Australia will start their T20 World Cup title defence on October 22. The reigning world champions, who won their maiden T20 World Cup last year in the UAE, are once again favourites to win the trophy. The tournament kicks off on October 16 with the preliminary round and the final will be played at the MCG on November 13.
This year’s tournament will be a turning point for a number of teams and players because many veteran cricketers will bid adieu to the shortest format after the T20 World Cup 2022. A number of players are in the last phase of their international careers and some others are expected to move away from the shortest format to focus on the longer formats.
The oldest player to have played in the T20 World Cup history is Hong Kong’s Ryan Campbell, who featured in the 2016 T20 WC at the age of 44.
Here is the best XI of the oldest players (full members only) in the T20 World Cup 2022:
Openers: Rohit Sharma and David Warner
India captain Rohit Sharma is halfway into his 36th year and will lead India for the first time in an ICC tournament. Sharma is the leading T20I run-scorer with 3737 runs having hit 28 fifties and 4 centuries. This year he has shed away the conservative approach and focussed on scoring quickly rather than big.
David Warner will be 36 by the end of October. The left-handed opener played a key role in Australia’s maiden T20 WC triumph last year in the UAE, scoring 289 runs at an average of 48 and bagged the Player of the Tournament award.
Middle Order: Aaron Finch (C), Dawid Malan, and Moeen Ali
Australian skipper Aaron Finch has been struggling with form and hence decided to bat in the middle-order in the recent matches against West Indies and England, allowing Cameron Green to open the innings. Finch, who is nearing 36 and will be 36 four days after the tournament ends, led Australia to their maiden T20 world title last year and, having retired from ODIs, would want to become the first captain and team to successfully keep the trophy.
England’s Dawid Malan had held the number 1 ICC T20I men’s batsman rankings for a long while and has been in good form this year: average of 31 and strike rate of almost 140. The left-hander who last month completed 35 years is a crucial part of England’s T20I eleven and comes with good experience.
Moeen Ali, aged 35 years and 115 days, will be a crucial cog in England’s challenge this year. The all-rounder played a vital role last year in the UAE with the ball and has been striking the ball with the bat in the shortest format, averaging 31 and striking at 161 in T20Is in 2022.
Wicketkeeper: Dinesh Karthik
After a gap of three years, Dinesh Karthik stormed himself into India’s T20I side on the back of a scintillating IPL 2022 season – smashing 330 runs at a strike rate of 183 – for RCB. Aged 37 and 130 days, has since then justified his place by regularly playing impactful knocks toward the end of the innings. Karthik was part of India’s T20 World Cup winning side back in 2007 and now will play what is likely to be his last T20 WC.
All-Rounders: Shakib Al Hasan and Dwaine Pretorius
Aged 35 years and 200 days, Shakib Al Hasan was reinstated as Bangladesh’s captain ahead of the Asia Cup. Shakib is one of the only few players who have featured in all 7 T20 World Cups so far and has played 31 matches in the competition. Ranked second in the ICC men’s T20I all-rounder’s ranking, Shakib Al Hasan will again have to shoulder extra responsibility of the Bangladesh team in an ICC event.
South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been impressive since last year with the ball in the death overs and on the back of a good T20 World Cup in the UAE he was bought by CSK. His strike rate of 164 in T20Is hints at his power-hitting towards the end of the innings. Aged 33 years and 196 days, Pretorius’ best years are in front of him.
Bowlers: R Ashwin, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult
Off-spinner R Ashwin made a comeback to India’s T20I side last year after being dropped for 4 years. He’s been phenomenal since his return – 14 wickets in 13 T20Is at an economy of 6.23.
Trent Boult, aged 33 years and 75 days, and Tim Southee, 33 years and 298 days, are two of the most experienced fast bowlers in the world. They played a significant role in New Zealand’s success in the past decade and will thrive to do so again this year in Australia.
