T20 World Cup 2021: Shane Warne picks his Australia playing XI

Former leg-spinner spinner Shane Warne picked Australia’s playing XI for the T20 World Cup, which got underway on October 17 in Oman. Australia, who are placed in Group A, will begin their campaign on October 23 against South Africa in Abu Dhabi.

Warne opted for regular openers Aaron Finch and David Warner, who is coming after a forgettable season with his Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. At No.3, he chose Marcus Stoinis, with Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Marsh following in the middle-order.

For the No. 7 spot, Warner had a toss-up between Dan Christian and Ashton Agar, depending on the conditions, much like his last bowler, where he kept the spot open for either one in Nathan Ellis, Kane Richardson and Josh Hazlewood. He picked two frontline pacers in Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc alongside the leg-spin of Adam Zampa.

Wow, what a start to the @ICC #T20WorldCup ! My Aussie team would be

Finch
Warner
Stoinis
Maxwell
Inglis
Marsh M
Christian/Agar (depending on conditions)
Cummins
Starc
Zampa
Ellis/Richardson/Hazlewood (depending on conditions)

What would your Oz team be and who’s winning ?

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) October 18, 2021

Of the members selected in Warne’s team, Maxwell and Hazelwood are coming after a brilliant IPL season with RCB and CSK, respectively. Hazlewood, who opted out of the tournament’s first half owing to bubble fatigue, regrouped with the unit in UAE, scalping 11 wickets in nine games at an economy rate of 8.37, which included his crucial 2/29 spell in the final against KKR that helped CSK to their fourth IPL title.

On the other hand, RCB’s Maxwell, who had a forgettable 2020 season, came back into his elements, smashing 513 runs at 42.75 in 2021 in 15 games at a staggering strike rate of 144.10. Warne’s compatriot Adam Gilchrist recently heaped praise on Maxwell, reckoning that he will have an important role to play for the team in mega event.

“He’s got a huge role to play. Whenever Glenn Maxwell delivers it’s typically in a successful team pursuit. He’s such an exciting player that when he does well it’s usually in a manner that totally demoralises the opposition and takes the game away from them. But what we’ve all learnt too with a player of that type, you’re going to have some days where he misses out. I hope we don’t overburden him with expectations. I don’t think it’s a case of if he fails Australia is out. There’s plenty of good batting talent around him,” Gilchrist told cricket.com.au.

“Hazlewood is the one who has thrown his hand in the mix now to get a game. How they fit him in there and who they leave out is going to be interesting to see which way they go because it seems like the spinners need to be of paramount importance too,” he said of Hazlewood.