Best Asian T20 International XI

India v Pakistan - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup

The sub-continent has seen some tremendous short-format players, ranging from highly effective new ball bowlers to tremendously attacking batsmen, and from sharp death bowlers to batsmen who can control an entire innings with composed knocks.

Sportskeeda mentions the best from the Asian continent to have played T20 internationals.

Below is the best Asian T20 international eleven so far.


#1 Openers

1. Virender Sehwag – 394 runs in 19 matches at 145.39

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Though Virender Sehwag missed the final of the 2007 World T20, his highest of 68 in a must-win game earlier took India that far

The man who attacked virtually every ball he faced in international cricket needs little introduction. Though it is unfortunate that Virender Sehwag retired from the game by the time the shortest format gained popularity, the aggressive opener ensured that he left his imprint on T20 international cricket.

A staggering strike rate of 145.39 was a clear indication of the power that the Delhi dasher brought at the top. His most important innings was a knock of 68 – also his highest score – against England in a must-win encounter in the 2007 World T20, whose Final he had to miss owing to an injury as India eventually lifted the trophy.

2. Rohit Sharma – 1,647 runs in 71 matches at 135.00

Rohit Sharma, the classic modern limited-overs batsman, who has redefined batting in the shorter formats, can rarely be forgotten while compiling the best from T20 and ODI cricket. Effortless heaves, clean flicks and a strong front foot game have taken Rohit all the way to be considered as one of the most fearful batsmen to have played in coloured clothing.

It is of little surprise that he shares the record for the fastest T20 international century – the other holder is David Miller – and is one of only two Indians to boast of a century across all three formats.

#2 Middle-order

3. Virat Kohli (c) – 1,957 runs in 55 matches at 137.91

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An orthodox technique even in the shortest format is what separates Virat Kohli from his competitors

One of the best to have ever batted at the international level, Virat Kohli has reached the pinnacle of ODI cricket as well as made his name in T20 cricket, irrespective of country and franchise. Kohli has perfected the art of moulding an innings, often knowing best when to deal in singles and when to attack and his ability to run rapidly between the wickets ensures crucial runs are not missed out throughout the innings.

However, what easily separates Kohli from his competitors is the orthodoxy with which he bats despite fully knowing that he must maximize runs from every ball, due to the fast-paced nature of T20 cricket.

4. Mahela Jayawardene – 1,493 runs in 55 matches in 133.18

One of the mainstays of Sri Lanka’s batting all through the first decade and more of the twenty-first century, Mahela Jayawardene adapted to different formats with an uncommon ease for batsmen not brought up in the T20 era. In international matches, Jayawardene hit 9 half-centuries to go with a solitary hundred against Zimbabwe in the 2010 World T20 in West Indies.

In the same tournament, just four days later, the prolific run-scorer hit 98* - in fact, both these knocks came as openers – as Sri Lanka reached the semi-final; other massive contributions included a 27-ball 65 against Kenya in the 2007 T20 World Cup, as Sri Lanka raked up the then highest T20 international score, while he retired from the format after Sri Lanka won the 2014 event.

5. Yuvraj Singh – 1,177 runs in 58 matches at 136.38

Undoubtedly, Yuvraj Singh has been regarded as a limited-overs specialist, having repeatedly made comebacks into the national side of late; and his exploits in the shortest format were visible as early as 2007, when Stuart Broad was dumped into the stands off all six balls in an over during the World T20.

Two games later, in the semi-final against Australia, he bashed 70 from 30 balls to bewilder the opposition bowlers, as India went on to surprisingly win the tournament. He still holds the record for the fastest T20 international fifty, which he hammered against England on that dreadful night, and three of his highest international innings have come at a strike rate of 200 or more.

5. Mohammad Shahzad (wk) - 1,816 runs in 60 matches at 136.23

The big man from the now-full member Afghanistan team, wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad's performances in the middle-order have often gone unnoticed with contemporaries like MS Dhoni and Quinton de Kock stealing all the limelight. The 30-year-old has as many as 12 half-centuries and a century in 60 T20 international innings with a highest of 118* made against Zimbabwe in 2016 by slapping 10 fours and 8 sixes.

