Notably, Australia are placed in Group A, and their campaign begins against South Africa in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 23. Starting with openers, the former Aussie cricketer went with the experienced duo of Aaron Finch and David Warner.
Finch and Warner are Australia’s leading run-scorers in the shortest format. While the Aussie captain has scored 2473 runs in 76 matches, Warner has 2265 runs to his name in 81 games. For the middle-order, the cricketer-turned-commentator picked Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Marsh.
Maxwell, who represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, is the third-highest run-getter (1780) for Australia in T20is. Similarly, Marsh has 700 runs to his credit, while Stoinis has scored 376 runs in T20Is.
For the number seven spot, Warne had a toss-up between Daniel Christian and Ashton Agar, depending on the conditions. The 52-year-old had a similar toss-up for the number 11 position between Nathan Ellis, Kane Richardson and Josh Hazlewood.
Warne went with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa to complete the bowling attack. Both Zampa and Starc are top wicket-takers for Australia in the shortest format. While Zampa has taken 52 wickets in 50 matches, Starc has 51 scalps to his name in 41 fixtures. On the other hand, Cummins has taken 37 wickets in 30 games.
Surprisingly, Warne did not include former Australia skipper Steve Smith in his playing XI.
Here is Shane Warne’s Australia XI for the T20 World Cup 2021:
Aaron Finch, David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Daniel Christian/Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis/Kane Richardson/Josh Hazlewood.
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