As we look ahead to the World T20 beginning in India next month, we continue our build-up to the mega event by acknowledging the five players who have stood out consistently in past editions of the tournament. Since the advent of T20 cricket, the World T20 has seen many of cricket’s superstars at their very best who have proved beyond doubt, the notion that T20 was a death knell for the textbook cricketer, completely wrong.
One look at the player who is No.1 in our 5 players to set the World T20 on fire will leave you pleasantly surprised.
1. Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene is a name synonymous with class, elegance and perfection but at first sight, one of the last names you would expect to be the top performer in the shortest format of the game. The former Sri Lankan captain has been the most successful batsman over the years in the World T20, notching up a staggering 1016 runs in the competition – the only batsman to reach the 1000 mark. The stylish right-hander averages 39.07 in 31 matches played and boasts a strike rate of 134.74, which is better than the likes of Brendon McCullum, Yuvraj Singh and even skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni – men who have made a name from pounding bowlers twenty rows into the stands.
Surely, the most underrated T20 performer in the short history of the game, and arguably the most consistent, Mahela Jayawardene tops our list of 5 Players who have taken the World T20 by storm.
2. Chris Gayle
A jog down memory lane will take us to the blitzkrieg of a start Chris Gayle gave to the T20 phenomenon by smashing a 57-ball 117 against South Africa at Johannesburg nine years back, an innings in which he walloped the South African bowling attack to all corners of The Wanderers in an innings that comprised seven fours and 10 sixes. Here is a man whose name is synonymous with T20 cricket – a player tailor-made for the shortest format. Gayle, not to anybody’s surprise, is the second highest run-scorer in the World T20 behind Jayawardene with 807 runs from 23 matches and a blistering strike-rate of 141.82.
3. Lasith Malinga
Death bowling is an art that all the teams are trying to perfect, particularly in the T20 format. Ask the Indian team about how they desperately they need a death bowler!
Lasith Malinga is one such probably who has mastered death bowling to perfection, with his variations of deadly yorkers and well-disguised slower deliveries. ‘Slinga Malinga’ has the ability to bowl six deliveries in an over hitting the base of the stumps, something that makes him unassailable in the league of the best bowlers in the world. With 38 wickets in 31 matches in the World T20, the Sri Lankan pacer is the most successful bowler in the competition – his biggest credit being he takes most of his wickets at the fag end of the innings when batsman are looking to bring the long handle into play.
4. Saeed Ajmal
Who said that spinners were mere lambs waiting to be slaughtered when it comes to T20 cricket? Well, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal is one such man who has triumphantly discarded that notion. While his record in Tests and ODIs prove that he has spun the web around batsmen, his success in T20 cricket is a true testament to his ability to reinvent himself to the shortest format of the game. Ajmal has consistently bowled attacking lengths, forcing the batsmen to commit to the shot and go after him, thereby inducing an error. With 36 wickets in just 23 matches and an, even more, impressive economy with 6.79, Saeed Ajmal takes his place in this elite list of cricketers to have taken the World T20 by storm.
5. Shahid Afridi
There were a few names that could have staked a claim for the final spot, but ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi takes his deserved place. Shahid Afridi is an enigma of sorts – can swing a match his team’s way with a couple of hits but can be painfully frustrating to watch the rest of the times. Afridi performed admirably and took Pakistan home with an unbeaten 54 in 40 balls in the final of the World T20 in England in 2009, and it’s not just with the bat, but his bowling is highly underrated. His leg spin bamboozles batsmen and induces poor shots, overall a top class cricketer in the T20 format.