ICC World XI set to face Windies in charity T20 match

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has finally been named to lead the World XI after England’s limited overs captain Eoin Morgan sustained a broken finger during a domestic match. 

“It’s a great honour to be leading the ICC World XI side, that too for such a good cause. I’m sure all the players from either side are looking forward to the match with great enthusiasm and people will get to see some high-quality cricket on Thursday,” Afridi said on Twitter. 

The World XI side, in fact, has had more than a few changes since being formally announced. Morgan was the first name announced, followed by those of Afridi, his compatriot Shoaib Malik and Thisara Perera, the Sri Lanka T20I captain. Next came Rashid Khan, the Afghan leg-spin superstar, and Bangladesh stalwarts Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, followed by Indians Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya and New Zealanders Luke Ronchi and Mitchell McClenaghan. 

That completed the XI, but Shakib opted out because of personal reasons and was replaced by the exciting teenaged Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep  Lamichhane. Pandya has also opted out since then, to be replaced by countrymate Mohammed Shami, who has also been swapped with Tymal Mills, while Sam Billings has filled in for Morgan.