In another memorale innings, he slammed 44 off only 19 balls against South Africa in the 2016 World T20, with their bowling attack featuring Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir, amongst others.

#3 All-rounder

6. Shahid Afridi - 1,405 runs at 150.75 in 98 matches and 97 wickets at 6.61

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Shahid Afridi was a part of the Pakistan team that lifted the 2009 World T20 in England

The most dreaded smasher of the century and a wily leg-spinner with an equally effective googly, Shahid Afridi enjoyed T20 cricket with an expected dominance. A strike rate of 150.75 speaks volumes of the impact he had in the format lower down the order, while an economy of one barely above 6 describes the control Afridi maintained with the ball, despite the looming threat of early aggression from the batsmen.

Afridi was a part of the Pakistan team that lifted the 2009 T20 World Cup, a tournament where he took a career-best figure of 4/11 against Netherlands at Lord's.

#4 Spinner

7. Rashid Khan - 47 wickets in 29 matches at 5.86

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Still only 19, Rashid Khan has stunned the cricketing world with exceptional T20 performances consistently

Teenager Rashid Khan, who seems way beyond his age with one stupendous performance after another at the highest level, has earned a solid reputation in the format; so much so that he has now become his country's T20 specialist with a contract in every domestic T20 league.

A bewildering economy rate of 5.86 is as perplexing to the eye as are his his leg-spinners and googlies. He has turn, flight, drift and control- all exceptional qualities for a 19-year-old to possess with a possible decade and a half still left in his career.

#5 Pacers

8. Umar Gul - 85 wickets in 60 matches at 7.02

Pakistan v Australia - ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014
Umar Gul lead Pakistan's campaign in two T20 World Cups in 2007 and 2009, lifting the trophy on the latter occasion

Unfortunately having now faded away, Umar Gul delivered with perfection in T20 cricket with accurate yorkers at good pace, often limiting the batsmen from attacking in the death overs. Also involved in Pakistan's World T20 victory in 2009, Gul bagged a career-best 5/6 against New Zealand at The Oval and was also instrumental in his side ending up as runners-up two years earlier.

As if bagging those magical figures once wasn't enough, he repeated exactly the same bowling performance against South Africa in their own den in 2013, but could not hold onto his spot in the side with the rise of younger names like Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir.

9. Jasprit Bumrah - 40 wickets in 32 matches at 6.72

A bowler brought up in the cradle of T20 cricket, Jasprit Bumrah shot into recognition with good IPL performances, which inevitably opened the door for national selection. With a tremendous ability to bowl at a good pace and swing the ball, along with bowling the pinpoint yorkers, Bumrah's slower balls and knuckle balls has in fact ended up replacing the more established Mohammad Shami,, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma in India's limited-overs squads.

10. Lasith Malinga - 90 wickets in 68 matches at 7.36

The man with a slinging action has often come to Sri Lanka's rescue, particularly in the death overs. In T20 internationals, he has repeatedly deceived the best of batsmen with slower deliveries on target and the faster ones landing bang on point. He and Nuwan Kulasekara had famously denied MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli quick runs in the dying overs of the final of the 2014 World T20 - incidentally, Malinga was the stand-in captain in the match - as Sri Lanka won their first global tournament that year since 1996.

11. Mustafizur Rahman - 27 wickets in 17 matches at 6.17

The left-armer Mustafizur Rahman started for Bangladesh with a bang when he foxed a first-class Indian batting line-up in his debut series at home in 2015. Bowling to their right-handers from over the wicket and pitching it exactly where it mattered, Mustafizur earned a good name with cutters and slower balls to his range of deliveries.

In the 2016 World T20, his masterclass foxed New Zealand, as he bagged 5/22 in a losing cause at Kolkata.

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Edited by Sarah Waris