Welcome to our latest blog on the GameDay Squad Global Cricket Championship, where we bring you the highlights and standout performers from rounds 15 to 16. As the competition enters the Super Eights, several players have already made their mark, delivering exceptional performances and racking up impressive GDS Fantasy Points. Let's dive into the best squads and top performers for each round, 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 17 to 18.
GDS Squad Round and Top Performers
Round 15
WKT - Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka) - 116 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT Rohit Paudel - (Nepal) - 67 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Scott Edwards (Netherlands) -47 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Michael Levitt (Netherlands) - 43 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Imad Wasim (Pakistan) - 86 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal) - 80 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka) - 77 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) - 75 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Tanzim Hasan Sakib (Bangladesh) - 141 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) - 102 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) - 96 GDS Fantasy Points
Tanzim Hasan Sakib - Bowler - Bangladesh
Tanzim Hasan Sakib destroyed the top order of Nepal and went on to finish with figures 4/21 from his four overs, this included two maidens. The Bangladesh seam attack has been very good this T20 CWC and it really depends on the day which one of their pacemen will perform. Sakib has now made the squad of the round on two occasions and both times he finished as the top scoring bowler. With matches against Australia, India, and Afghanistan in the Super Eights, Sakib can be considered as a starter each round. Out of all these matches, I think starting him against Afghanistan would be a good decision as Bangladesh will be playing at the same venue as they did against Nepal.
Round 16
WKT - Nicholas Pooran (West Indies) - 136 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Johnson Charles (West Indies) - 71 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Devon Conway (New Zealand) - 62 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) - 50 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan) - 64 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan) - 60 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Andre Russell (West Indies) - 37 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) - 33 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand) - 148 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Obed McCoy (West Indies) -73 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Akeal Hosein (West Indies) - 68 GDS Fantasy Points
Lockie Ferguson - Bowler - New Zealand
Lockie Ferguson became the second bowler ever to bowl four maidens in a T20I and was the first to do so in a T20 CWC. He finished with the amazing figures of 4-4-0-3. This performance earned him the second highest score in GDS for the Global Cricket Championship. Even though the tournament is over for New Zealand, coaches might be able to sell high after this performance as Ferguson is now 33 years old and who knows how long he will remain on the international cricket stage.
GDS Top 10 Wicket-Keepers (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz - Afghanistan - 70.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Rishabh Pant - India - 65.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Nicholas Pooran - West Indies - 62.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Andries Gous - United States of America - 47.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Jos Buttler - England - 45.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Monank Patel - United States of America - 42.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Litton Das - Bangladesh - 35.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Phil Salt - England - 31.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Johnson Charles - West Indies - 30.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Heinrich Klaasen - South Africa - 29.5 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 Batsman (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
Aaron Jones - United States of America - 61.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Ibrahim Zadran - Afghanistan - 50.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Travis Head - Australia - 49.0 GDS Fantasy Points
David Warner - Australia - 41.8 GDS Fantasy Points
David Miller - South Africa - 35.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Harry Brook - England - 35.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Towhid Hridoy - Bangladesh - 34.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Sherfane Rutherford - West Indies - 31.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Rohit Sharma - India - 29.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Suryakumar Yadav - India - 27.3 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 All-Rounders (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
Marcus Stoinis - Australia - 89.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Hardik Pandya - India - 77.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Rashid Khan - Afghanistan - 58.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Andre Russell - West Indies - 57.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Shakib Al Hasan - Bangladesh - 49.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Glenn Maxwell - Australia - 38.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Azmatullah Omarzai - Afghanistan - 35.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Ashton Agar - Australia - 33.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Gulbadin Naib - Afghanistan - 32.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Axar Patel - India - 32.3 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 Bowlers (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
Tabraiz Shamsi - South Africa - 99.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Fazalhaq Farooqi - Afghanistan - 81.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Tanzim Hasan Sakib - Bangladesh - 77.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Nosthush Kenjige - United States of America - 74.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Obed McCoy - West Indies - 73.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Akeal Hosein - West Indies - 71.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Arshdeep Singh - India - 66.7 GDS Fantasy Points
Anrich Nortje - South Africa - 66.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Alzarri Joseph - West Indies - 64.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Mustafizur Rahman - Bangladesh - 59.5 GDS Fantasy Point
GDS Team to Beat - Round 17
South Africa vs United States of America
West Indies vs England
WKT - Jos Buttler (England)
WKT/BAT - Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)
WKT/BAT - Phil Salt (England)
WKT/BAT - Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
AR - Andre Russell (West Indies)
AR - Marco Jansen (South Africa)
AR - Aiden Markram (South Africa)
AR - Sam Curran (England)
BWL - Jofra Archer (England)
BWL - Akeal Hosein (West Indies)
BWL - Anrich Nortje (South Africa)
Player in focus - Phil Salt
Phil Salt is one of the most destructive batsmen in the tournament but his GDS average of 31.3 points hasn't shown this. This is mainly down to the low run chase against Oman and the shortened match against Namibia. In the recent IPL he ranked 2nd in the wicket-keeper rankings averaging 57.5 GDS fantasy points and hit four half centuries in his twelve matches. What I think is more relevant is the form that showed in the Caribbean in the five match T20I series against the West Indies back in December. In this series he averaged 66.2 runs and smashed his way to two centuries. The West Indies bowling attack will likely be similar to the one he faced in December and at one of the most batting friendly venues of the CWC, I think Salt offers a very high ceiling and is a must start for me.
GDS Team to Beat - Round 18
Afghanistan vs India
Australia vs Bangladesh
WKT - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan)
WKT/BAT - Rishabh Pant (India)
WKT/BAT - Travis Head (Australia)
WKT/BAT - Rohit Sharma (India)
AR - Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
AR - Marcus Stoinis (Australia)
AR - Hardik Pandya (India)
AR - Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
BWL - Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan)
BWL - Jasprit Bumrah (India)
BWL - Adam Zampa (Australia)
Player in focus - Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa has only made the squad of the round once this tournament, but I think he can have a lot of success against Bangladesh. Of the 28 wickets Bangladesh have lost this T20 CWC, 15 of these have been to spin. This match will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and even though we have seen the seam bowler take 26 of the 38 wickets here, leg spin bowlers have had some great success. Zampa took 4/12 vs Namibia and Rashid took 4/11 vs Oman earlier in the tournament and I don't see any reason why Zampa can't pick up a few wickets against Bangladesh. With many very good bowling options available for this round, Zampa might be considered a player of difference. If he can repeat the performance we saw against Namibia, he may help GDS coaches' squads be near the top of the leaderboard.
