Welcome to our latest blog on the GameDay Squad Global Cricket Championship, where we bring you the highlights and standout performers from rounds 17 to 18. 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 19 to 20.
GDS Squad Round and Top Performers
Round 17
WKT - Phil Salt (England) - 120 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT Quinton de Kock- (South Africa) - 107 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Andries Gous (United States of America) -103 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Jonny Bairstow (England) - 61 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Harmeet Singh (United States of America) - 97 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Aiden Markram (South Africa) - 58 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Moeen Ali (England) - 38 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Steven Taylor (United States of America) - 33 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) - 76 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Saurabh Netravalkar (United States of America) - 52 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Jofra Archer (England) - 31 GDS Fantasy Points
Phil Salt - Wicket Keepers - England
Phil Salt was mentioned in the previous blog as a must start and he didn't let us down. He put in a player of the match performance against the West Indies and scored 87 runs off 47 deliveries. Over his last six T20Is against the West Indies he averages 75 GDS fantasy points. He obviously won't be playing the West Indies in every match but he's starting to hit form at the right time and should be considered for GDS coaches' starting XIs every time England play.
Round 18
WKT - Rishabh Pant (India) - 52 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Suryakumar Yadav (India) - 72 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - David Warner (Australia) - 72 GDS Fantasy Points
WKT/BAT - Towhid Hridoy (Bangladesh) - 50 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) - 87 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Axar Patel (India) - 58 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Ravindra Jadeja (India) - 60 GDS Fantasy Points
AR - Hardik Pandya (India) - 50 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Jasprit Bumrah (India) - 99 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Arshdeep Singh (India) -81 GDS Fantasy Points
BWL - Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan) - 79 GDS Fantasy Points
Jasprit Bumrah - Bowler - India
Jasprit Bumrah picked up his second three wicket bag of the T20 CWC as he helped India to a win over Afghanistan. He finished with 3/7 from his four overs and this was his best figures of the tournament. Next up India have Bangladesh and I think the Indian bowling line-up will have the Bangladesh top order on the ropes early. I'm expecting Bumrah to have his say in the match and wouldn't be surprised if he picked up another three wickets.
GDS Top 10 Wicket-Keepers (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz - Afghanistan - 62.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Rishabh Pant - India - 61.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Andries Gous - United States of America - 61.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Nicholas Pooran - West Indies - 58.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Phil Salt - England - 53.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Jos Buttler - England - 42.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Monank Patel - United States of America - 42.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Quinton de Kock - South Africa - 40.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Johnson Charles - West Indies - 35.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Heinrich Klaasen - South Africa - 34.4 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 Batsman (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
David Warner - Australia - 47.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Travis Head - Australia - 47.6 GDS Fantasy Points
Aaron Jones - United States of America - 45.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Ibrahim Zadran - Afghanistan - 41.6 GDS Fantasy Points
Suryakumar Yadav - India - 38.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Towhid Hridoy - Bangladesh - 37.2 GDS Fantasy Points
Sherfane Rutherford - West Indies - 32.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Rovman Powell - West Indies - 31.4 GDS Fantasy Points
Rohit Sharma - India - 28.5 GDS Fantasy Points
Harry Brook - England - 28.3 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 All-Rounders (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
Marcus Stoinis - Australia - 76.2 GDS Fantasy Points
Hardik Pandya - India - 70.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Rashid Khan - Afghanistan - 64.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Andre Russell - West Indies - 50.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Axar Patel - India - 41.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Shakib Al Hasan - Bangladesh - 41.2 GDS Fantasy Points
Harmeet Singh - United States of America - 39.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Glenn Maxwell - Australia - 38.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Aiden Markram - South Africa - 37.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Azmatullah Omarzai - Afghanistan - 36.4 GDS Fantasy Points
GDS Top 10 Bowlers (only includes players that are in Super Eights)
Fazalhaq Farooqi - Afghanistan - 80.6 GDS Fantasy Points
Obed McCoy - West Indies - 73.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Arshdeep Singh - India - 70.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Jasprit Bumrah - India - 66.3 GDS Fantasy Points
Tanzim Hasan Sakib - Bangladesh - 62.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Tabraiz Shamsi - South Africa - 61.0 GDS Fantasy Points
Adam Zampa - Australia - 59.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Anrich Nortje - South Africa - 58.8 GDS Fantasy Points
Akeal Hosein - West Indies - 58.4 GDS Fantasy Points
Pat Cummins - Australia - 56.7 GDS Fantasy Pointsoint
GDS Team to Beat - Round 19
England vs South Africa
West Indies vs USA
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 - Moeen Ali (England)
AR - Aiden Markram (South Africa)
AR - Harmeet Singh (United States of America)
BWL - Alzarri Joseph (West Indies)
BWL - Akeal Hosein (West Indies)
BWL - Saurabh Netravalkar (United States of America)
Player in focus - Alzarri Joseph
Alzarri Joseph has been performing well for GDS coaches in the T20 CWC outside of the games played at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium (DSNCS) in St Lucia. In the two matches played here, Joseph only averaged 14 points and he isn't the only bowler to struggle at this venue. DSNCS has been the worst venue for bowlers to score well at in GDS and in the four matches played here, there has only been five bowlers that have made the squad of the round. The top performing bowlers at DSNCS have been Nuwan Thushara and Obed McCoy with 73 points. Seam bowlers are averaging 8.3 points per over and spin bowlers are averaging 7.5 points per over. DSNCS is ranked 9th out of the nine venues for both seam and spin bowlers this T20 CWC. The West Indies vs USA match will be played at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Seam bowlers average 11.4 points per over and spin bowlers average 8.2 points per over. We saw 18 wickets fall in the India vs Afghanistan match and I think we will continue to see more wickets fall at this venue compared to DSNCS. Everything I've mentioned points to being cautious when selecting bowlers that play at DSNCS and this is why I have Joseph as my must start this round.
GDS Team to Beat - Round 20
India vs Bangladesh
Afghanistan vs Australia
WKT - Rishabh Pant (India)
WKT/BAT - Virat Kohli (India)
WKT/BAT - David Warner (Australia)
WKT/BAT - Rohit Sharma (India)
AR - Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
AR - Marcus Stoinis (Australia)
AR - Hardik Pandya (India)
AR - Glenn Maxwell (Australia)
BWL - Pat Cummins (Australia)
BWL - Jasprit Bumrah (India)
BWL - Adam Zampa (Australia)
Player in focus - Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan has been one of the best leg spin bowlers in T20 cricket for some time. Compared to all the other all-rounders available to select from for this round, he is most likely to bowl his full complement of overs. With Afghanistan playing Australia at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingston, Khan is likely to be a handful for the Australian batsmen. Spinners at this venue are averaging 12.8 points per over which makes this the best venue for spinners to score well on at the CWC. Fresh off taking three wickets against India, Khan is a must start for me if Australia bat first. I say this as I think Australia will win this match and Afghanistan might struggle to score 150 if they bat first. With the firepower of the Australian batting lineup, a smallish total might be knocked off rather quickly and this might make Khan a risky starting option. If Australia bowl first I might pivot away from Khan and start Mitchell Marsh, it really depends on the conditions as well.
