Fittest XI from active cricketers

The list has been made keeping in mind frequency of injuries, fielding and presence on the field.

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Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Afridi. (Photo Source: Twitter)

One-day cricket has changed a lot in the last few years. As the game has evolved during this period, we have also seen many young stars take over the world in various aspects of the game.

However, during the changing landscape of cricket, whether that of T20 cricket or ODI cricket, fitness has become a major thing of concern. Players now have to appear in more matches than ever.

The same makes it important to keep their fitness in check. Many international teams have managed to find their rhythm and work around the ways in which they can improve.

In the article, let’s look at an XI consisting of the best cricketers in terms of fitness and performance:

1. Martin Guptill

Martin Guptill
Martin Guptill. (Photo by MARTY MELVILLE/AFP via Getty Images)

The New Zealand cricket team has been quite successful since 2013 when Brendon McCullum took over as the all-format captain. Martin Guptill has been one of the core members of this team during this period. And on the back of regular match-winning performances, he has emerged as one of the best openers in the one-day format in the world. 

Even though he couldn’t make much of a mark in Test cricket, he remains one of the few consistent batters in the ODI and T20I formats. One of his greatest strengths is his fitness. He has managed to appear in almost all of the series which his team has played since he became a regular on the national side. 

The way he moves on the field is quite a good testament to his fitness. He has taken some really tough catches and he always makes them look easy. For all the Indian fans, Guptill would still be remembered for his direct hit which got rid of MS Dhoni in the 2019 semi-final match. He remains a great asset for New Zealand cricket and hopefully, some of his glory days are yet to come.

2. David Warner

David Warner
David Warner. (Photo by Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

The Australian opening batsman had made a cracking entry into the international scene. He smashed 89 runs from just 43 balls in a T20I against South Africa at the MCG, way back in 2009. It took him some time to adjust to the changing dynamics of international cricket, and once he did that successfully, he became a top batsman. 

But since his early days itself, it had been noted that he was a pretty agile player on the field. The way he could move to the ball quickly was quite amazing. He could dive, he could chase the ball to the boundary and most importantly, he could hold on to the catches properly. Another interesting thing about him has been the fact that he hasn’t ever been injury-prone. 

Barring that one year when he was banned by his own board, David Warner has been a constant feature for his national team. A player of his class doesn’t really like sitting around and warming the benches, which kind of proves why he works so hard for his fitness. He is also a tremendous runner between the wicket and it is remarkable how he has maintained this level of energy. 

3. Virat Kohli (C) 

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: BCCI)

There are players who become known for their skills on the field and then there are some generational players, who define the era in which they played in. The current Indian captain is one of those generational players, who have etched their names forever in the record books. And, he will continue to reach new levels of achievements with every passing year. 

Virat Kohli started playing for India in 2008 and like many young players, he also took some time to get settled. By 2015, he had emerged as one of the top players at the highest level. However, in the last few years, he not only changed his fitness regime but also inspired some of his other teammates to start taking it seriously. 

His level of fitness is quite unimaginable. He has played almost all his international matches injury-free. He also leads his national side in all three formats, which tells you how much hard work has been put in by him. There is no doubt that he has now set a standard of fitness that will be quite difficult to attain even in the near future.

4. Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Nicholas Pooran is one of those new-age talents, who are destined to take world cricket to a different level in upcoming years. But, until now, whatever little we have seen of this cricketer from Trinidad and Tobago, it can be said that we like it a lot. He is someone who has the capability to change the game very soon, with the kind of hitting he does. 

He is a gun fielder without a doubt. The fact he can run a lot faster than a lot of young fielders works in his favor to a large extent. Apart from this, his batting is valued a lot by his national side. He has been knocking on the door of the selectors since his younger days. He has an eye-catching batting style and is a really good timer of the ball. 

In the Indian Premier League 2020, we witnessed him save a ball from going to the boundary and the image of him flying to save that ball remains an iconic sight. The kind of acrobatic fielding which he has shown to the fans in the last few years is just an example of how well he can field and how well he has maintained his fitness standards. 

5. Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images)

Ben Stokes is arguably the best all-rounder in the world. He is someone who can change matches for his team with any of three disciplines, batting, bowling, and fielding. But in all these aspects, what should be noted is the amount of skill and agility he has shown in all of that. 

He is a gun fielder and plucks out catches out of nowhere. He can bat and bat and bat for England and plays an important role in the team as a pure batter more often than not. Then, whenever the chips are down, he has been able to stand up and take matters into his own hands. With the ball, he is capable of bowling tireless overs, if his team needs. 

With the amount of workload which he has seen in the last few years, it is quite amazing that he has not suffered a lot of injuries. This is a testament to his high fitness levels, which have ensured that he can through all his workload and still manage to turn up for his nation, series after series. 

6. Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

The wicketkeeper batter first broke out on the scene when England was looking to have a new wicketkeeper who had the ability to bat better than others in county cricket. Buttler came into the England side, batting at no. 7 mostly and sometimes just getting 10 or 15 balls, just to have a go at the bowlers at the death. 

