World Cup 2019 Missing Players: The chance of playing in the world’s biggest championship of cricket is everyone’s dream, but to dream is a different feeling and to live that dream is different. The only difference is a thin line between dreamers and achievers drawn by themselves. With the time ticking down for the upcoming tournament which starts from the end of this month, all the teams are on their feet preparing themselves as hard as they can and give their sweat and blood to win the title.
This time teams are covering all aspects so no doubt each and every game would be absolute thriller just like the recently concluded IPL with cracking performances from the veterans to the youngsters; from the luckier ones to chokers everyone has the chance to seize the momentum and grab the trophy. Almost every team are done with their selections now is the time to look at the list of those players whose presence could have made the difference at various stages of the tournament.
World Cup 2019 Missing Key Players
#1. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
The presence of Brendon at crease creates havoc in the mind of bowlers, because of his sheer ability to hit the ball from the word go. He has always been the charismatic and the savior for New Zealand at hard times. The combination of a ferocious style of play and the cool head is always distress for the opposition. Though he is famous for his batting, his glove work is what needs to be appraised of as it was during his tenure as a wicketkeeper and captain that saw the rise of New Zealand as a team.
His favorite shot being hit over the covers through lofting them into the crowd, McScoop was named after the shot that he tried to adept a scoop shot few more times. In addition to his batting skills, it was his captaincy that was much appealing because of the way he handled the team and the transition phase from older to newer was invincible. His fitness is one of the reasons to be named in the list of best fielders, even now he does it with much ease, he is the source of inspiration to many but nonetheless, there is no chance for New Zealand to find a player of such genre.
#2. James Faulkner (Australia)
Australia not being in best of their form in a year and a half until the series win against India and that perhaps this can be the turning point of their fortune. Later on, they went on to clean sweep against Pakistan all due to the breathtaking performances by their openers. But if you look at their performance in the last one year, at times they needed an experienced champion like James Faulkner.
Even though he was Chinaman bowler when he started his career but then took the hardest path to become great allrounder, the ability to bowl slower ones in the right areas changed his status altogether. Given his rich experience in the death bowling and batting and the statistical analysis, the absence of a quality all-rounder like him is what could hurt them in the later stages of the tournament.
#3. Alex Hales (England)
Widely regarded as one of the aggressive batsmen in the present generation and also a swashbuckling opener Alex Hales exclusion from the squad is still a dispute, but his failure to prove not guilty in recreational drug usage has changed the scenario for him as well as a team.
Hales is one of the prominent players in the shorter formats who could not just start belligerently but can also give finishing touch, his stroke play alongside Jason would prove to be dangerous and dashing partners if at all Bairstow is out of play with some reasons. In order to get something, you always lose something as is the case of England who has bargained for creating a healthy atmosphere within the team at the cost of losing an energetic and experienced batsman.
#4. Yuvraj Singh (India)
Yuvraj can be considered as the man of big tournaments. There is no contention to his position at the bigger stage of Cricket for India. Although he was not a regular for Men in Blue in recent times, his services would be greatly missed in the upcoming world cup- be it his batting or bowling.
He announced his grand entry at the international level during his 2002 Natwest series claiming the man of the tournament. Not to forget his heroic innings of 57 against defending champions Australia in 2011 ensuring the semi-final’s berth through his glorious winning shot off lee’s bowling; although he was battling with cancer which no one noticed till they went to win the world cup. His presence in India’s middle order would have looked much stronger on paper as well as on-field.
#5. Ahmed Shehzad (Pakistan)
The main reason for his popularity goes by his resemblance with Virat Kohli, who started their career at the same time, much was hyped about their similarity in batting stance and look wise and their aggressive character. But soon all turned out to be a myth where one was on the verge of establishing himself as a legend, the former turning out to be just a losing face of a coin in the long run.
