ICC World Cup 2019 | Steve Waugh names Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler and David Warner as players to look out for
BCCI
Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh picked the influential stars from India, England and Australia as the ones who will have the greatest impact in the upcoming World Cup. He also stated that these three are presently the world’s best in the 50 over format and will be the players to watch out for.
One of the best batsmen cricket has ever seen, the ICC Hall of Fame inductee, Steve Waugh was pretty clear when it came to stating who according him would be most crucial to their team’s success in the World Cup which starts from May 30.
"Definitely Virat Kohli, he's No.1," Waugh said, reported cricket.com.au. Widely regarded as the best hite ball player to have ever graced the field while still only 30 and having a long way to go, the Indian captain has already amassed almost 11,000 runs in ODIs with some of his finest knocks coming against Waugh’s Australia. He is a recipient of India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, and has been the batsman with the most runs in the format for the past 2 years now.
"Jos Buttler, I'd have him at No.2 in the top three," Waugh continued with his list.
The 28-year-old right handed batsman from the host country has been in stellar form, and with predictions of a high scoring tournament, his hard-hitting abilities and strike rate will be an aspect England will be heavily reliant on. More than capable of taking the game away from the opposition at any stage, he has been made the vice-captain of the team and only 13 days ago scored a stellar 110 runs not out in just 55 balls against Pakistan in the recently concluded series.
Naming two batsmen in contention for the final spot, he ended up rounding off his list with Warner.
"Aaron Finch at his best is right up there, so is David Warner. I'll go with David Warner," he concluded.
Having played last for the Kangaroos way back in January last year, Warner’s 12 month ban on charges of ball tampering only recently ended and finished the IPL as its top scorer, scoring 692 runs at an average of 69 and a strike rate of 140+. His experience will be an important factor in pressure situations for a some what revamped Australian squad and the team will be looking forward to him putting them on the driving seat right from the word go.Â