However, after the 2015 World Cup, the right-handed batsman became one of the biggest hitters in the world. He hardly missed any ODI match between 2015 and 2019 and remains the vice-captain of the team. Apart from this, he also features in T20Is and Tests, which makes him one of the players who play for their country in all three formats. 

Since he has taken a wicketkeeping job in Test cricket, his life has been much more difficult because, in that role, one player has to squat probably 500 or more times in an innings, which can take a toll on it. But, in the last few years, neither has Buttler lost his place in the side due to lack of form nor has he missed matches due to injuries, which gives an idea of how he maintains his health and fitness. 

7. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

When Ravindra Jadeja made his debut for the Indian team, he was someone who could do everything and with little effect. With time, Jadeja has developed as a player who has the capability to change the course of the match on the back of his batting, bowling, or fielding. In the last few years, he has taken his game to a different level in all formats. 

Having said that, it should be noted that the left-arm orthodox spinner has a record that is enough for him to make it to the Indian playing XI. This makes his job as a batsman and fielder even more eye-catching as his contributions in fielding and bowling become an additional aspect of his game. 

When it comes to fielding, he is undoubtedly one of the best in the world, now and ever. His acrobatic throws, direct hits, running catches, saving boundaries. All of that makes him a complete fielder. On top of that, he doesn’t really get a lot of injuries. If we ignore both his injuries which happened during the Australia tour, caused due to pain inflicted while batting, then he has a history of being fit for long periods of time, without getting injured. 

8. Mitchell Santner

Mitchell Santner
Mitchell Santner. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

The New Zealand left-arm spinner is something Jadeja used to be during his early days. He can bowl wicket to wicket lines, create some confusion in the batsman’s mind, picks some wickets, can bat, and is a good fielder. Mitchell Santner is a utility player, something which can be said about him based on what we have seen him in all the formats so far. 

Now, his fitness is something that works in his favour. For any player, who takes the responsibility to manage this much amount of workload, it is obvious that they are fit and maintaining themselves well. Since his debut in 2015, Santner has been extremely impressive with all three aspects of his game. 

In the field, he is close to being electric and his captains use him in positions where they know a catch could be coming on his way. And, he is someone who is always ready to run the hard yards and get those catches for his team. When it comes to injuries, his body has been able to adjust to the workload and allow him to continue featuring in almost every match New Zealand plays. 

9. Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Afridi
Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2018, Shaheen Shah Afridi was playing U19 cricket for Pakistan. Three years later, he was the mainstay of the Pakistan bowling unit and in some ways a leader of the attack. Since Pakistan team management had a rather ugly fallout with Mohammad Amir, Afridi has been seen as their regular all-format bowler. 

Since cricket resumed after the pandemic, the young left-arm seamer has featured in every match which Pakistan has played and it’s actually amazing how he has been able to make sure that he stays fit during this period. He didn’t break down during this entire period when he was probably sending out more deliveries than anyone in the world. 

With all the workload, it was not until the Zimbabwe tour recently when the Pakistan team management thought that they would give him a little break. If he can maintain his fitness standards where it is now, he could become one of the best bowlers in the history of his country’s cricket. With the amount of talent he has shown, if Pakistan is able to manage his workload in the upcoming years, he will surely be able to match up to the world-beaters. 

10. Trent Boult

Trent Boult
Trent Boult. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Back in the day, it was a common norm that fast-bowlers were not the greatest fielders and quite often the captain would try to hide them by keeping them in positions where the ball is less likely to come. But, Trent Boult is essentially one of those players who changed this notion and dynamics of our game, when he showed his fielding chops. 

Many Indian fans remember his catch to dismiss Virat Kohli in that IPL match in 2018 when he just plucked the ball out of thin air. His ability to move across the field and run quickly makes him a good fielder to trust on. He is one of those fast-bowlers who hasn’t really gone down with injuries a lot and has been able to continue playing top-level cricket for as long as possible. 

With the amount of bowling and responsibility he takes for his national side, it is almost obvious that at times he might be a bit fatigued. But he has managed to maintain his body and keep the workload under check. In the years to come, hopefully, he can keep up with this fitness level and give us fans a few more memories in the bag. 

11. Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins. (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Pat Cummins made his debut in 2011 for Australia. He was good and everyone saw it. He could bowl fast, swing the ball and get some shape from the ball. Cummins was a class young talent but between his Test debut and his next Test, there was a gap of around five years. This was because of regular injuries. 

When Cummins came into the international scene, he was just 18 years old. His body was maybe not fully prepared to create havoc regularly with the ball, something which he has effectively done ever since he has come back. Between 2011 and 2016, he suffered many injuries but was able to eventually recover from those. 

In the last two or three years, his fitness levels have been tested when he has kept bowling overs after overs in Test cricket for his nation, without breaking down even for once. He has taken his level of fitness to quite a high standard now and the effect of it has been seen on his bowling and also on his appearance.

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