Australia’s legend Mark Waugh, known for his all-round capability from his time, is a man rich with 8500 runs under his kitty. He is also one of those players to be part of 1999’s world cup winning squad.
Just ahead of the T20 World Cup, the legend was recently asked to showcase his list of 5 best players who would be in his World Cup XI squad. In response, the name with who Mark started his list perhaps would surprise you,
Jasprit Bumrah – Waugh believes the player to be undoubtedly a fantastic bowler due to his wicket taking abilities especially in the T20 format. Look at what he has to say,
“I think he’s a fantastic bowler in all formats, actually,”
Mark Waugh
He added,
His ability to get wickets in T20 cricket is key. He can bowl at the death and he can bowl up front.
Mark Waugh
Next in line, Waugh talked about was,
Shaheen Afridi – According to Waugh, the Pakistani player Shaheen Afridi, is a great opening bowler with again, great wicket taking abilities. Waugh praised the player saying, he sorts of a player who lifts the team and player that other players follow. Look at what he said,
To open the bowling at the other end we’ll go with another great opening bowler, Shaheen Afridi from Pakistan, who is a tremendous left-arm fast bowler, “He’s a wicket-taker. He sort of lifts the team. He’s a guy that other players follow
Mark Waugh
He added,
He is a left-armer so that’s another point of difference. He can swing the ball back into the right-hander, he’s quick as well, so I’ve got him number two.
Mark Waugh
Rashid Khan – At number three, Waugh pointed out somebody from the allrounder segment naming the player from Afghanistan, Rashid Khan. Waugh chose Rashid for his consistency, a player who can bowl four overs, wicket taking abilities and whacking the bowl out of the stadium.
In all competitions he plays in, he’s just the one guy who you know is going to bowl four overs,
Mark Waugh
He added,
He’ll probably get two or three wickets and go for 20 runs, and he can bat. He can also whack the ball over the fence.
Mark Waugh
Jos Butler – This time Waugh chose somebody from the English team and nobody else but Jos Butler who was also the star batter of the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royal team. The reason why Waugh chose Butler at the fourth position is due to his clean striker abilities which makes him the world number one batter.
I think he’s probably the number one batsman in world cricket in the T20 format. He’s just a clean striker of the ball,
Mark Waugh
We’ve seen him in all tournaments, he just looks on a different level to other players.
Mark Waugh
Glenn Maxwell – Last but not the least, Waugh finally added the player from his own country, who is none other than everybody’s favorite Glenn Maxwell, and who according to Waugh is a player who can win a game in the field with his bat, he stressed.
Glenn Maxwell is the sort of player that can win you a game in the field and with the bat,
Mark Waugh
With the ball, he’s probably underrated. And I think if he bats 30 balls, he’ll win you the game. So I think Maxwell, even though he’s just not a consistent player, he’s that X-factor that can win your game on any given day.
Mark Waugh
So, this is how Mark Waugh looks at his own set of teams but surprisingly, he chose the best from every team which usually means should be from Australia. Well, glad to see players from every corner, especially like Waugh, who still has the same love for cricket even though it has changed to a drastic level.
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