(Newswire.net — November 25, 2022) — It seems none of the cricket pundits were even close to predicting the outcome of the T20 World Cup accurately. While English cricket fans are rightfully enjoying the moment of heavenly glory and all other teams are analyzing what went wrong, Kevin Pietersen, a former star of the England cricket team just came up with his invincible dream team for the T20 World Cup.
Kevin Pietersen, with an impressive performance record in all formats of the game, believes Jos Buttler could lead his playing XI squad too. Buttler scored 225 runs and led the team well, although he had pretty big shoes to fill following the retirement of Eoin Morgan from international cricket.
Second in the playing 11 for the tournament, according to Pietersen could be Alex Hales, who scored 212 runs and did well when it mattered most.
“I said before the tournament that Hales is a match-winner, and he proved to be exactly that for England,” wrote Pietersen in his blog adding that he delivered three vital knocks against New Zealand, India, and Sri Lanka.
For the crucial third spot, India’s top run-getter Virat Kohli is the obvious choice. Emphasizing Kohli’s core potential and how he believed in his come-back following not so great a few seasons, he wrote in his blog, “One of the highlights of the tournament for me was seeing King Kohli back to his very best, ending the World Cup as the top run-scorer by a comfortable margin.”
Suryakumar Yadav of India, with 239 runs in the T20 World Cup, found a place in Pietersen’s World Cup squad. Remembering his sparkling performance in the IPL matches, “He’s lit up the IPL for several years and has now done it on the international stage.”
Applauding his performance, he wrote, “This guy is just spectacular to watch and has to be one of the best white-ball batters around at the moment.”
The next explosive in the arsenal is the Black Cap, Glenn Phillips. He scored 201 runs for the team in the World Cup tournament.
“The century against Sri Lanka was one of the best innings of the World Cup,” Pietersen wrote, adding that he was the most impressive batter in another good tournament for the Black Caps.
One of the sparkling stars of the T20 World Cup could be Zimbabwean Sikandar Raza. With his 219 runs and 10 wickets, he found a place in the Pietersen squad for his all-around abilities.
Applauding his performance Pietersen wrote, “Finishing with 219 runs and 10 wickets against some of the best in the world is no mean feat.”
It was clear to all pundits that bowlers will play a very crucial role in the Australia T20 World Cup. So, the rising star of the English squad Sam Curran with 13 wickets in the kitty finds a place in the squad of Pietersen as a key player.
The next weapon in the bowling squad of Pietersen is Pakistan’s Shadab Khan, who took 11 wickets in the T20 World Cup. Applauding his heroics against South Africa and consistency with the ball throughout the tournament he wrote, “Pakistan would not have made the final without Shadab.”
A T20 squad without an effective white-ball spinner couldn’t be imagined, so Sri Lankan ace performer Wanindu Hasaranga, with his 15-wicket haul in this edition of the World Cup, rightfully finds a place in this squad as well.
“Topping the wicket charts at consecutive T20 World Cups is an incredible achievement,” wrote Pietersen adding, “The leggy can count himself among the premier white-ball spinners around.”
The next two on the playing 11 of Pietersen are South African Anrich Nortje (11 wickets) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (11 wickets) from Pakistan.
Applauding the performance consistency of Nortje across all formats, Pietersen wrote, “His express pace is a serious weapon and his knack of taking wickets was on full display.”
Although Shaheen got injured in the final against England, he found a place in Pietersen’s dream T20 team.
Applauding his performance at such a young age, he wrote, “Spearheading a world-class pace attack at 22 years old shows just how good he is.”
The T20 World Cup outcome might not be as per expectation, but this is what makes cricket so interesting. Kevin Pietersen’s squad looks pretty strong and balanced to win matches across any continent and any kind of pitch and condition.