Fantasy cricket Dream11 team prediction, New Zealand vs Afghanistan, 40th Match, Super 12 Group 2 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Make your dream11 team prediction and T20 World Cup 2021 Fantasy League prediction with our fantasy cricket tips and suggestions. Get early updates, game previews, news, suggestion, prediction for your fantasy team in our exclusive section Fantasy Sports.

Fantasy Cricket Dream11 Team Prediction : Dream11 Fantasy Cricket: New Zealand vs Afghanistan : 40th Match, T20 World Cup 2021 Preview

Match Details :-

Match: New Zealand vs Afghanistan – 40th Match – Super 12 Group 2
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Date & Time: 7th November 2021 at 3:30 pm (IST)
Where to Watch Live: Star Sports Network & Disney+Hotstar VIP.

Read Also: WBBL 2021: Indian women cricketers' performances till now

Pitch Report: New Zealand vs Afghanistan: 40th Match Preview

Pitch Report: The pitch in Abu Dhabi has been a fairly sporting one. The batters have got a lot of runs, but the bowlers have also extracted quite a bit off the surface. Batting first and putting runs on the board should be the preferred option for both teams in the crunch game.

T20 World Cup Matches 1st Innings Average Score – 145 runs

T20 World Cup Matches 2nd Innings Average Score – 135 runs

Chasing team record – Won: 35, Lost: 25, Tied: 1.

T20 World Cup Fantasy League Head to Head Stats: New Zealand vs Afghanistan : 40th Match

New Zealand and Afghanistan are yet to face each other in T20Is.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021: Conditions for team India to qualify

Team News :

New Zealand :

The New Zealand team is just a win away to confirm their place in the Semi Final along with Pakistan in group 2. However, they are currently in good form as they won their last three games. Meanwhile, after losing their opening game against Pakistan, NZ defeated India Naminiy and Scotland so far.

They will face Afghanistan on Sunday in their final group clash against Afghanistan. They are expecting a victory as Gleen Phillips and James Neesham comes back in form along with the other players

Read Also: Yorkshire Racism Crisis: ECB suspends Yorkshire from hosting international matches

Afghanistan :

Afghanistan is currently at the 4th spot in the group 2 points table. However, they will face New Zealand on Sunday afternoon and will look to win by a huge margin to overtook India and NZ in terms of Net Run Rate. Meanwhile, the problem is Mujeeb isn't fit till the last match and if he doesn't play then it will be hard for them to steal a win.

On the other side, Kane Williamson and his men are in great form after losing their opening game. If Afghanistan wants to win and secure their place in the semis then Rashid and Mujeeb has to do the job as they needed a win by a huge margin.

New Zealand vs Afghanistan : 40th Match : Possible Playing XI

New Zealand :

Martin Guptill
Daryl Mitchell
Kane Williamson (C)
Devon Conway
Glenn Phillips
James Neesham
Tim Seifert (wk)
Mitchell Santner
Ish Sodhi
Tim Southee
Trent Boult

Afghanistan :

Mohammed Shahzad (wk)
Hazratullah Zazai
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Gulbadin Naib
Najibullah Zadran
Mohammed Nabi (C)
Karim Janat
Rashid Khan
Mujeeb ur Rahman
Hamid Hasan
Naveen-ul-Haq

Also Read: Yorkshire Racism Crisis: Morgan thinks 'Significant change' on racism is more critical than 'any trophies we win'

T20 World Cup 2021: Fantasy Cricket Dream11 Team Prediction: New Zealand vs Afghanistan : 40th Match :

You must change your team if any of these players aren't announced in the starting lineup.

Cricket has always been a bridge across cultures, a phenomenon that connects players with fans from all around the world. Situations often force people to migrate from one country to the other. There have been instances when cricketers were born in different nations but ultimately played for a different country.

Let's take a look at the cricket facts of cricketers who didn't play for their country.

Also Read: "Wear whites for Virat": RCB fans in Bengaluru to wear white for Virat Kohli Test tribute

Cricket Facts | Cricketers who didn't play for their country

5. Glenn Phillips (South Africa-born)

New Zealand cricket all-rounder Glenn Philips moved from East London, South Africa to New Zealand at the age of five. He pursued his education in New Zealand, where he began his cricket journey. Having made his domestic debut with Auckland, he signed with Otago to play alongside his brother, Dale Phillips, in 2022. Interestingly, he made his international debut against South Africa, the country where he was born.

4. Ish Sodhi (India-born)

Inderbir Singh 'Ish' Sodhi was born in Ludhiana, India, on October 31, 1992, and spent his early years in New Zealand. He made his New Zealand debut as a leg-spinner in 2013, and since then, he has been a reliable performer in limited-overs forms, contributing significantly to the country's T20 World Cup campaigns.

3. Devon Conway (South Africa-born)

After playing for Gauteng and the Highveld Lions, Devon Conway moved to New Zealand in 2017 and made an immediate impact. He was the leading run-scorer in both the 2018-19 Plunket Shield (659) and 2018-19 Super Smash (363). Conway became eligible to play for New Zealand in August 2020 and has since become a key player for them across all formats. He averages 36.72 after 27 Tests and has also made 36 ODI and 50 T20I appearances.

2. Marnus Labuschagne (South Africa-born)

Marnus Labuschagne was born in Klerksdorp, in South Africa. His family moved to Australia when he was 10. Labuschagne made his Australia debut in Tests in 2018, after Steve Smith suffered an injury during the Ashes tour. Since then the prolific batter has emulated the batting prowess of his best friend and has not looked back. 

