Ahead of the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, choose your Upstox Most Valuable Team, where you get to pick the best XI of the tournament so far.
It’s down to the final four now – Australia, England, New Zealand and Pakistan – with two teams in with a chance to become T20 World Champions for the first time.
The Super 12 of this year’s World Cup saw players bring out their best, be it Jos Buttler’s belligerence, Wanindu Hasaranga’s all-round heroics or Trent Boult’s brilliance.
With so many fantastic players and performances in the tournament so far, choosing the Most Valuable Team is not going to be an easy task.
Needing a minimum of four batters, three bowlers, an all-rounder and a wicket-keeper, finding the right balance will be key to building your best XI.
Thankfully, there are plenty of options to choose from. We give you some of the best performers from the tournament to make your job a little easier.
Head here to select your Most Valuable Team and share it with your friends before the end of the tournament!Â
Top run-scorer – Babar Azam (264 runs)
With four fifties in five innings, Babar Azam leads the charts for the highest run-scorers in the T20 World Cup so far.
The captain has led by example in the tournament, taking Pakistan through to the semi-finals undefeated and as Group 2 table-toppers.
Babar set the tone for the tournament with a sensational 68* against arch-rivals India, whom they beat for the first time in an ICC World Cup. After a rare blip against New Zealand, he returned with scores of 51, 70 and 66, thus equalling Virat Kohli’s record for most fifties in a single T20 World Cup.
Babar Azam will have the chance to break the record when they face Australia on 11 November in the second semi-final.
Top wicket-taker – Wanindu Hasaranga (16 wickets)
Wanindu Hasaranga has been a revelation for Sri Lanka of late and has shown why he has been rated so highly during the World Cup in Oman and UAE.
Having had to go through Round 1 to get to the Super 12, Sri Lanka needed their talisman firing right from the start.
He picked up six wickets in the three Round 1 games, going at just over four runs an over. He also made a match-winning contribution with the bat, scoring 71 walking in at 8/3.
Hasaranga carried his form through to the Super 12 stage as well. Despite going wicketless against Bangladesh, he picked up 10 wickets in the next four games, including a sensational hat-trick against South Africa.
His stunning performances helped him climb to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings for bowlers.
Best batting average – Jos Buttler (240 runs at an average of 120)
There were lots of eyebrows raised when Jos Buttler, one of the greatest white-ball finishers in modern times, was promoted up the order by England in 2018.
Cut to three years later, he is one of the most destructive openers in the shortest format of the game and has taken the T20 World Cup by storm.
Currently the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, Buttler has carried his bat thrice in five games, which include a brutal 71* off 32 against Australia and a blazing unbeaten century against Sri Lanka in tough batting conditions at Sharjah.
Given England will be without Jason Roy for the rest of the tournament, the onus will be on Buttler to get the team off to a flier when they meet New Zealand in the second semi-final.
Best bowling average (min. 10 overs) – Mujeeb Ur Rahman (7 wickets at an average of 9.28)
Mujeeb Ur Rahman had a dream start to the tournament, bagging his maiden five-for in Afghanistan’s Super 12 opener against Scotland.
Mujeeb ran through the top order, dismissing three of Scotland’s top four in a single over before returning to complete his five-wicket haul.
He was also impressive in Afghanistan’s loss to Pakistan, breaking the opening partnership of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the Powerplay.
Unfortunately, he had to sit out the games against Namibia and India due to an injury but he did return against New Zealand for the final game, picking up one of the two wickets that fell as Afghanistan crashed out of the World Cup.
Best economy rate (min. 10 overs) – Bilal Khan (ER of 4.45 in three matches)
Though Oman crashed out of Round 1, they showed everyone a glimpse of what they are capable of on the biggest stage. After beating PNG in the opening game, they gave Bangladesh a run for their money but ultimately fell short.
The batting, bar Jatinder Singh and Aaqib Illyas, was lacklustre but the bowlers were sensational, playing a huge part in keeping Oman’s hope alive going into the do-or-die game against Scotland.
Bilal Khan, in particular, impressed many with his left-arm pace, finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker for Oman as well as their most economical bowler.
He returned with figures of 2/16 against PNG, which included a wicket-maiden in the very first over of the game. Against Bangladesh, he produced a great spell of 3/16 to restrict the Tigers to 153 all out. In a game where every other bowler went for over 7.5 rpo or more, Bilal’s economy was a miserly 4.5.
In the do-or-die match against Scotland, Bilal went wicketless but kept the scoring in check, going for just 15 in three overs.
(Source and courtesy: https://www.t20worldcup.com/)
