World Cup 2019: If every team could play a player from other teams, who would it be? 

The twelfth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales from 30th May to 14th July 2019. The marquee tournament will kick start with hosts England taking on South Africa in the tournament opener at The Oval.

This edition of the tournament, unlike the last six editions, is scheduled to be played in a round-robin format where we have a single group of 10 teams with each team playing the other nine teams. The top four teams from the round-robin league will qualify to the semi-finals. The last time an ICC World Cup was played in the round-robin format was way back in 1992 in Australia and New Zealand.

With just 134 days to go for the cricket's biggest carnival, all the cricket fanatics around the globe are eagerly waiting for it. While on the other hand, the participating teams are busy in identifying their strongest 15-member squad for the twelfth edition of the quadrennial tournament.

With the teams working to fill the gaps, let us now take a look at the one player from other teams that every side could play in their team.

---

#10 Afghanistan - Rohit Sharma

Afghanistan - Rohit Sharma

The major issue that has been haunting Afghanistan despite their giant strides in international cricket is their inconsistent batting. Apart from Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi to some extent, all the other batsmen's contributions have been below par. Their inability to hold their nerve during the crunch moments has also been costing them dearly as they have lost more than a couple of matches only in 2018 despite coming very close.

Considering all these things, someone who can anchor the innings, bat deep and excel in crunch situations is the need of the hour for Afghanistan. India's Rohit Sharma fits perfectly in this role. Rohit has scored 1293 and 1030 at an average of 71.83 and 73.57 in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The Mumbaikar has scored 154 runs at an average of 77.00 in the ODI series against England in England.

#9 Bangladesh - Hashim Amla

Bangladesh - Hashim Amla

Bangladesh has a reliable opener in the form of Tamim Iqbal and a decent middle order line up consisting the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mahmudullah. Though these players are experienced, most of them are inconsistent. At present they don't have the opening partner to Tamim Iqbal and they lack a solid and experienced top-order player who can build the innings, bat deep and hold his nerve during the crunch moments.

Someone like Hashim Amla has all the above qualities. He is calm headed, reliable and extremely consistent. Though there's a dip in his form in the recent past, he just needs one good innings to be back to what he does the best. Amla has played 169 matches thus far scoring 7696 runs at an outstanding average of 49.65. He has 26 tons and 36 half-centuries to his name thus far.

#8 West Indies - Hasan Ali

West Indies - Hasan Ali

West Indies is one of the teams that have been going through the transition period. Unlike India, New Zealand and other teams, the transition for West Indies has never been smooth. The great days of West Indian cricket are now far distant as the youngsters have been constantly struggling for consistency. Though the likes of https://www.sportskeeda.com/player/hashim-amla and Shimron Hetmyer along with experienced Marlon Samuels are taking responsibility of the batting department to put up decent scores on the board, their bowling department has been consistently failing to get regular breakthroughs.

They desperately need a bowler who takes wickets at the regular intervals especially in the middle overs. Someone like Hasan Ali of Pakistan will be a perfect choice for this role. Hasan was instrumental in Pakistan winning the 2017 Champions Trophy. He has taken 13 wickets in 5 matches which included a match-winning spell of 3/19 in the final against India.

#7 Sri Lanka - Virat Kohli

Sri Lanka - Virat Kohli

Ever since the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka cricket team has been struggling to find young players who can perform consistently. Even the likes of experienced Mathews, Malinga, and Chandimal have been giving their best but could not succeed in inspiring the young lot. With the changes in captaincy, coaching staff and selection committee, the Sri Lankan cricket is full of chaos at the moment.

They currently need an aggressive leader who can set an example and inspire the youngsters by leading from the front. Kohli is someone who can win them matches single-handedly. The inclusion of Kohli can do a world of good to the Sri Lankan cricket.

The Indian skipper has thus far played 216 ODIs scoring a mammoth 10232 runs at a staggering average of 59.83. Virat also has 38 tons and 48 half-centuries to his name.

#6 Pakistan - Kane Williamson

Pakistan - Kane Williamson

Though the winners of the 2017 Champions Trophy almost seems to have identified a core group of players for the World Cup 2019, yet they are struggling for consistency. The possible five at the top for them is Fakhar Zaman, Imam Ul Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, and Shoaib Malik. But the consistency issue is still haunting them. They need someone who can bat in the middle consistently and bat deep.

Kane Williamson of New Zealand has all the credentials to do this role. Williamson is one of the very few batsmen who is equally effective both at home and away. Besides that, he is also an exceptional leader who leads his troops from the front. Kane has thus far played 132 matches for New Zealand and has scored 5317 runs at a staggering average of 46.23. Williamson also has 11 tons and 35 half-centuries to his name.

