ICC World Cup 2019: Combined XI of players not selected for the tournament

Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant

The ICC World Cup 2019 is just about to begin in five weeks from now in England and Wales, and cricket fans all around the world are waiting for it eagerly. It's every cricketer's ambition to lift the most coveted trophy in world cricket, and every participating nation will surely give their all to succeed in the tournament.

All 10 qualified nations have announced their 15-member squads for the World Cup. Every team has gone for its best possible players to play in the competition. The selected players will be eager to perform in the World Cup and would want to uphold their places in the team.

But it was a hard time for the selectors in choosing the players, as their sheer numbers were surplus to the places in the squad. We have made an XI out of players who have missed out on making it to their respective sides for the World Cup 2019.

Note: All teams are allowed to revise their squads until 23rd May.


1. Reeza Hendricks - South Africa

Reeza Hendricks
Reeza Hendricks

The 36-year-old Hashim Amla, who has struggled for runs in recent times, has been selected in South Africa's 15-man squad. The player to miss out due to Amla's selection is Reeza Hendricks.

The 29-year-old Hendricks had made a case for replacing Amla after registering a great start to his ODI career. Hendricks has been a destructive T20 opener for South Africa and he also scored a ton on his ODI debut, against Sri Lanka at Pallakele.

Amla’s recent form doesn't inspire much confidence, and Hendricks can be forgiven for thinking he was unlucky to miss out.


2. Ambati Rayudu - India

Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu

The omission of Ambati Rayudu from the Indian team was contentious. Before the Australian series he was considered as the solution for India's middle-order conundrum, but three poor batting performances made the management drop him from the team.

Meanwhile, the rise of Vijay Shankar as a batsman and Rayudu's poor run of form during the ongoing IPL also influenced the selectors to choose Shankar over Rayudu.

Considered as a "3-dimensional" player, Shankar will be batting at the No. 4 position initially, as stated by the selectors. It was a disheartening moment for all Rayudu fans as he missed out on making to the the World Cup team for what could have been his last chance.

3. Peter Handscomb - Australia

Peter Handscomb
Peter Handscomb

Peter Handscomb was touted as the savior, and his performance against India at home and away proved that Justin Langer had got it spot on. In the 13 matches since being reinstated in the ODIs, Handscomb has scored 479 runs at 43.55.

He was one of the catalysts to Australia's ODI wins in India, and in those 13 matches he had a strike-rate of 93.5 against spin. He averaged 47 in five matches against India in India; scoring 236 runs in the bilateral series.

With a year's ban on Steven Smith and David Warner from international cricket, Australia had founded a quality batsman with the ability to handle spin and quicks effectively in Handscomb. But now with the availability of both Smith and Warner, the selectors have gone for reputation rather than form.

Selector Trevor Hohns stated: "Pete (Handscomb) was desperately unlucky. I can't deny that. Just so happened that Steven Smith and David Warner were coming back, someone had to miss out and we think Steven can play the same role that Peter did in the batting line up."

This is a courageous call because Australia only has one specialist back-up batsman in the squad.

Apart from Handscomb, it is fair to say that Australia have the best players at their disposal to win the World Cup for an unprecedented sixth time.


4. Dinesh Chandimal - Sri Lanka

Dinesh Chandimal
Dinesh Chandimal

Dinesh Chandimal is one of the biggest names to have missed out from Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad, on the grounds of lack of big runs.

Chandimal was the captain of the ODI team as recently as the home series against England in October, which England won 3-1. But he has scored a meager 863 runs in 27 matches across all formats since 2018, at an ordinary average of 31.96.

At the start of his career Chandimal was praised as a batsman with immense potential and class, but he never really did justice to his capabilities.


5. Rishabh Pant - India (WK)

Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant

The Indian selectors had to choose between Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant for the back-up wicket-keeper option in the squad for World Cup 2019. And they went with the experience of Karthik, leaving out the aggression and fearlessness of Pant.

Karthik has been scoring runs in the limited opportunities he has been getting in the Indian team. And as for Pant, he has been destroying bowlers all around the park in the ongoing IPL.

But Pant fans should not be too disappointed with this decision. The 21-year-old star can certainly be expected to manifest his potential in Indian colors in the next global ICC event.

