Spin legend Shane Warne has revealed his Australia playing XI that should take the field at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 which has gotten underway in Oman with the qualifiers. The second phase – the Super-12 – of the event will begin from October 23 with Australia taking on South Africa in the opening clash.
Sharing his eleven on Twitter, Warne interestingly omitted former Australia captain Steve Smith.
The duo of Aaron Finch and David Warner are his openers despite the fact that the latter had a forgettable run with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during the second leg of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), which was played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – also the T20 World Cup co-host.
Warne picked Delhi Capitals allrounder Marcus Stoinis at number 3 followed by swashbuckling Glenn Maxwell at number 4. Maxwell is heading into the World Cup on the back of a successful IPL 2021 stint with the RCB where he was one of their top performers. Stoinis, on the other hand, was forced to sit in the dugout for the better part of the UAE leg due to an injury. He played Delhi’s last match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but failed to make any impact with bat and he did not bowl in that encounter either.
Warne has included Josh Inglis and allrounder Mitchell Marsh in the middle-order and he wants Australia to play either Dan Christian or Ashton Agar at number 7 depending upon the pitch. He also named Adam Zampa as the frontline spinner and two pace bowlers in Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
For the number 11 spot, Warne had a toss-up among three bowlers – Nathan Ellis, Kane Richardson and Josh Hazlewood.
Warne’s Australia XI: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Dan Christian/Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson/Josh Hazlewood/Nathan Ellis
