ICC World XI vs West Indies: 5 World XI players to look out for

We are a few hours away before West Indies take on the ICC World XI at Lord's for a T20 match which will see funds being raised for the Caribbean stadiums that were damaged by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria last September.

The ICC World XI consists of 14 players from eight countries namely, Pakistan, England, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Nepal. This team consists of a few seasoned campaigners like Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik as well as a few young guns like Sandeep Lamichhane. West Indies consists of the formidable Chris Gayle and the dangerous Carlos Brathwaite amongst others

The World XI team has many talented players who we would love to see in action. Many of the players from both squads are coming at the back of impressive IPL campaigns. Let's take a look at five players in the World XI squad to watch out for tonight.

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#5 Sandeep Lamichhane

The 17-year old Nepalese made headlines by becoming the first player from Nepal to feature in the IPL.

He took at least a wicket in every match he played and ended the tournament with a spell of 3/36 against Mumbai Indians. Lamichhane picked up five wickets at the IPL at an economy rate of 6.83.

The teenager also bowled some brilliant spells during the World Cup qualifiers, bowling a 10-over spell of 3/17 against Hong Kong and a spell of 4/29 against Papua New Guinea.

The 17-year old was Nepal’s highest wicket taker with 14 wickets at an average of just 18.23 and an economy of 4.10.

Lamichhane has shown a lot of promise in the past few months and he will be expected to pick up some key wickets against the Windies tonight. This will be a massive occasion for the teenager.

#4 Dinesh Karthik

Karthik has been in brilliant form lately

The KKR captain led his side to third place in the IPL and had a terrific tournament personally.

Dinesh Karthik scored 498 runs with the bat at a strike rate close to 150 and was the best keeper of the tournament with 18 dismissals which is the joint second most number of dismissals in a single IPL tournament.

Karthik has been in brilliant form lately and he will be one of the most crucial players for the World XI.

Even though there three keeping options for the World XI, it would not be much of a surprise if Karthik dons the gloves.

Hence, it will be very interesting to see how Karthik fares tonight.

#3 Mitchell McClenaghan

McClenaghan will be expected to take some quick wickets during the powerplay

The Kiwi pacer has been in fine form lately. He took 14 wickets in 11 IPL matches for the Mumbai Indians.

McClenaghan can never be relied upon to contain runs but the one thing which he always does best is picking wickets and that's why he will be the World XI's talisman with the ball.

With some of the world's most aggressive T20 batsmen in the West Indies batting lineup, McClenaghan will be expected to take some quick wickets during the powerplay overs to elevate the pressure on the West Indies batsmen.

Hence, Mitchell McClenaghan will be a bowler who even the likes of Chris Gayle will be wary of.

#2 Luke Ronchi

Ronchi was terrific during the PSL

Having retired from international cricket for almost a year, Luke Ronchi has still produced some sensational performances lately.

Ronchi was in remarkable form during the PSL a few months back where he was the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 435 runs which was a record for the most number of runs in a single edition of the PSL. He was also adjudged the player of the tournament.

The 37-year old is an extremely aggressive T20 batsman with a strike-rate of 157.69 in T20s and would be looking to give the World XI a strong start.

#1 Rashid Khan

Khan will be looking to put on a good performance

The 19-year old Afghan was one of the stars of this year's IPL as he was in dazzling form with the ball throughout the tournament and also produced some remarkable performances with the bat.

Khan picked up 21 wickets with the ball at a brilliant economy rate of 6.73. He also scored a priceless 34 from just 10 deliveries against Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier.

Tonight,

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he youngster will not only be expected to deliver with the ball but also chip in with a cameo with the bat during the slog overs.

Khan has been in sensational form in the past few months and will be looking to produce a strong performance tonight.

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Which of these players will have the biggest impact? Sound off in the comments section below!