Top Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell selected Afghanistan Spinner Rashid Khan, destructive West Indies batsman Andre Russell, England all-rounder Ben Stokes, legendary Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and pacer Shaun Tait are among the top five players in the shortest format of the game so far. The ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin later this month in the UAE and Oman.
Asked to pick five players in his T20 World XI, Maxwell opted for options that would cover all aspects on the cricket field and could give a tough time to any five-a-side T20 team in the world.
Considered by many to be the premier spinner in T20 cricket, Rashid Khan was Maxwell’s No. 1 choice. The 23-year-old, Rashid has already achieved many milestones in his career across all formats of the game, with batsmen still finding it difficult to pick up his variations.
Rashid is somewhat experienced in T20 cricket, playing for several franchises across the globe. He has played 281 matches in which he has taken 388 wickets at an average of 17.54 and strike rate of 16.60. He has also been an easy batsman to score 1288 runs. Internationally, Rashid has taken 95 wickets in 51 matches at an average of 12.63 with a strike-rate of 12.10 with best bowling figures of 5/3.
Maxwell felt that he would pose a major threat to the batsmen during the ICC T20 World Cup, especially with conditions conducive to spin bowling.
On West Indies cricketer Andre Russell, Maxwell said that he is “somebody who will add anything to any T20 team.” Russell has been an integral part of the West Indies T20 set-up. In his T20 career, Russell has played 382 matches and scored 6,405 runs at a strike rate of 169.66. He has also taken 340 wickets with the best figures of 5/15.
In the international arena, Russell has played 62 matches, scoring 716 runs and taking 36 wickets. West Indies will hope to be fit during the T20 World Cup as they aim for a third title.
Maxwell was also full of praise for Ben Stokes, whom he said was “a fierce competitor”. After playing 148 T20 matches, Stokes has scored 2,865 runs at an average of 24.91 and a strike-rate of 135.07. The all-rounder also took 86 wickets at 31.03.
For England, Stokes has played 34 T20Is, scoring 442 runs and taking 28 wickets. Maxwell felt that England would miss him during the T20 World Cup.
Maxwell, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, also included Adam Gilchrist in his top-5 picks, saying he is a “game-changer in every sense of the imagination”.
“It was a thrill to see Gilchrist in full flow, regardless of the glove and smashing with the bat,” Maxwell told ICC-cricket.com. Although international T20 cricket was in its infancy towards the end of Gilchrist’s career, he made an impact by scoring 272 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 141.66. Gilchrist played 102 matches in his total T20 career, in which he scored 2622 runs with three centuries at a strike-rate of 140.28.
On including Shaun Tait in his top-5 picks, Maxwell said, “Having played against him, I know how fast he was. Even at the end of his career, he was bowling well. I think he will definitely instill fear in any batsman at the other end.”
Despite being surrounded by injuries, Tait regularly clocked speeds in excess of 150 km/h. He played 171 T20 matches in his career and took 218 wickets at an average of 22.41.
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