2030 World XI

[Aislabie]

So I watched the Cricinfo video where they attempted to pick their Test XI for ten years' time and it got me thinking, so I thought I'd make an XI of my own. Their rules specified no players over 25, but I wanted to pick three 26-year-olds and therefore compromised by making my team one for 2030, as opposed to 2031.

1 - Dom Sibley
2 - Aiden Markram *
3 - Marnus Labuschagne *
4 - Shubman Gill
5 - Pathum Nissanka
6 - Rishabh Pant
7 - Sam Curran
8 - Rashid Khan
9 - Kyle Jamieson *
10 - Shaheen Shah Afridi
11 - Blessing Muzarabani (in non-spinning conditions)
12 - Lasith Embuldeniya (in spinning conditions)

My 26-year-olds are indicated with asterisks, and I'm not entirely sure who I would pick to replace them if I had to stick to the same rules as the Cricinfo team so I'm more or less not even going to try.

What does your 2030 World XI look like? (And it doesn't just have to be Test XIs - we can all have DDP in our white-ball teams too)

 

[Khan Sahab54]

1. Dom Sibley
2. Shubman Gill
3. Marnus Labuschange
4. Babar Azam
5. Pathum Nissanka
6. Rishabh Pant
7. Rashid Khan
8. Naseem Shah
9. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi
11. Lasith Embuldeniya

 

[Aislabie]

Babar Azam

Good grief, I forgot how young he is

 

[Khan Sahab54]

Good grief, I forgot how young he is

Both Labuschagne and Babar are 26 now in 2030 they'll be 36 so they might play till 2030

 

[Aislabie]

Both Labuschagne and Babar are 26 now in 2030 they'll be 36 so they might play till 2030

Yeah I know, I was just surprised that Babar is still only 26. It feels as if he's been around forever and must therefore be older - a lot like Lahiru Kumara being only 24, Rishabh Pant being only 23, or Sam Curran only 22.

 

[Ed Smith]

Yeah I know, I was just surprised that Babar is still only 26. It feels as if he's been around forever and must therefore be older - a lot like Lahiru Kumara being only 24, Rishabh Pant being only 23, or Sam Curran only 22.

Sam Curran is only 22? Did he make his test debut at 12 or something

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Yeah I know, I was just surprised that Babar is still only 26. It feels as if he's been around forever and must therefore be older - a lot like Lahiru Kumara being only 24, Rishabh Pant being only 23, or Sam Curran only 22.

2020 lasted about 6 years.

 

[Yash.]

Yeah I know, I was just surprised that Babar is still only 26. It feels as if he's been around forever and must therefore be older - a lot like Lahiru Kumara being only 24, Rishabh Pant being only 23, or Sam Curran only 22.

And then you see that Thisara Perera retired at the age of 32 :/

 

[AsadRM]

1 - Haider Ali
2 - Aiden Markram
3 - Babar Azam
4 - Marnus Labuschagne
5 - Ollie Pope/Zak Crawley
6 - Rishabh Pant
7 - Rachin Ravindra
8 - Rashid Khan
9 - Kyle Jamieson
10 - Shaheen Shah Afridi
11 - Blessing Muzarabani
12 - Akbar Ali

A few other players in my mind are Gill, Shaw, Jaiswal, Naseem Shah (if mentored well), and Rohail Nazir, but I, unfortunately, could not fit them all in an XI.

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

1 - Haider Ali
2 - Aiden Markram
3 - Marnus Labuschagne
4 - Babar Azam
5 - Ollie Pope/Zak Crawley
6 - Rishabh Pant
7 - Rachin Ravindra
8 - Rashid Khan
9 - Kyle Jamieson
10 - Shaheen Shah Afridi
11 - Blessing Muzarabani
12 - Akbar Ali

A few other players in my mind are Gill, Shaw, Jaiswal, Naseem Shah (if mentored well), and Rohail Nazir, but I, unfortunately, could not fit them all in an XI.

I am hurt. You didn't put Misbah in there.

 

[AsadRM]

I am hurt. You didn't put Misbah in there.

He will obviously be the best coach then like today, so he'll coach this XI.

Plus, he's captaining the 3030 World XI. Don't worry

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

he's captaining the 3030 World XI

Maybe The Galactic Marvel will be a reality by then

 

[CerealKiller]

1 - Haider Ali

He's not at that level yet

 

[AsadRM]

He's not at that level yet

Yet and future are separate things.

I am certain that he will enjoy good success when he's allowed to play at his natural position. Batting at #4 or #5 out of his natural position will only make it worse for him, so I hope he is promoted to the opening slot as soon as a vacancy is available. He has scored well whenever he has opened be it the NT20, Pakistan Cup, QeA Trophy or U-19 World Cup and series.

Send Babar at #6 and I will see how he performs. Asking an opener to bat at #5 will only ruin his game, dent his confidence, and turn him into a rich man's Asif Ali. He has the basics and talent to be the next Rohit Sharma, as long as he works hard, stays away from controversies and is allowed to bat at his natural position.

 

[Aislabie]

12 - Akbar Ali

This is a curious pick to throw into the mix; I'd have thought that Towhid Hridoy would have been the more natural Bangladesh U19 star to pick, but I guess we're all perfectly entitled to our wildcard picks. I'm still baffled as to how Liam Dawson and Sam Northeast weren't England regulars by their mid-20s