Welcome to our latest blog on the GameDay Squad Global Cricket Championship, where we bring you the highlights and standout performers from rounds 12 to 14. As the competition heats up, several players have already made their mark, delivering exceptional performances and racking up impressive GDS Fantasy Points. Let's dive into the squad of the week and top performers of the week, showcasing the best wicket-keepers, batsmen, all-rounders, and bowlers. You will also find a sneak preview on who we think might be good selections for round 15 to 16.
GDS Squad Round and Top Performers
Round 12
WKT - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) - 60 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT Jos Buttler - (England) - 53 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Tanzid Hasan (Bangladesh) -46 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Vikramjit Singh (Netherlands) - 40 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) - 91 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan) - 61 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Sybrand Engelbrecht (Netherlands) - 58 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Mahmudullah (Bangladesh) - 54 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Adil Rashid (England) - 105 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Jofra Archer (England) - 93 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan) - 80 GDS Fantasy Points
Adil Rashid - Bowler - England
Adil Rashid was in superb form against Oman and ended with figures of 4/11 off his four overs. Excluding the two rain affected matches, Rashid has bowled his full complement of overs and he looks to be locked in as starter for England. Depending on the pitch and what happens at the toss, Rashid can be considered as a starter every time England play.
Round 13
WKT - Aasif Sheikh (Nepal) - 67 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Kushal Bhurtel (Nepal) - 115 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Reeza Hendricks (South Africa) -54 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Devon Conway (New Zealand) - 42 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal) - 78 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) - 68 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) - 54 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Aiden Markram (South Africa) - 41 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa) - 99 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Tim Southee (New Zealand) -99 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Trent Boult (New Zealand) - 75 GDS Fantasy Points
Kushal Bhurtel - Batsman - Nepal
Kushal Bhurtel put in the best performance by any Nepalese player in the T20 CWC as he went onto score 115 GDS Fantasy Points against South Africa. He is an opening batsman that also bowls leg spin. In this performance he scored 16 points through the bat but had bowling figures of 4/19 from his four overs and this worked out to be 99 points. Even though Nepal won't be making it through to the second round of the group stages, Bhurtal may be a valuable asset for GDS coaches in the future if Nepal continue to qualify for future ICC tournaments. An opening batsman that offers bowling upside can be a cheat code in GDS in certain situations.
Round 14
WKT - Jonny Bairstow (England) -42 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Travis Head (Australia) - 89 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Harry Brook (England) -75 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Richie Berrington (Scotland) - 59 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Brandon McMullen (Scotland) - 82 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Marcus Stoinis (Australia) - 80 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - David Wiese (Namibia) - 62 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Glenn Maxwell (Australia) - 60 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Ruben Trumpelmann (Namibia) - 57 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Mark Watt (Scotland) -49 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Brad Wheal (Scotland) - 47 GDS Fantasy Points
Brandon McMullen - All-Rounder - Scotland
Brandon McMullen put in a very good knock as went on to score 60 runs off 32 balls. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to put Scotland into the second round of the group stages as they lost narrowly to Australia. McMullen has been part of the Scottish T20 setup for the last year and over this period he has scored four fifties in his twelve innings. He is only 24 years old, and I think we will see him in the Scottish team for some time. If you have his card, I'd be hanging onto it as I think it will be useful in the future.
GDS Top 10 Wicket-Keepers
Rahmanullah Gurbaz - Afghanistan - 94.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Rishabh Pant - India - 65.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Mohammad Rizwan - Pakistan - 48.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Andries Gous - United States of America - 47.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Jos Buttler - England - 45.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Shreyas Movva - Canada - 42.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Monank Patel - United States of America - 42.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Nicholas Pooran - West Indies - 37.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Litton Das - Bangladesh - 36.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Aasif Sheikh - Nepal - 36.0 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 Batsman
Aaron Jones - United States of America - 61.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Kushal Bhurtel - Nepal - 61.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Ibrahim Zadran - Afghanistan - 50.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Travis Head - Australia - 49.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Babar Azam - Pakistan - 44.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Aaron Johnson - Canada - 44.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Richie Berrington - Scotland - 44.0 GDS Fantasy Points
David Warner - Australia - 41.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Sherfane Rutherford - West Indies - 39.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Towhid Hridoy - Bangladesh - 39.0 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 All-Rounders
Marcus Stoinis - Australia - 89.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Hardik Pandya - India - 77.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Rashid Khan - Afghanistan - 69.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Logan van Beek - Netherlands - 68.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Brandon McMullen - Scotland - 67.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Andre Russell - West Indies - 64.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Gerhard Erasmus - Namibia - 60.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Dipendra Singh Airee - Nepal - 57.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Mehran Khan - Oman - 56.3 GDS Fantasy Points
David Wiese - Namibia - 53.3 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 Bowlers
Fazalhaq Farooqi - Afghanistan - 107.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Tabraiz Shamsi - South Africa - 99.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Trent Boult - New Zealand - 77.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Alzarri Joseph - West Indies - 77.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Tim Southee - New Zeraland - 75.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Nosthush Kenjige - United States of America - 74.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Akeal Hosein - West Indies - 72.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Aryan Dutt - Netherlands - 69.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Arshdeep Singh - India - 66.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Anrich Nortje - South Africa - 66.3 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Team to Beat - Round 15
Ireland vs Pakistan
Bangladesh vs Nepal
Netherlands vs Sri Lanka
WKT - Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
WKT/BAT - Kushal Bhurtel (Nepal)
WKT/BAT - Babar Azam (Pakistan)
WKT/BAT - Towhid Hridoy (Bangladesh)
AR - Logan van Beek (Netherlands)
AR - Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal)
AR - Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)
AR - Mark Adair (Ireland)
BWL - Nuwan Thushara (Sri Lanka)
BWL - Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh)
BWL - Tanzim Hasan Sakib (Bangladesh)
Player in focus - Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan is starting to find some form with the bat and has featured in the squad of the round after his last two performances. He scored 31 runs vs India and 53 runs vs Canada, this worked out to be 38 points and 81 points respectively. Pakistan played Ireland in a three match T20 series in Ireland leading up to the World Cup and Rizwan had a lot of success against the Irish bowling attack. He had innings of 56 and 75 runs, and I think he might be able to score another 50 in this match. Rizwan is a must start for me.
GDS Team to Beat - Round 16
New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
West Indies vs Afghanistan
WKT - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan)
WKT/BAT - Devon Conway (New Zealand)
WKT/BAT - Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)
WKT/BAT - Finn Allen (New Zealand)
AR - Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
AR - Andre Russell (West Indies)
AR - Mitchell Santner (New Zealand)
AR - Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand)
BWL - Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan)
BWL - Trent Boult (New Zealand)
BWL - Tim Southee (West Indies)
Player in focus - Tim Southee
Even though New Zealand's T20 CWC campaign won't progress past the first round of the group stages, the veteran Tim Southee has been bowling extremely well. He has bowled his full complement of overs in both of his matches and has figures of 2/21 vs West Indies and 3/4 vs Uganda. With New Zealand's final match against the winless PNG, I'm expecting Southee to take 2+ wickets once again. What I like even more is the fact that this is New Zealand's third match at this venue, and they should be used to the favourable bowling surface.
