Former England captain Nasser Hussain unveiled his ultimate World Cup XI, ahead of the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 which begins in India on October 5. In this XI, Hussain left out two major Indian players Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill.
The ICC World Cup 2023 will see England and New Zealand clash in the opening match in Ahmedabad on October 5. India, on the other hand, will open their campaign on October 8 in Chennai against Australia.
The tournament will see 10 teams playing 48 games across 10 venues in India with the final to be held in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Meanwhile, Nasser Hussain, in his ultimate WC XI, has included one player from each of the 10 teams that are set to fight for the big prize this year. And as a wildcard player, he has added one more Indian to the list.
The two pacers in Hussain’s World Cup XI are Trent Boult of New Zealand and Australian captain Pat Cummins. They will be supported by all-around spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan. Hussain included the 23-year-old hitting all-rounder from the Netherlands, Bas de Leede, and the mysterious spinner from Sri Lanka, Maheesh Theekshana.
As far as batters are concerned, Hussain picked Rohit Sharma as opener and he will be partnered by Quinton de Kock. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was slated to bat at No. 3 and Jos Buttler will bat at no.4. The other Indian picked by Hussain was none other than Virat Kohli, who is slated at no.4. Both Rohit and Kohli are considered modern-day ODI greats.
Nasser said on the Cricket District TikTok account: “India. I am going to go with Rohit Sharma. Top of the order, three double hundreds. White-ball superstar.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Kohli as his wildcard player in the XI led by Buttler by saying, “My wildcard pick is going to be Virat Kohli. I was trying to work out how to get Rohit and Virat in, so I am well pleased that there is a wild card pick, and also I was a little bit not short of batting, but there are a lot of all-rounders in that middle-order.”
However, Hussain left out ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah from his picks. Bumrah recently made his comeback to the Indian team in the Asia Cup in ODIs. The former England skipper also omitted Shubman Gill, who has scored over 1200 runs in ODIs this year. Gill is also ranked second in the ODI rankings.
Nasser Hussain’s “Ultimate World Cup XI”:
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Bas De Leede, Rashid Khan, Pat Cummins, Trent Boult, Maheesh Theekshana