But he has amassed some of the records that are still in his name for them, one being the first and only Pakistan batsman to have scored the centuries in all international formats of the game. If not for his inconsistency, controversial behavior on the field and lack of apt guidance, he would have been one of the greatest openers not just for their team but in the world. Well nobody can change the fate of the person nor their destiny, but it is the loss for the team in this kind of tournament.
#6. AB de Villiers (South Africa)
Mr 360 in batting and Superman in fielding are just a few additions to the hot favorite name ABD, with no second thought in mind his name is a must in the list. Although he quit international cricket last year one would still think had he come out to bat for protease and starts banging all around the ground like he always does, it would once again be one of the most cherishing moments in the World Cup. With an awe-inspiring average of 53.50, scoring close to ten thousand runs seems impeccable.
The record of the fastest century by a batsman in ODI off just 31 balls is in his name. He has been always the leader who guides the team from the front. With his extraordinary skills at both batting and fielding, he adds value in his team to a great extent.
#7. Sunil Narine (West Indies)
While the trend has always been that the batsman turns into all-rounder after some time, but that contrasts with Sunil Narine who started his career as an off-spin bowler eventually turned into the audacious batsman. Often termed as “mystery bowler” because of his differential lengths which baffle batsman. Just like others, there were ups and downs even in his career, including his ban in 2014 Champions League T20.
The tougher the situations the greater is the reason for their rise and that makes him champion cricketer. His impressive average of 26.46 as a spinner is just enough to be added into a team. If not satisfied with his bowling look at the stunning shots from his bat which could go over the ropes and make the life of bowlers a hell. He is someone who can come in handy at the lower down the order and Windies would certainly miss him in the world cup.
#8. Anamul Haque (Bangladesh)
An attacking right-handed wicket-keeper batsman should have made the cut after his splendid performance in the domestic cricket. After captaining Bangladesh under19 world cup team, coming out as the highest run-getter in the tournament, he seemed to be a promising talent but his irregular appearance in the team is the cause for his dry run at the international level.
Being in and out of radar in the eyes of national selectors have only added to his worry for not getting many chances. Given the ample opportunities, he could surely be a strong contender for the role of opener along with Tamim Iqbal. He had the ability to anchor the role till the end of the innings and letting his partner free his arms.
#9. Shapoor Zadran (Afghanistan)
The tall and heavy built up personalized bowler would be a big positive to the team, mainly because of the extra bounce and the pace that they produce and the world cup is in England, Zadran’s addition to the team would have made a huge impact. The presence of left-arm pacer with the state of nonchalant and creation of quirky angle for right-hand batsmen is always proved to be the best tradition to be practiced outside Asia.
He was considered among high ranks during his start of a career as he was the reason for their rise at the world level stage. His debut match against the Netherlands where he finished his spell with 4 for 24 is the best till date, he is not just a wicket-taking option but also an economical bowler whose average ER is 4.81 in ODI’s which is simply great. Though there are others in line to prove their selection, it would be fair enough to provide the chance to the likes of experienced such as Shapoor Zadran. Shapoor Zadran- One of high profile missing players in World Cup 2019.
#10. Akila Dananjaya (Srilanka)
By Preferring leg break bowler Mendis over off breaker Dananjaya there would have been long discussions and endless debate over this selection, I hope this would not be a regret for Sri Lanka. From his early call for the national team to being kept out for 5 long years and coming back strongly as if it was a fresh start all seems to be a story but only, he knows that it was for his hard work and efforts that he put in order to be a certain level.
His bowling average is around 29 and that for a spinner is surely great but his economy rate of just 5.17 overall is what speaks of volumes about him apart from his wicket-taking ability in the middle overs to tighten up the opposition. After being banned for some time for his illegal bowling action, he was quick enough to join the squad to take down the opposition as he recorded his career-best bowling figures of 6/29. However, it seemed that the selectors were not in the mood to get him onboard. Akila Dananjaya- One of high profile missing players in World Cup 2019.
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