The ICC T20 World Cup is the grandest T20 competition in the world at the international level. The seventh edition of the ICC T20 World Cup will take place from October 17 onwards, with the United Arab Emirates hosting the tournament along with Oman. There are 16 teams in ICC T20 WC 2021.
Before the competition gets underway, we will form an all-time best playing XI featuring players who have performed the best in this tournament. Here’s a look at the all-time best T20 World Cup playing XI.
Best Openers in ICC T20 World Cup history – Chris Gayle and TM Dilshan
Chris Gayle and TM Dilshan will open the innings for this team. Many IPL fans would remember that this dream opening pair once opened together for RCB. Dilshan scored 897 runs in 34 innings for Sri Lanka in this tournament, while Gayle has amassed 920 runs in 26 innings for WI.
Middle Order – Virat Kohli, Mahela Jayawardene, AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni (C and WK)
Virat Kohli and Mahela Jayawardene will bat at the next two positions. Kohli has the best batting average (86.33) in ICC T20 World Cup history, while Jayawardene is the only batter to score more than 1,000 runs. MS Dhoni will keep the wickets. The first-ever T20 World Cup-winning captain will also lead the team. AB de Villiers will partner with him in the finishers’ department. AB scored 717 runs in 29 innings during T20 WC.
Best All Rounders in ICC T20 World Cup history – Yuvraj Singh and Shahid Afridi
Yuvraj Singh scored 537 runs and picked up 12 wickets in his T20 WC career. Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi aggregated 546 runs and scalped 39 wickets. Both were match-winners for their nations in this competition.
Bowlers – Lasith Malinga, Dale Steyn and Saeed Ajmal
Lasith Malinga (38 wickets) and Saeed Ajmal (36 wickets) are among the highest wicket-takers in T20 WC history. Malinga led Sri Lanka to T20 WC title in 2014. Dale Steyn is the final player of this team. He played 23 matches for South Africa and picked up 30 wickets at an economy rate of 6.97.