World Cup 2019: 3 Cricketers who were not a part of preliminary squad but are doing well now

We are three weeks into the ongoing edition of ICC World Cup, and we already have witnessed some great cricketing action. What happens on the pitch during a World Cup game is actually the fruit of four years of hard work. The homework does not only limit to the players but the officials as well. They undertake an operation to find the best bunch of fifteen players from a vast country.

Even then, bad selections happen at every mega event and the national selectors are held accountable for it. On the flip side, sometimes luck favours these officials. Often we have seen players who were not a part of the preliminary squad getting called up at the eleventh hour, and they turn up to be the messiah of the team. This World Cup is no different as quite a few teams made changes to their preliminary squad before the deadline.

Here we have listed three players who were initially left out of the World Cup squad but are doing extremely well in the tournament:

1. Wahab Riaz – Pakistan

Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) team selection has often been criticised by the fans, and the tendency is increasing with time as the players fail to deliver. The preliminary squad of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 winners was not received happily by the Pakistanis. The reason behind the rage was well known to all – the omission of two experienced pacers in Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz.

Instead of them, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and Junaid Khan were selected. But the series against England just before the World Cup gave the selectors a chance to reconsider their decision. They eventually selected Wahab Riaz, who has done a good job till now.

With 5 wickets in 4 matches, Riaz is Pakistan’s second highest wicket-taker thus far in the tournament. Pakistan are not having a good time in England right now, and have won only one game. The left-arm pacer had a crucial role to play in that game against the hosts as he picked up three crucial wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.

The team will be hoping for an even better performance from him as the Men in Green need to win all the four remaining matches to have any chance of going into the semi-finals.

2. Chris Morris – South Africa

Besides Pakistan, another team who are having a forgettable campaign is South Africa. The Proteas seem to have lost all of its fire as they have lost four matches so far, managing to register a victory only against Afghanistan. Though it was expected that they will miss their legend AB de Villiers, no one would’ve thought the South African standards to drop this low. Another person, whom they would have missed terribly had it not been for an injury, is Chris Morris.

Morris, a renowned all-rounder of the limited overs format, was excused for pacer Anrich Nortje. But a hand injury ruled the latter out and the opportunity came to Morris. In a team with intimidating bowlers like Imran Tahir and Kagiso Rabada, the 32-year-old has been the leading wicket-taker for them. With 9 wickets in 5 games, Morris can well be only positive South Africa can take from this World Cup.

The Pretoria-born played a great knock of 42 runs from just 34 deliveries against India, and also took the important wicket of MS Dhoni, However, his efforts went in vain. Picking up 3 wickets by conceding just 13 runs, he played a big role in this side’s only victory so far. Even in the closely contested match against New Zealand, Morris was amongst the wickets. Rather he was the best bowler for his team with figures of 3/49.

3. Mohammad Amir – Pakistan

Pakistani supporters are already wishing for the nightmarish World Cup to get over. The nightmare could have turned a lot worse, had it not been for the left-arm quick Mohammad Amir. However, Amir was not even supposed to be a part of the team. He was left out of the preliminary squad and a fellow left-arm seamer, Junaid Khan was selected.

But the selectors later changed their decision, which brought a smile to many faces, but not Khan’s. He was furious at not getting a ticket to England and decided to vent his frustration via social media in an innovative manner. But like any other great player, Amir is an opportunist and he was not ready to let the chance slip.

In 4 innings, he has picked up 13 wickets. That does not only make him Pakistan’s most successful bowler, but he is second in the list of highest wicket-takers only behind Mitchell Starc. While his partners went for aplenty, Amir kept a check on the flow of runs, which is highlighted by his economy rate of under 5.