Cricket World Cup 2019: Best Debutant XI of this edition

The World Cup 2019 has always been a perfect platform and locale for young players to showcase their skills. The whole cricketing universe will closely follow every player and those who perform well in crunch situations have gained immense popularity and recognition.

Over the years we have witnessed the arrival of many emerging players at the World Cup stage. Few of them faded away into oblivion while a few of them became legends. Modern day legend, Virat Kohli made his World Cup debut in 2011 and scored a century in the first game against Bangladesh. He also played a mature inning in the final of that tournament and stabilized India's innings along with Gautam Gambhir. He gained immense experience by playing in such critical junctures of the game and became one of the most consistent ODI batsmen in the history of the sport in the next few years.

This year we are going to see quite a few international players making their World Cup debut. In this article, we are going to look at 11 such players who have the potential to become match winners for their respective teams.

Here is the debutant's XI for the 2019 World Cup -

---

Openers - Jonny Bairstow and Fakhar Zaman

Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow is one of the linchpins of modern day English batting line-up. His attacking brand of game-play blends perfectly with the new approach adopted by the English ODI team following the 2015 World Cup. Bairstow has been in exceptional form over the last few years in ODI cricket and showed his credentials in the Indian Premier League too. He has played 63 ODI matches until now and scored 2329 runs at an impressive average of 47.53 including seven centuries and nine fifties. He possesses an incredible career strike rate of 107.03 in ODI format.

Fakhar Zaman is another promising opener who will play his first World Cup. He is one of the few batsmen in the world to have scored an ODI double century. His recent form has not been great, but he proved in the past he is the man for big occasions. His century in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against India acts is an unforgettable knock. Zaman has played 36 ODI matches until now and scored 1642 runs at an impressive average of 51.31 and also has four centuries and 10 fifties to his name. Pakistan team management will bank on him to deliver match-winning performances at the top order during the World Cup.

Middle order - Shai Hope(WK), Babar Azam, Kedar Jadhav, Ben Stokes, and Hardik Pandya

Shai Hope acknowledging the applause after scoring a century

West Indies top order batsmen Shai Hope will be the number three batsmen in this team. He has been the most consistent ODI batsmen for the Caribbean outfit in the last few years. He has played 54 ODI matches until now and scored 2247 runs at an impressive average of 51.06 including six centuries and 10 fifties.

Babar Azam developed into Pakistan's best white ball cricket batsmen after the departures of stalwarts like Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan from the team. The 24-year-old has been extremely consistent over the last few years. In 64 ODI's, he has scored 2739 runs at an average of 51.68 has nine centuries and 12 fifties to his name.

Kedar Jadhav has become a crucial member of India's middle order after the 2015 World Cup. He has a career strike rate of 102.53 in ODI’s and is expected to play the role of an enforcer for team India in the upcoming tournament.

Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes will be the all-rounders in this team. Both the players will play a key role in the World Cup and will act as finishers for their respective nations. Pandya has an ODI career strike rate of 116.59 which shows how dangerous he can be in the slog overs.

Bowlers - Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah

Kagiso Rabada

Rashid Khan and Kuldeep Yadav will be the two primary spinners in our side. Both of them have developed into match winners for their nations in the last few years. Kuldeep has played 44 ODI's and taken 87 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 4.94 with career-best figures of 6/25. On the other hand, Rashid has played has 125 wickets in 125 ODI's at an outstanding economy rate of 3.9 with career-best figures of 7/18.

Currently, Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah are undisputedly two of the best fast bowlers in the world across all formats. They have been performing exceptionally in different playing conditions and have become the leaders of their nations bowling attacks. Both will feature in the World Cup for the first time in 2019.

Rabada had played 66 ODI’s and taken 106 wickets while Bumrah has 85 wickets in 49 matches at an outstanding economy rate of 4.51.

Debutants XI - Jonny Bairstow(ENG), Fakhar Zaman(PAK), Shai Hope(WI), Babar Azam(PAK), Kedar Jadhav(IND), Ben Stokes(ENG), Hardik Pandya(IND), Rashid Khan(AFG), Kuldeep Yadav(IND), Kagiso Rabada(SA), Jasprit Bumrah(IND).