NewsBytes's Champions Trophy Playing XI
The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy just concluded with Pakistan emerging as the winner of the tournament. In the last couple of weeks, we saw spectacular performances from both batsmen and bowlers from all the eight teams. We have compiled for you the best playing XI team from these eight countries, which would be able to defeat any team in the world.
India's Shikhar Dhawan to open the batting
The top scorer of the tournament, Shikhar Dhawan could be one of the openers, along with either Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal or Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman. Both Iqbal and Zaman played a crucial role in their teams' crucial wins. With Virat Kohli's extraordinary average of 129, he can come one down, followed by England skipper Joe Root, who was the fourth highest scorer of the tournament.
Ben Stokes in the middle-order and Sarfaraz as the captain
After leading his team to its maiden Champions Trophy title, none other than Sarfaraz Ahmed is better suited for the jobs of the captain and the wicket-keeper. He played a match-winning innings against Sri Lanka and inspired Pakistan to bounce back after a loss in the opening game. As an all rounder, Stokes is in the team for his 184 runs and three wickets.
Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali lead the charge
Tournament's highest wicket taker Hasan Ali, along with Mohammad Amir and Bhuvneshwar Kumar would be the pace attackers of the team. The trio has 25 wickets to their name in the 18-day tournament. While the pitches were not supportive for the spinners, Adil Rashid finds a place in the team after he ended up as the spinner with most wickets in the tournament.
Champions Trophy playing XI
Shikhar Dhawan, Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal, Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Sarfraz Ahmed (Capt. and Wk.), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hassan Ali, Mohammad Amir and Adil Rashid.
