The ICC Best XI from the 2021 T20 World Cup

The 2021 T20 World Cup has been and gone and Australia won their first ever T20 World Cup title thanks to an eight-wicket win over New Zealand. It is safe to say that throughout the tournament there was no shortage of quality performers at the T20 World Cup, and the International Cricket Council recently released their team of the tournament. So, who made it into the ICC XI? Well, read on and you will find out.

Who Was on the panel

When it comes to the best XI from a tournament, it is always nice to know who was on the panel that made the decisions. The panel for the 2021 ICC XI was made up of journalists, former players, and commentators. These were Ian Bishop, Shane Watson, Natalie Germanos, Lawrence Booth, and Shahid Hashmi.

They know that there will be plenty of fans that disagree with the final selection, and they are completely fine with that since different opinions are what makes the sporting world so interesting. In fact, they are happy if their final selection causes a lot of debate among cricket fans and online cricket bookies around the world.

So, now that we have got that out of the way, let us look at their team.

The Top Order

David Warner entered the tournament in very patchy form, but he laid that to rest with some powerful performances, especially later on in the competition. In the seven matches that he played, he scored 289 runs with an average of 48.16. During the Super 12s stage, Warner smashed a 65 against Sri Lanka, an 89* against the West Indies, and then a vital 49 against an in-form Pakistan side in the semi-finals. Then, in the final, he hot a 53 that was a perfect support act for Mitchell Marsh, who scored 77*.

England's Jos Buttler was in similar form throughout the tournament, scoring only 20 fewer runs than Warner but with a much higher average of close to 90. He smashed the only century of the tournament against Sri Lanka when his team needed him the most, while he butchered the Aussies with a quickfire 71* in a Super 12 game - a game that England won by eight wickets and 50 balls to spare. He was also very good with the gloves behind the stumps and will be this team’s wicketkeeper.

Captaining the ICC XI is Babar Azam, who was the only batsmen to score more than 300 runs in the whole competition. His 68* against India in their opening Super 12s match helped his side to a huge 10 wicket win and their first ever win against India at a World Cup. He scored four half-centuries in the tournament, making him the first batsmen to do so since Virat Kohli in 2014. He finished the competition with an average of 60.60.

The Middle Order

Sri Lanka's Asalanka was chosen at number 4 thanks to his match-winning innings versus Bangladesh in the Super 12s stage. His team needed 172 runs to win the match, and Asalanka smashed a brilliant 80* from just 49 balls to guide his team over the line and add to his reputation as one of Sri Lanka's best talents. He then hit 68 against the West Indies and finished the competition with 231 runs to his name and an average of 46.20.

South Africa's Aiden Markram and England's Moeen Ali slot in at numbers 5 and 6, with the former's 52* against England helping the Saffas become the first team in the competition to beat an impressive looking England outfit. He also scored another fifty against the West Indies, meaning that he finished the tournament with 162 runs and a 54 average. Ali, on the other hand, scored 92 runs in the tournament with a strike rate of 131.42, which helped give his side impetus down the order. Also, he picked up 7 wickets at an average of 11.00 and an economy rate of just 5.50, despite the fact that he regularly bowled in the powerplay.

The Bowlers

Sri Lanka's Hasaranga completes the ICC's middle order as he was the tournament's leading wicket taker with 16 wickets in the eight matches that he played. He took all these wickets at an average of just 9.75, and even took a hattrick against South Africa by dismissing Makram, Temba Bavuma, and Dwaine Pretorius. He can also bat a bit and chipped in with some valuable runs for his team.

The Australian pairing of Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood fill in the number 8 and 9 poisitions, with the former not too far behind Hasaranga as the tournament's leading wicket-taker. However, we must stress that Hasaranga played more games because Sri Lanka had to play in the first stage of the tournament to qualify for the Super 12s stage. Zampa picked up a very impressive five wickets for 19 runs against Bangladesh in the group stage and finished with 13 wickets at an average of 12.07.

Hazelwood picked up 11 wickets in the tournament at an average of 15.90, and he was a crucial weapon in helping the Aussies lift their first ever T20 World Cup title. He picked up three wickets for 16 runs in the final, including the vital wickets of Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, and Kane Williamson.

Rounding off the team in the number 10 and 11 spots are his fellow pace bowlers Anrich Nortje and Trent Boult. New Zealand's Boult picked up three wickets in matches against Afghanistan and India, while also being the only one to pick up wickets in the final against Australia. He ended the tournament with 13 wickets at an average of 13.30. It is Nortje's express pace that helps him get into this ICC XI as he picked up a staggering 3 wickets for eight runs against Bangladesh to help bowl them out for a paltry 84. He finished the tournament with a bowling average of 11.55.

The 12th man is Pakistan's brilliant bowler Shaheen Afridi, who can probably consider himself a little unlucky not to make the XI. Th 21-year-old started the tournament in fire by removing KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli to finish with figures of 3 wickets for 33 and this helped pave the way to a memorable victory. He finished the tournament with 7 wickets at an average of 24.14 and will be a sure tip for online cricket betting in many more World Cups to come.

The Team in Full

So, the ICC XI in full is as follows:

• David Warner (Australia) - 289 runs with an average of 48.16
• Jos Buttler (England) (WK) - 269 runs at an average of 89.66, including 5 dismissals
• Babar Azam (Pakistan) (Captain) - 303 runs at an average of 60.60
• Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka) - 231 runs at an average of 46.20
• Aiden Markram (South Africa) - 162 runs at an average of 54.00
• Moeen Ali (England) - 92 runs with a 131.42 strike rate and 7 wickets an average of 11.00
• Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) - 16 wickets at an average of 9.75
• Adam Zampa (Australia) - 13 wickets at an average of 12.07
• Josh Hazlewood (Australia) - 11 wickets at an average of 15.90
• Trent Boult (New Zealand) - 13 wickets at an average of 13.30
• Anrich Nortje (South Africa) - 9 wickets at an average of 11.55
• Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) - 7 wickets at an average of 24.14

We do not know about you, but we do not think that there are many teams out there that could beat this one in a T20I match. With this is mind, it really would be awesome to see this team take on India or England in a one-off T20 game. Although hopefully this time around, the coin toss will not be as important as it was all throughout the T20 World Cup.