6. Asif Ali - Pakistan

Asif Ali
Asif Ali

The lack of a power hitter in Paskitan's batting order has seen them failing behind the standards of modern-day ODI cricket. So after a superb PSL 2018, Asif Ali was included in Pakistan's one-day set-up.

He was added in the team for many international assignments including the Asia Cup, but he failed to live up to the expectations. He averages 28.57 with a strike rate of 130.71 overall, but upon removing the Zimbabwe series from the equation, the average and strike rate drop to 17.20 and 95.55 respectively.

Since Ali has now been dropped from the World Cup squad, it's up to Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf to show their mettle while batting in the lower middle-order.


7. Chris Morris - South Africa

Chris Morris
Chris Morris

South Africa announced their World Cup squad on 18 April 2019. They left out Reeza Hendricks and Chris Morris in place of Hashim Amla and Anrich Nortje.

South Africa could have utilized Morris's yorkers at the death, but they have gone for youngster Nortje instead. Morris has a decent bowling record in ODIs, taking 35 wickets in 34 matches with an economy just under 5.50. He played his last ODI against India in 2018.

Morris has been a huge hit in the IPL over the years, and his experience could have come in handy for the Proteas. Moreover, he is more than capable of hitting a few sixes out of the park.


8. Jofra Archer - England

Barbados-born Jofra Archer was eligible to play for England during the World Cup. But England have deferred the question of whether Archer will make their World Cup squad after naming an unchanged 15 ahead of the ICC's preliminary deadline.

Touted as a fierce pace bowler, Archer has taken the Big Bash and the IPL by storm. He has uprooted stumps with his quick yorkers and bowled at tough lengths for the batsmen to score any runs.

Many believed that Archer should have been selected in the squad for the showpiece ICC event. He has been selected in the England squad that will face Pakistan prior to the World Cup, and he still has a chance to make a case for himself.

9. Mohammad Amir - Pakistan

Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir, Pakistan's hero in the 2017 Champions Trophy, is not part of the 15-member squad named by the PCB on Thursday.

His numbers don't just his inclusion either. Since the final of the Champions Trophy, he has taken just five ODI wickets at an average of 92.6.

However, the 27-year-old still has a chance of making it. He has been named in the 17-man squad to face England before the World Cup, and a good performance there could still earn him a call-up.

The PCB can make changes to the team till May 23 without seeking ICC approval.


10. Akila Dananjaya - Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka have been suffering for a long time in every format of the game, as they are failing to get the team combination right. They have tried many youngsters and also veterans to get the team right for the upcoming showpiece event.

But unfortunately, nothing has gone right for them. The omission of Akila Dananjaya and Dinesh Chandimal are the big calls, as they were their finest players.

Just before the announcement of Sri Lanka's World Cup squad, Akila impressed in the final round of group games in the Super Four Provincial Limited-Over Tournament, taking 5 for 53 for Colombo against a Galle side that had won both their previous matches.

Akila was a regular member of the team until he failed a biomechanics test, which led to the banning of his off-break. He did make changes to his action but he now looks like a weakened bowler; in the ODIs against South Africa he took only two wickets in four games.


11. Usman Shinwari - Pakistan

Usman Shinwari for Pakistan
Usman Shinwari for Pakistan

Inzamam-ul-Haq, chairman selection head for Pakistan, had to choose two pacers from Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir and Usman Shinwari. Eventually, Inzamam went for the first two while axing Amir and Shinwari from the squad.

Shinwari, 25, has taken 28 wickets in 15 matches for Pakistan in ODIs with an impressive economy rate of 4.92, considering the scoring pace in modern day cricket. In his second ODI, he dismantled the Sri Lankan top-order and claimed his maiden fifer.

Mickey Arthur, Pakistan's head coach admitted that Shinwari hasn’t done much wrong and was unfortunate not to be part of the 15-man team.

Nonetheless, there is still hope for Shinwari to get into the World Cup side as Pakistan can make changes to their squad without permission from the International Cricket Council (ICC) until May 23.

Pakistan will kick off their World Cup campaign against the West Indies in Nottingham on May 31.

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Edited by Musab Abid