It has been more a decade since Australia defeated New Zealand in Auckland in what was the first-ever T20I between two men’s teams. Since then, the T20 blitz has taken cricket by storm and spearheaded a revolution that has seen various franchise leagues come into prominence around the globe. Recently, former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott picked his all-time T20I XI and included four Indians in the list.
Johannesburg-born but based in Wellington, Elliott graced the Kiwi team with his compact batting and measured swing from his short run-up. In a career that spanned for almost a decade, the all-rounder featured in five Tests, 83 ODIs, and 17 T20Is. His best came during the twilight of his career guiding a stiff chase before hitting the winning six off Dale Steyn in a memorable World Cup semi-final at a packed Eden Park in 2015 to put New Zealand into their first World Cup final.
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Grant Elliott, in a recent chat with Cricfit editor Mikkhail Vaswani, revealed his all-time XI in the shortest format. The 41-year-old all-rounder went with his countryman Brendon McCullum, one of the greatest ambassador of New Zealand cricket, as the opener. Meanwhile, Elliott seemed confused with the second opener and went for West Indies’ Chris Gayle and India’s Rohit Sharma. Both of them have sent nightmares to the bowlers on any given day and can destroy any attack.
Arguably the greatest batsman of the current generation, Virat Kohli will follow in Elliott’s XI. Kohli is currently the highest run-scorer in the shortest format of the game. The former Kiwi, who now works as the General Manager of CricHQ, seemed confused with Kumar Sangakkara and Mike Hussey as his No. 4 batsman; however, went with the swashbuckling AB de Villiers to complete his middle-order.
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The former India skipper MS Dhoni, known for his finishing skills is the wicket-keeper in the XI who will be followed by the Caribbean superstar Andre Russell. The all-rounder, who has struggled with injuries in recent times, otherwise is brutal when hitting the ball out of the park. Russell can also chip in with crucial wickets and is an athletic fielder in the boundary.
Grant Elliott went with four regular bowlers, to sum up, his all-time T20I XI. The mystery spinner from West Indies; Sunil Narine will be the first spinner followed by one between Rashid Khan and Shahid Afridi. Both of them have made significant contributions in the shortest format and deserves a place. The two prime fast bowlers in this format – Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah will complete the squad.
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Bumrah and Malinga, who have bowled in tandem for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League can demolish any batting unit. They share 166 international wickets between each other and delight for every captain both at the start and the death overs.
Grant Elliott’s all-time T20I XI:
Chris Gayle/Rohit Sharma, Brendon McCullum (c), Virat Kohli, Mike Hussey/Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan/Shahid Afridi, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga
