort of consistency that he is renowned for.

Moreover, even if the 26-year-old would have been playing well, there were doubts if the BCCI would actually have allowed him to play for Asia XI, that is because he’s just returned from injury and there’s a lot of matches lined-up for the Bumrah later this year.

Team India have a home assignment against South Africa, after that, the young speedster from Gujarat will play in the IPL, and Bumrah has to be fit for the upcoming T20 World Cup, as he’s one the go-to bowlers for the Men in Blue.

1) MS Dhoni

Arguably the biggest name to miss out on the Asia XI squad is former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. His inclusion in the exhibition games would have made it a big affair especially because Dhoni would have returned to the cricket field after a long gap.

The 37-year-old last played an international match for in the semifinal of the ODI World Cup 2019. So, if he had turned out for Asia XI, Dhoni fans would have gone berserk, which would have certainly made the Asia XI vs World XI matches worth remembering.

Instead, the former Indian skipper will start preparations for the upcoming IPL season from 2 March and will lead the Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural game of IPL 2020 against defending champions Mumbai Indians. That match will mark Dhoni’s return to cricket, and certainly, the IPL opener will be a mouth-watering clash now.