#5 England- Jasprit Bumrah

England - Bumrah

England is currently the number one ranked ODI team in the world. Playing at home makes them one of the favourites to lift the trophy. The Eoin Morgan-led team looks one of most balanced teams in the world at the moment. With the likes of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali their batting looks solid. The pool of Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes gives several possible bowling options to England.

The only thing that England seems to lack in their arsenal is a genuine pace bowler who can give them wickets at any part of the innings and contains runs at the death. India's Jasprit Bumrah is currently one of the best bowlers in the world cricket at the moment. If England could have him in the team, then there's no stopping them. Bumrah has featured in 44 ODIs for India, scalping 78 wickets with 22 of them coming in 2018.

#4 New Zealand - Shikhar Dhawan

New Zealand - Shikhar Dhawan

In the name of Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, and Ross Taylor New Zealand have a reliable core group of players. While Corey Anderson and James Neesham are pushing for the all-rounder's slot, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson are contending for the third seamer role. Trent Boult and Tim Southee form their pace bowling core with Sodhi or Santner taking up the spinner role.

But for Kiwis, the missing link has been their opening partner to Martin Guptill. The likes Colin Munro and George Worker were tested for the spot but none showed promise to take up the spot. If they could play someone from other teams, India's Shikhar Dhawan can be an apt choice. He has an exceptional record in ODIs in England and he can also make a left-right opening combination which in turn is an added advantage.

#3 South Africa - MS Dhoni

South Africa - MS Dhoni

Despite the retirement of Superman AB de Villiers, the Proteas team still looks one of the most balanced teams in the world cricket at the moment. With Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock being their batting core, they have plenty of good players in the form of Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Aiden Markram, and Khaya Zondo to choose from for the middle order sports. The allrounder spots too are contested between Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius, Wiaan Mulder, and Andile Phehlukwayo. Like always, South Africa's bowling attack is still their biggest strength.

The presence of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dale Steyn, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Keshav Maharaj make it one of the better bowling attacks at the moment. With almost all the links in place, the only thing that can still come to haunt them is their habit of choking in the big matches. The inclusion of an able leader who is adept at relishing crunch situations makes the South African team complete.

Someone like MS Dhoni is a perfect option to do this role. The finals of ICC T20 World Cup 2007 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013 are the perfect examples to define MSD's brilliance as a captain.

#2 Australia - Rashid Khan

Australia - Rashid Khan

Over the years, there hasn't been any dearth of quality in the Australian pace bowling attack. The likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrenndoff, and Billy Stanlake make the Aussie pace attack one of the best in the world at the moment. On the other hand, their spin bowling attack looks pretty weak. Their best bowler in the test cricket, Nathan Lyon has not been regular in their ODI setup. Even Adam Zampa has been in and out of the team.

Given their not so strong spin attack, the presence of Rashid Khan adds double strength to their squad. Rashid Khan is one of the very few world-class spinners playing around the world at the moment. Rashid became the fastest and the youngest bowler to scalp 100 wickets in ODIs when he dismissed Shai Hope in the final of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, against the West Indies. Khan just took 44 matches to reach this milestone, breaking the previous record of 52 matches, set by Australia's Mitchell Starc.

Rashid has been exceptionally consistent for the last two years in ODI cricket as he mustered 43 and 48 wickets in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Though he has taken the bulk of those wickets against weaker oppositions, his exploits in Big Bash and similar tournaments across the globe prove that he is a rare talent and can produce results against any opposition.

#1 India - Ross Taylor

India - Ross Taylor

The current number 2 ranked team in the ODIs have won their maiden World Cup title led by Kapil Dev in 1983 and the 2013 Champions Trophy title led by MS Dhoni both in England before bowing down to Pakistan in the final of Champions Trophy 2017. Given their recent exploits on English soil in white-ball cricket, India are certainly one of the favourites to win their third World Cup title.

The current Indian team looks promising with - solid and reliable top order consisting players like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and skipper Virat Kohli; fierce pace attack with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, and Khaleel Ahmed, potent spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. But the only concern that has been haunting the Indian cricket team is the unsettled middle-order. In the form of Ambati Rayudu India seemed to have found their number 4. With Pant still finding his feet in the white-ball cricket, in all likelihood Dhoni will be donning the gloves.

Given his poor run of form, India would love to have a solid middle order batsman who can bat at number 5 or 6. New Zealand's Ross Taylor will be a perfect choice to fill that missing link. Ross has been very consistent for New Zealand in ODIs in the last couple of years. His numbers since 2015 in England read 523 runs in eight innings at a staggering average of 74.71.