2015 Cricket World Cup: The folomojo dream team
The World Cup is almost here. And many of you have already entered your teams in numerous fantasy leagues. We pick a 15-man squad as our choice for the tournament. Are you on the same page? Take a read.
1. David Warner
In the form of his life at the moment, Warner’s butchery displays at the top of the order will be difficult to ignore. And the hosts certainly won’t mind his athleticism and verbal ‘prowess’ in the field.
2. Hashim Amla
Three hundreds and two fifties in his last seven matches, Amla is certainly going through a purple patch in both formats since taking over as South Africa’s Test skipper. He comes out as a batsman from the classical era, which can be very deceptive considering the pace at which he normally scores (His ODI strike rate is 89.61). With him and AB at the top of their games, SA will be the team to watch in this tournament.
3. Virat Kohli
The sight of Virat going out to bat is as good as watching a monk on his way to meditation. Calm, composed and focused, Virat has one thing on his mind – scoring runs. He surveys the field, gets a feel of the weight of his bat, looks at the onrushing bowler and suddenly, the rest of the world becomes invisible to him. In his mind there is absolute silence for a few seconds, soon followed by the sound of bat crashing against ball. And then, Virat exhales along with the millions of Indians watching him.
4. Kumar Sangakkara
Unlike most people, age has only made Sanga better. The fact that he will be playing his last World Cup may come as a surprise, considering he has been the top run-scorer in Tests as well as ODIs in 2014. But Sanga is not most people. While we keep our eyes glued to the Kohlis and the ABs, Sanga will keep adding runs to his name, fight a solitary battle for his team, add his name to the list of legends and walk away in silence and with grace.
5. AB de Villiers
If you combine Gilchrist’s explosive starts and MS Dhoni’s fiery finishes, you would probably get somewhere close to the A or the B of de Villiers. Quite frankly, it’s hard to remember the last time we saw a wicket-keeper batsman perform so consistently across all three formats (No, not even you, Sanga!) over such an extended period of time, in so many different conditions. You give AB the bat and more often than not, he’ll destroy the opposition with a smile on his face.
6. Steven Smith
Steven Smith is only human. Like all great batsmen, he has weaknesses. But it’s been a really long time since we saw any of them. Quite a few eyebrows had raised when he was named Australia’s Test captain in Clarke’s absence. Very few are betting against Smith lifting the trophy for Australia this season.
7. Angelo Mathews
Mathews has had a great year as Sri Lanka’s skipper. His methods are raw, yet effective. Much like MS Dhoni, he somehow gets the job done without using any of the things prescribed in a cricketing textbook. Against the flair and grace of Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Mathews is the perfectly crude presence the Sri Lankans need.
8. Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib has been a bright spot in an underperforming Bangladesh team throughout his career. His contribution could be tiny, but with the likes of Narine and Ajmal out of the World Cup, Shakib remains the most qualified man to occupy the spinning all-rounder’s spot.
9. Mitchell Johnson
Since his Ashes heroics in 2013-14, Mitchell Johnson has been a man reborn. World’s top batsmen have fallen prey to his lethal pace since then and the World Cup at home provides him the perfect opportunity to establish himself as the world’s most dominant fast bowler.
10. James Anderson
The England pacer is one of the best in the business with the new ball. Jimmy’s deadly swing and ability to adapt to different situations has been England’s main strength over the years. He is not as naturally gifted as Johnson or Steyn, but he makes up for it through hard-work and a consistent effort to improve.
11. Dale Steyn
There is no way to make a dream team without the best fast bowler in the world. Dale Steyn can swing the ball both ways on even the flattest of pitches. You don’t need an expert to predict what he can do on the pitches down under.
The substitutes:
Kane Williamson: One of the top performers for the Kiwis of late, Williamson misses a spot in the starting XI purely because the other contenders in the batting category are just far too good.
Brendon McCullum: A surprise exclusion. But with AB and Sanga in such good form, the wicket-keeper’s slot was already claimed. Baz hasn’t been in bad form himself, just not as good as the other two.
Moeen Ali: Based on current form, the England all-rounder probably should have made the cut. However, while his individual contribution has been decent, it hasn’t always translated into England’s wins.
Corey Anderson: Another Kiwi on the subs’ bench. We all know what Corey can do, but he needs to do it more consistently to deserve a place in the starting XI.
Those who only just missed out:
Ian Bell, Ajinkya Rahane, Glenn Maxwell, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mitchell Starc, Morne Morkel
