CWC 2019: Best XI of the players featuring in the tournament

The ICC World Cup 2019 in England is just a month away and with each passing day, the excitement and anticipation for the grandest tournament in cricket are increasing. With the squads announced by the 10 teams participating, we are officially on the road to England.

Before going on, here are the squads of all the 10 teams:

1) India

Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja

2) Pakistan

Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik (vc), Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hasnain.

3) England

Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jos Buttler (vc & wk), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

4) Afghanistan

Gulbadin Naib (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan and Mujeeb ur Rahman

5) Australia

Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (vc & wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

6) Bangladesh

Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah Riyad, Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Mohammad Mithun (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed

7) New Zealand

Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (vc), Ross Taylor

8) South Africa

Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (vc & wk), David Miller, JP Duminy, Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi

9) Sri Lanka

Dimith Karunaratne (c), Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis (wk), Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal

10) West Indies

Jason Holder (c), Evin Lewis, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Fabien Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, Ashley Nurse.

With the squads assembled, in this slideshow we take a look at the best ODI XI that can be made from the above 10 squads.

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Openers: Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock

This is an opening pair that we have seen in action in the Indian Premier League this year for Mumbai Indians and they have looked good together. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock are currently ranked 2nd and 4th respectively in the ICC ODI Batsmen ranking chart.

These two have been one of the most vital cogs for their respective countries and their ability to make big hundreds is what sets them apart. We already know about the ability of Rohit to build an innings but de Kock also seems to have that same ability.

With wickets in England expected to be good for batting, expect these two to tear it up in the upcoming World Cup.

Middle Order: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ross Taylor, and Eoin Morgan (Vice Captain)

Virat Kohli

Were there any doubts on who the number 3 was gonna be? Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsman in the world and he is going to be the captain of this superstar XI. Kohli is arguably the best chaser this game has ever seen and he would be looking forward to making England his stomping ground again.

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New Newland's Ross Taylor has been the best No. 4 batsman in the world for some time now and he is considered as one of the best in ODI cricket of this generation. Currently ranked number 3 in the ODI rankings, Taylor is going to be vital for New Zealand's chances in England.

Eoin Morgan

After a dreadful 2015 World Cup campaign, England has adopted a more fearless style of play and one of the main reasons for this ODI revolution has been their captain Eoin Morgan. Morgan along with Joe Root has been a mainstay of England's middle order and he will be the vice-captain of this team.

All-Rounder and Wicket-Keeper: Jason Holder and MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

All right., here we come to the business end of the batting line-up of this superstar team and any best ODI team in the world is incomplete without MS Dhoni in it. So, the Indian wicket-keeper will come at number 6 in this team and there shouldn't be any doubts on his inclusion in this XI.

He is the best wicket-keeper in the world and while he may not be the best batsman, he brings along many facets with him and leadership is one of those things. Dhoni has shut his critics up in the last year and a half and he is going into this World Cup being India's best middle order batsman.

Jason Holder

The all-rounder in this team will be a fast bowling one as pitches in England support pace more than spin.

So, the West Indian captain who has a great year and a half takes the all-rounder spot and he completely deserves it. Jason Holder has been the job both with the bat and ball and finally his batting skills are now being recognized by everyone.

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah

Rashid Khan and Kuldeep Yadav

Now to the bowling department, it is a typical one with two fast bowlers and two wrist spinners. It is no shock that the two spin bowlers here are wrist spinners as they have been dominating in ODI's since the 2015 World Cup.

Kuldeep Yadav and Rashid Khan are two spinners included in this XI and there shouldn't be any doubts on their selection as both of them are match winners for their respective countries.

Kuldeep and Rashid have made it a habit of picking up crucial wickets in the middle overs, which is the most crucial phase of the game. Both of them will be looking to bamboozle batsmen with their skill in England.

Kagiso Rabada

The two fast bowlers in this team are Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah. These two young fast bowlers have been setting the standards as far as death bowling is concerned and there is no doubt that these two have the best yorkers in the business.

Jasprit Bumrah

Rabada and Bumrah are currently ranked 5th and 1st respectively in the ICC ODI bowlers' rankings and both of them will be looking forward to their litmus test in England.