Well, participating in the ICC World Cup is always a dream come true for many cricketing individuals in world cricket. It is once again time for such a massive event in the game of cricket. All the teams have already announced their squads with a few surprising inclusions and exclusions. Meanwhile, ICC announced the unlucky XI to miss out in the final squads.
ICC World Cup 2019: Unlucky XI
1. Niroshan Dickwella:
The Sri Lankan opening batsman, who keeps the wicket is the unfortunate candidate to miss out the world cup selection. However, he needs to blame himself, as he failed to make use of the chances. But, he was their match-winner for a long time and could have got the nod in the world cup. He notched up 497 runs in 15 innings in the last 12 months.
2. Mohammad Rizwan:
The classy right-handed batsman is the other cricketer, who could have found a place in the squad. He worked really hard and garnered a lot of runs in domestic cricket. He could have easily been the backup option for Sarfraz Ahmed but PCB thought against it. After his comeback, Rizwan has hit two centuries; both tons came in Pakistan’s 5-0 series defeat against Australia.
3. Rishabh Pant:
Pant has been an exceptional talent, who got all the required ingredients to deliver for the team. However, the selectors went with the experienced lad Dinesh Karthik, who already got a decent record in his kitty.
4. Ambati Rayudu:
Not only for the World Cup, but he has also been the unluckiest cricketer throughout his career. Ambati Rayudu never got enough chances to prove his mettle. However, of late, he was expected to be the number 4 for India but missed it out at the last moment.
5. Dinesh Chandimal:
He is yet another stylish stroke-maker of the ball, who missed out the place. The flamboyant striker of the ball was expected to be the match-winner of Sri Lanka but unfortunately, injuries made his faded away. All he ended up by finding a place in ICC World Cup 2019: Unlucky XI.
6. Jofra Archer:
He could have easily found the place in the team anywhere in the world but he is unfortunate to be on England soil, as he missed out a place in the 15-man squad. He is fine talent, who can win matches for the team on his day.
7. Asif Ali:
The swashbuckling batsman has been their power hitter in the recent Past. One would have expected him to make into the final squad but unfortunately, failed to make so. It would be interesting to see whether he can make into the squad in the remaining period of time.
8. Kieron Pollard:
The Windies big man is in ominous form but unfortunately, failed to find a place in the squad. He can be the match-winner for the team on his day but couldn’t quite attract the eyes of the selectors. Perhaps, the internal politics once again played a key role.
9. Peter Handscomb:
He got every right to be in the squad for Australia. In fact, he can be their regular starter in the playing XI. But, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The return of David Warner, Steven Smith and the experience of Usman Khawaja saw the other side of the story. In the 13 games he has played so far in 2019, he averages 43.54 with 479 runs, a total that includes three fifties and a hundred.
10. Akila Dananjaya:
This lad has been sensational for Sri Lanka in the past couple of years. He has been their match-winner and also the consistent performer even when the team failed to deliver the goods. Surprisingly, in fact, shockingly, he was left out from the squad.
11. Mohammad Amir:
None would have expected that Amir would be left out, who has got such a wonderful experience. He was their key contributor during the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and also gave the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli in the finals of the tournament. He could have easily found a place in the team but unfortunately found in ICC World Cup 2019: Unlucky XI.