T20 World Cup 2021: Kevin Pietersen Picks His Best XI Of The Tournament, Omits David Warner

Australia opener David Warner, who was the Player of the Tournament, didn’t find a place in Kevin Pietersen’s best eleven of the recently-concluded T20 World Cup.

Instead, the former England captain opted for Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler as the two openers, followed by the leading run-scorer of the tournament, Babar Azam, who scored 303 runs in 6 matches. Kevin Pietersen hailed the Pakistani captain as “among the most consistent and best T20 batters in the world.”

Rizwan amassed 281 runs while Buttler accumulated 269 runs at a strike rate of 151, including a hundred against Sri Lanka. For middle-order sports, Kevin Pietersen picked Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka and South Africa’s Aiden Markram. Both the batsmen were played a number of impactful knocks for their respective teams and remained solid in the middle and death overs.

England’s Moeen Ali and Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga are the two all-rounders Kevin Pietersen opted for. Hasaranga was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 16 scalps – including a hat-trick versus South Africa – and struck runs at a strike rate of 148.

Moeen Ali was England’s most economical bowler, conceding at 5.5 runs per over, and took 7 wickets. The left-hander averaged 46 with the bat while striking at 131.

Adam Zampa, the joint second-leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets, was an automatic pick as the leg-spinner made regular strikes, and also bagged a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh. Kevin Pietersen stated that Zampa’s wicket-taking ability in the middle overs “was one of the key reasons why Australia won the tournament.”

Amongst pacers, the 41-year-old former England batsman chose Trent Boult, Anrich Nortje, Shaheen Afridi. Boult snapped up 13 wickets, Nortje took 9, and Afridi returned with 7 wickets in the tournament. All three pacers were instrumental in the success of their sides.

Kevin Pietersen’s best XI of T20 World Cup:

Mohammad Rizwan, Jos Buttler, Babar Azam, Charith Asalanka, Aiden Markram, Moeen Ali, Wanindu Hasaranga, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult, Anrich Nortje, Shaheen Afridi

Also Read: I Still Want To See Suryakumar Yadav Bat At No. 3 And Virat Kohli At No. 4 – Gautam Gambhir