The ICC World Test Championship, have every cricket enthusiast at the time of their lives. Matches like the ones in the India Australia series earlier this year, and performances like those by Joe Root and Kane Williamson, filled everyone’s eyes with admiration and love for the longest format of the game as the teams thrived to reserve their position in the Finals of the ICC World Test Championship. So, here’s a look at the Best XI that could be formulated in the ICC World Test Championship.
Openers (David Warner, Rohit Sharma)
The two dashing openers discovered their new selves during the ICC World Test Championship, performing like true champs and getting their teams to starts that they would have wanted to. Rohit Sharma, playing for the Indian Cricket Team, played in 11 matches and scored 1030 runs at an average of 64.37 runs, and David Warner, playing for Australia, scored 948 runs in the 12 matches he played. Both these players were integral parts of their country’s line-ups and were a big reason why their teams performed well, with India making their way into the finals.
Middle Order (Joe Root, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli)
The trio that along with Kane Williamson, forms the Fab 4 of world cricket is the one forming the Top order of this Best XI, coming out of the ICC World Test Championship. All the three players made sure that every time that they stepped on to the field, amassed mountains of runs and capitalised in the best ways possible on the starts that were given to them by the openers of the side.
Joe Root is the second-highest run-getter of the championship so far, with 1660 runs to his name in 20 matches. Virat Kohli may not have the numbers as high as Root, but the impact of his innings and leadership was immense. He scored 877 runs in 14 matches but led the Indian team to glory on several occasions. Steve Smith, just like Root was among runs, as he managed to get a total of 1341 runs in the 22 occasions that he came on to bat during the 13 matches that he was a part of.
Lower Order (Marnus Labuschagne, Jos Buttler)
The highest run-getter of the championship at the moment, and the one, surpassing whose numbers would be a challenge for other batsmen, Marnus Labuschagne, through the course of the Championship gave such scintillating performances that his name was a part of every conversation about the ICC World Test Championship. Having played in 13 matches, he had 1675 runs to his name, as his average soared at 72.82. The English wicketkeeper, Jos Buttler also managed to deliver great performances from his bat, as his aggregate with the bat rested at 963 runs in 18 matches, and complimenting this was his 50 dismissals which he was a part of as the wicketkeeper of his team.
Bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin, Pat Cummins, Stuart Borad, Tim Southee)
The highest, second highest, third highest and the fourth-highest wicket-takers of the ICC World Test Championship so far are the bowlers, forming the lower order of this XI. Pat Cummins was at the helm of affairs in terms of taking wickets, as he managed to get as many as 70 batsmen walking back to the pavilion in 14 matches.
Stuart Broad came in next with his pace bowling might as he managed to bag 69 wickets in the 17 matches that he played in. Occupying the number 3 spot was Ravichandran Ashwin who not only with the ball, but with the bat in hand, also showed his talents to the fullest. Along with the 67 dismissals with the ball in 13 matches, he also showed strokes of brilliance occasionally with the bat in hand too, increasing his utility as an all-rounder in the side. Tim Southee, the Kiwi pacer, holds the 4th spot, with 51 wickets attributed to him in total.