Speaking of his impressive international cricket career for Australia, Marnus Labuschagne has played 57 Tests, scoring 4396 runs with 11 centuries, and played 63 ODIs, scoring 1869 runs with two centuries. He has also played one T20I match.

Also Read: Fav four in Test cricket: Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith stats in Tests

1. Ben Stokes (New Zealand-born)

Ben Stokes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in June 1991. His family moved to Cumbria when Stokes was 12 years old after his father was appointed head coach at Workington Town Rugby League Club.

Stokes has played for England in all three formats. Stokes is regarded as one of England's greatest all-rounders in the history of the sport. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues around the world. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup.

As IPL 2025 faced disruptions and was suspended on 9th May, 2025, most of the overseas players returned back to their respective home countries.

The tournament is set to resume from 17th May, 2025, and it raises a crucial question about how many overseas players can rejoin their franchises.

Given their international commitments and other issues, check out the overseas players who might not come for the remainder of the tournament in IPL 2025 for each team.

IPL 2025 Points Table

Firstly, see where each team stands before the tournament resumes.

Read Also: Top 5 underrated players in IPL 2025

Overseas players return status for the remainder of IPL 2025

Cricket, a sport loved by millions around the world, has witnessed the rise of several legendary players. In the modern era, four exceptional batsmen have stood out with their consistent brilliance, earning them the title of the “Fab Four players.” Their performances are often compared under the widely discussed Fab four Stats.

These iconic cricketers – Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith have set new benchmarks for batting excellence across formats. 

Virat Kohli recently announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier today (May 12) with a post on his official Instagram handle. He ended his 14-year illustrious career in the format.

In this article, we will take a closer look at their remarkable careers, comparing their updated statistics and achievements to understand what makes them the finest batsmen of the modern era in Test cricket. 

Also Read: Fav four in cricket: Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith overall stats

So, let's take a look at the statistics of the Fav Four in Test cricket.

Fav four in Test cricket | Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith

Test cricket, often considered the ultimate test of a player’s skill and temperament, has seen these four players shine brightly. Here’s how they stack up in the longest format.

Virat Kohli's peak in Test cricket arrived well before the likes of Joe Root and Kane Williamson. Steve Smith matched him toe to toe during that period, but the 12-month ban due to the sandpaper gate overshadowed his brilliance in the format. 

However, when we compare the numbers of Fab four in 2025, Kohli has fallen way behind his contemporaries. Root is at the peak of his powers in Test cricket in the last five years while Williamson has never really been out of form in the whites.

Smith has been on and off over the last couple of years, but his form has never been a concern for Australia in Tests. When it comes to runs, averages and centuries, Kohli ranks last among Fab four and a lot of it has to do with his downfall in the format since November 2019.

Also Read: Sachin vs Kohli: Stats Comparison in Test Cricket

Here is a comparison of Fav four in Test cricket.

Fav four in Test cricket | How Kohli finished in Tests compared to Fab four

It is certain that Virat Kohli, who was once untouchable in the debate of Fab Four, will remain at the bottom forever when compared to his contemporaries. Only if his form hadn't dropped after November 2019, the 36-year-old, today, has stepped down from the format with some unreal numbers.

If anyone has followed cricket casually over the last decade, they're likely familiar with four key names: former Indian captain Virat Kohli, batting genius Steve Smith, English great Joe Root, and New Zealand's all-time leading run-scorer Kane Williamson.

They together are known as the 'Fab Four' in the modern era of cricket.

Each of them has set new benchmarks for performance, continually pushing one another to enhance their skills. These four batsmen have not only dominated the world of cricket but have also met the expectations of their respective nations.

In this article, we will examine the statistics of the Fab Four across all formats.

Fav Four in cricket: How many runs & centuries have they scored in International Cricket?

Virat Kohli has been the most prolific all-format batter among the fav-four. Kohli, till now in his 550 international games, has scored 27,599 runs with an outstanding average of 52.27. His record of 82 international centuries is only second to Sachin Tendulkar's 100 international centuries.

Read Also | Most ICC Trophies by any men's team

Joe Root comes in second among them with 20,724 runs so far for England across formats. However, undoubtedly, he has been the best test batter of his generation with 12972 test runs, which sets him as the highest test run scorer for England. Root has also scored 53 international hundreds, of which 36 came in tests only.

Read Also | Winners list of last 10 ICC Tournaments (men's)

Kane Williamson, New Zealand's highest runscorer in international cricket, comes at number three in terms of international runs among the fav four. The former Kiwi leader has scored 19,086 runs so far in his career at an average of 48.56. Kane is now only two short of reaching 50 international hundreds. 

Read Also | Most Test runs in 2024: Root, Jaiswal, Duckett and more

Aussie great Steven Smith comes at four with 17,165 runs at an average of 47.81. A late bloomer with the bat, Smith has been outstanding for Australia in tests and ODIs. Along with Root, Smith has also been one of the greatest test batters of this generation.

Here is a comparison of international stats of the fav four. 

Read Also: Most Wickets in Test Cricket

Fab Four in Cricket: Stats across different formats

Virat Kohli (IND)

Joe Root (ENG)

Kane Williamson (NZ)

Steven Smith (AUS)

Note: The article was initially written by Abishek Goswami and then got updated by Koushik Biswas