England clinched the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 after defeating Pakistan in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on November 13. The Jos Buttler-led side became the second team after West Indies to win the T20 World Cup title twice.
On Sunday, former Australian World Cup-winning bowler Brett Lee picked his best XI from the recently-concluded T20 World Cup. The legendary pacer has named a team that includes four England players, two Pakistanis, one New Zealander and four Indian cricketers; surprisingly, no Australian features in his best XI.
Sam Curran, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid and Buttler were easily four of the best English players at the T20 World Cup 2022, where they guided their team to victory on multiple occasions.
Almost half of the total deliveries that ‘Player of the Tournament’ Curran bowled were at the death (64 out of his 136 balls were bowled between overs 17 and 20). England’s captain trusted the youngster to do a difficult job, and he more than justified his faith in him, returning with impressive figures of 3 for 12 in the summit clash against Pakistan. Also, Curran’s 5 for ten against Afghanistan in the Super 12 stage were the best bowling figures of the tournament.
Among the Indians, Lee included Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya. Kohli finished the campaign as the highest run-scorer with 296 runs from six matches at an outstanding average of 98.66, including four half-centuries.
Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi and all-rounder Shadab Khan were the two Pakistanis in Lee’s best XI. They took 11 wickets apiece and guided their side to the final.
Versatile batter Glenn Phillips, who smashed 201 runs in five innings, including a 104-run knock against Sri Lanka, was the only New Zealander in the Aussie legend’s team.
Brett Lee’s best XI from T20 World Cup 2022:
Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Hardik Pandya, Shadab Khan, Sam Curran, Shaheen Afridi, Arshdeep Singh, Adil Rashid.