ICC World Cup 2019: Ten best players from each team

The  ICC World Cup 2019 saw some spectacular performances from top players across the globe and the tournament will be remembered for these scintillating performances.

Here we take a look at the best performers from each team.

#10. Gulbadin Naib- Afghanistan:

Afghanistan had a tough tournament with the team losing all their games in the league stage. Their key players failed to perform, the conditions didn’t help them and their opponents seemed better prepared.

Amidst all this chaos, Afghan captain Gulbadin Naib stood solid with his all-round show. He picked wickets and scored runs when mattered and although this was not enough to help his team, Naib will be proud of his show in his maiden captaincy stint.

Total runs: 194

Batting average: 21.55

Total wickets: 9 

#9. Lasith Malinga- Sri Lanka

There wasn’t much to talk about Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign apart from their sensational win against England which injected life in the league stages and their close win against Windies.

And one man who was integral to both these wins was Lasith Malinga. With his giant belly and old knees, the Sri lankan pacer once again delivered magic and emerged as Sri Lanka’s best performer.

Total wickets: 13

Bowling average: 28.69

Bowling strike-rate: 28.4

#8. Nicolas Pooran-Windies:

The attention was on Chris Gayle and Andre Russell but it was Nicolas Pooran who delivered for Windies in their yet another mediocre World Cup campaign.

Pooran almost won a game for Windies with a fighting hundred against Sri Lanka while his fifties against England and Afghanistan were impressive.

Total Runs: 367

Batting average: 52.42

Strike rate: 100.27

#7. Shaheen Afridi-Pakistan:

Babar Azam finished with the most runs while Mohammad Amir picked the most wickets for Pakistan in the ICC World Cup 2019 but it was Shahen Adridi who ended up as their best performer thanks to his immense impact in limited chances.

Afridi claimed 16 wickets in just 5 matches and breathed fresh air in Pakistan’s team. He blew apart New Zealand with his thunderous opening spell and pushed Afghanistan on the back foot with four wickets. His best efforts came against Bangladesh where he claimed six wickets to finish the tournament on a high.

Total wickets: 14

Bowling average: 14.62

Bowling strike-rate: 17.6

#6. Faf du Plessis:

Faf du Plessis averaged 64.50 and scored the most runs for South Africa but he couldn’t help South Africa in making an impact in this World Cup.

du Plessis scored a brilliant hundred against Australia to demonstrate his value but by that time South Africa were already crashed out of the World Cup.

Total Runs: 387

Batting average: 64.50

Strike rate: 89.58

#5. Shakib Al Hasan:

With seven fifty-plus scores and one five-wicket haul Shakib Al Hasan produced one of the best all-round performances in a World Cup.

His hundred against Windies gave Bangladesh big win and he was instrumental in their other wins as well.

Total runs: 606

Batting average: 86.57

Total wickets: 11

Bowling average: 36.27

#4. Mitchell Starc- Australia:

David Warner was outstanding and Aaron Finch scored a mountain of runs but it was Mitchell Starc’s staggering bowling that highlighted Australia’s inspired World Cup campaign.

Battling with form and injuries, Starc didn’t have a great run to the World Cup but he cleared all the doubts with his five-wicket haul against Windies.

He then claimed four wickets each against Sri Lanka and England to deliver critical wins to Australia and then routed New Zealand with another five-fier. No wonder he finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament.

Total wickets: 27

Bowling average: 18.59

Bowling strike-rate: 20.5

#3. Rohit Sharma- India:

Five hundreds in ten matches, four on the trott. Rohit Sharma seemed to be at the peak of his prowess in this World Cup.

His hundred against South Africa in the first match set the tone and then he kept on piling runs to become the highest run-scorer in this tournament.

Total Runs: 648

Batting average: 81.00

Strike rate: 98.33

#2. Ben Stokes- England:

There was Joe Root who scored huge runs and Jofra Archer who picked the most wickets. And there were Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow who sucked out the life from opposition camps with daredevil batting but when the going got tough for England, it was Ben Stokes who stood up and delivered.

Stokes scored important runs at number five throughout the tournament and bailed out England and with the ball, he was effective too.

But what defined his World Cup campaign was his solid match winning innings in the final.

Total runs: 465

Batting average: 66.42

Total wickets: 7

Bowling average: 35.14

Also read: ICC reveals the hosts for the World Cup 2023

#1. Kane Williamson- New Zealand:

Kane Williamson is New Zealand and New Zealand is Kane Williamson. It was not just Williamson’s runs and his leadership that shaped New Zealand’s World Cup campaign, it was his attitude that defined the team’s vision in this tournament.

Like Williamson, New Zealand were honest in their efforts, staunch in their fight, humble in their wins, graceful in defeats and importantly unshakeable in determination.

Williamson’s two hundreds came at crunch times, especially the one against South Africa and his half-century against India proved highly important.

Total Runs: 578

Batting average: 82.57

Strike rate: 74.96