Former players who would have been T20 greats

The today world has reached the point where the traditional formats of cricket have are set to take a backseat for a common cricket fan. It’s the T20 generation of Cricket. Though the traditionalists would argue that Test Cricket is the purest form of cricket, and they might very well be right, but we live in a world today which demands things to speed up. Hence the growing popularity of the 3-hour T20 games and all the T20 leagues which we see in today’s world as compared to a decade or so ago when ODI was the enigma at that point of time.

The T20 format is fairly new but there were many former players who would have been T20 greats had they got the chance to roll the dice in this format in the prime years of their career. There are former players who were absolutely tailor-made for this format would have easily become a T20 great had the format been introduced a decade or two ahead of its actual presentation.

So, let us have a look at the Top-10 Former players who would have been T20 greats in their prime.

10. Ricardo Powell –

The West Indian Ricardo Powell was a very destructive batsman, who made name for himself in International Cricket when he took center-stage at Singapore against Indian with an innings of 124 runs from just 93 balls. This hard hitting batsman who played over 100 ODI matches with a strike-rate of  96.66, a part-time bowler and a remarkably brilliant fielder from the Caribbean would have been an assist for any team and would have been a T20 great.

9. Javed Miandad –

In two words, Javed Miandad would be defined as “Unpredictable” and “Entertaining”, two prerequisites for T20 format. To add to this, a total of 16,000 International runs does no harm to his eligibility to play the format known for being best suited for great characters and Javed Miandad was surely one of the best characters the game has ever seen.

8. Kris Srikkanth –

The flamboyant South Indian Batsman, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, also known as Kris Srikkanth, was known for his attacking instincts as a batsman. This guy could destroy the strongest and most fearsome attacks in the world by fearless pulling, hooking and driving. This innovative and attacking player who knew how to attract the crowd with his fresh style of play would certainly have been a T20 great in modern day cricket with 100% entertainment guaranteed.   

7. Waqar Younis –

T20 cricket is well known as a batsman’s game. Bowlers are conceived to be as helpless as a chicken in a poultry farm. Party true but it is also well known that when a fast in-swinging ball is launched at the batsman’s toes, there is not much the batsman can do either regardless of what format it is. This is exactly what Waqar Younis would have added to the T20 format. With 416 ODIs wickets and an additional 372 in Tests, a grand total of  788 wickets shows that this Pakistan legend had all the elements to be a T20 great.

6. Anil Kumble –

This Indian leggie, ‘Jumbo’ as his teammates knew him, was known to be a miser when it came to giving away free runs. Anil Kumble was not the biggest spinner of the ball but still managed to grab 619 test and 337 ODI wickets. Anil Kumble would have been one of the best assets and certainly a T20 great in his prime years.

5. Curtley Ambrose –

The West Indies pacer was one the most lethal pace bowlers of his generation. A giant is every aspect of the game, the man usually refused to talk to media or give interview famously with his “Curtly talk to no man” motto. The 6 feet, 7-inch big man from Antigua has 630 International wickets to his name and when the ball arrives from that height and with that pace, you are certain the batsman will not like it much. Curtley would easily have been one of the T20 greats had he got a chance to play the format.

4. Kapil Dev –

The World Cup winning captain of India of 1983, Kapil Dev was one of the most attacking players in the history of the game. With 9000+runs to his name at a staggering strike-rate of over 95 and the fact that he has 687 International wickets to his name proves that Kapil Dev would easily have made himself a T20 great given the opportunity.

3. Wasim Akram –

Arguably the best Left-arm fast bowler the world has ever seen, Wasim Akram was in a league of his own. Swinging the ball both ways, balling Yorkers, occasional bouncers and a deceptive slower ball made him a dream to watch bowl. A massive total of 916 International wickets just reiterates the fact that Wasim Akram would have been one of the greatest T20 players of all time had he played the format in his prime.

2. Lance Klusener –

Lance Klusener, the guy nicknamed ‘Zulu’ for his fluency in that language, was one of the most dangerous cricketers the game has ever witnessed. For a guy who started off as a #11 batsman who made it into the team for his fast bowling, Klusener unleashed a ferocious aspect of his game in the 1999 World Cup when he took the world by storm and almost single handedly getting South Africa to the finals of the tournament. Unfortunately he failed to do so but won himself the “Player of the Tournament” award. Just imagining this guy in his prime playing the T20 format would send any cricket fan into frenzy.

1. Sir Vivian Richards –

15,000 runs, 150 wickets and a strike-rate of over 90 when the norm was near the 60-65 mark, made Sir Vivian Richards a player far ahead of his time. Sir Vivian Richards gave the word ‘Swagger’ a whole new meaning in Cricket. Immense power, dominating and intimidating the bowlers was something that came naturally with him. Arguably, the most destructive player of his generation, Sir Vivian Richards would have rucked chaos in the T20 and might just have been one of the best T20 greats ever.