Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant sat down for a clip for the International Cricket Council (ICC), picking the top five players for his T20I World XI. ICC shared the post on their Instagram handle today (November 10).
Surprisingly, teammates like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar failed to make the cut for Pant’s team. Just 2 Team India cricketers featured in the top 5 Rishabh selected.
Rishabh Pant picks his top 5 players for the T20I World XI
England skipper Jos Buttler is the first cricketer picked in Pant’s coveted top 5. Buttler’s T20I record is incredible and the batsman has 18 fifties and one 100 to his name. Opening the batting, Jos averages more than 40 and intimidates the bowlers upfront.
Selecting Buttler as the first player in his Dream Team due to his ability to adapt to all kinds of surfaces, Pant says: “Whenever he comes to bat, especially in T20Is, I feel he (Jos) can hit anywhere in this world”.
Liam Livingstone also gets a place in the T20I World XI top 5 picked by Rishabh Pant.
Rishabh quotes in the video that he loves the approach Liam Livingstone has followed in the last 2-3 years. Incidentally, the slog-it-like-a-madman style of Liam coincides with that of Rishabh Pant.
Hilariously, the wicket-keeper batsman also picks himself in his T20 international dream 5, claiming that since it is HIS team, he must pick himself. Pant has a gross T20I batting record– 964 runs off 63 matches.
The other Team India cricketer who makes it to the T20I World XI top 5 picked by Rishabh Pant is pace menace Jasprit Bumrah. Rashid Khan from Afghanistan rounds off Pant’s list.
Interestingly, Team India is up against the English Lions today in the semifinal for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. The Men in Blue have been put in to bat first after England won the toss and elected to bowl first.
3 of the top 5 players that make it to Pant’s T20 World XI (Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, and Rishabh Pant himself) are a part of the knockout match being held at present.