Former England fast bowlers Steven Finn and Stuart Broad chose their joint best XI for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for the ‘Love of Cricket’ channel on YouTube. Both picked three players from the title-winning Indian team but made some surprising exclusions.
India won the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and broke many records, and such a feat was not the work of any one man. They had many special players who made important contributions for India, from aggressive openers to dynamic finishers; Everyone played their role perfectly.
However, India was not the only team that played its part well. This also included other sides like South Africa, New Zealand and England, who qualified for the semi-finals and some teams like Zimbabwe and West Indies, who were genuine entertainers in the competition despite missing out on a semi-final berth.
Finn Allen wins opener race with pots Sanju Samson
Despite not having the best of starts in the ICC T20 World Cup against Namibia and Zimbabwe, Sanju Samson slowly and steadily stood up for India at times when it mattered most. He almost single-handedly took India to the T20 World Cup semi-finals and then continued his peak form into the knockouts.
He finished the tournament with 321 runs in just 5 innings at an average of over 80 and a strike rate of 199.37. He scored three consecutive half-centuries in the last three World Cup matches.
Apart from the Indian opener and Player of the Tournament, many other big names were in the race for the second position. South Africa captain Aiden Markram, Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett and New Zealand opener Tim Seifert were left behind by Finn Allen in the World Cup semi-final with a blistering century at a strike rate of over 300.
Winning captain Suryakumar Yadav has got a place in the best eleven of ICC T20 World Cup.
After a dynamic opening pair, the English fast bowlers began to overlook several key talents. They did not consider India batsman Ishan Kishan, who finished the tournament with 317 runs, the fourth most for any batsman.
However, he chose the explosive West Indies number. 3, Shimron Hetmyer and behind him was the victorious captain Suryakumar Yadav. Both these T20 specialists scored more than 240 runs in the competition and hit three half-centuries.
In the list of all-rounders, he again ignored India’s leading all-rounder Hardik Pandya and instead selected Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza for his 200 runs and 5 wickets, and his remarkable leadership in taking Zimbabwe to their first World Cup Super 8.
Player of the series contender Will Jack of England with 226 runs and 9 wickets and Marco Johnson of South Africa with 11 wickets and a World Cup semi-final half-century were the other all-rounders in the team. However, Pandya scored an important 217 runs and took 9 wickets in the competition.
Jasprit Bumrah is the only Indian bowler in broad-finned World Cup XI
Both fast bowlers carefully prepared a very special bowling lineup for the best XI. He picked a top Indian fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, who has been a common name in almost every ICC Best XI over the last two years. He finished the tournament with notable figures of 4/15 and was the joint-highest wicket-taker at the World Cup with teammate Varun Chakravarthy.
United States fast bowler Shadley van Schalkwyk was the highlight of this edition of the World Cup. He took 13 wickets in only 4 matches, which included two four-wicket hauls against India and Pakistan. South Africa’s slow ball specialist Lungi Ngidi was the second fast bowler in the team. Ngidi impressed with his death bowling, which included more variations of the slower ball than the yorker or bouncer.
Finally, he chose Adil Rashid as the most successful spinner in this World Cup. Rashid took 13 wickets at an average just under 20 and an economy of 8.15.
Also read: ‘He was not performing’: Former Indian captain questions Sanju Samson’s T20WC performance
