[ad_1]
The measure of great players is their ability to perform on the biggest stage and in T20 cricket that doesn’t go beyond the T20 Men’s ICC World Cup.
Over the past six editions, there have been many mind-blowing individual performances.
Overall though, it’s no surprise that the players who have played the most consistently since 2007 are also some of the best players the game has seen.
So, as we prepare for the start of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, we take a look at 10 players who have made a huge impact on tournament history with their consistent excellence:
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) – 39 wickets and 546 races in 34 matches
The biggest wicket taker in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history, Pakistani Shahid Afridi is one of the format’s flagship capable of making an impact with both bat and ball.
His crowning glory came in 2009 when he inspired Pakistan to the title, winning player of the match honors for his performance in the eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the final.
In that match, Afridi took one for 20 with a stingy spell before hammering 54 undefeated out of 40 balls to see his team at home.
His 39 wickets are the most players in the tournament, while he is just outside the top ten all-time scorers with 546, and only Tillakaratne Dilshan has played more than Afridi’s 34 games.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 567 races and 30 wickets in 25 games
The only player on this list not to have reached at least the semi-finals of the competition, it is the mark of Shakib Al Hasan’s achievements that he has done so well despite playing for a struggling team.
One of the eight men who will play in 2021 who also took part in the inaugural tournament, Shakib was one of the great all-rounders in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
He joins Afridi as the only players to score at least 500 points and take 30 wickets in the tournament, and if his performances in England two years ago are anything to say, his taste for big occasions only serves to to augment.
Samuel Badree (West Indies) – 24 wickets in 15 games
Not as prolific as some of the players on this list, but West Indian spinner Samuel Badree had a remarkable impact on the competition between 2012 and 2016.
In tandem with Sunil Narine for the first two of those tournaments, Badree showed just how dangerous spinners can be in T20 cricket, opening the bowling for the West Indies.
His bowling average of 13.58 is the best in tournament history, while a save rate of 5.52 is second behind Narine.
When you consider these numbers, it’s no surprise that the West Indies enjoyed great success during this period, with Badree being crucial for the triumphs in 2012 and 2016.
AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 717 runs and 30 catches in 30 games
AB de Villiers will be one of, if not the best player in South Africa in all three formats, and he has certainly shone on the world stage at the ICC T20 Men’s World Cups.
His 717 runs are good enough for fifth place all-time and of that top five only Chris Gayle has a better hit rate than De Villiers’ 143.4.
Of course, the Proteas superstar offered more than his stick. Whether as a wicket keeper or just an outfielder, he influenced the game like few others.
De Villiers’ 23 catches as an outfielder are eight more than anyone else in the tournament, with seven more and a pair of stumps while wearing the gloves.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 897 races in 35 games
The 2021 ICC T20 Men’s World Cup will be the first tournament in which Tillakaratne Dilshan does not appear, having played more matches than anyone in the history of the competition.
The great Sri Lankan ranks third all-time in points scored (897) and has also been instrumental in adding a new word to the cricket lexicon, and a new arsenal shot of a batter, with the “Dilscoop” he mastered in 2009.
He was exceptional in this tournament, including 96 unbeaten in the semi-finals against the West Indies as he made 317 points to be named player of the tournament. The fact that Pakistan pulled him out for a duck is likely a big factor in Sri Lanka’s loss to the final.
Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 920 races in 28 games
The man born to play T20 cricket, Chris Gayle has made the format his own and “The Universe Boss†will look to make it a hat-trick in the UAE and Oman.
Oddly enough, Gayle has scored three and four goals in the two finals he has played so far, but the Windies have won them both nonetheless.
In the 26 other matches he played, he accumulated 913 points, just behind Mahela Jayawardene. By the end of the 2021 tournament, Gayle hopes to have joined Jayawardene in the 1000 run club.
As destructive as he is, Gayle smashed 60 sixes in the tournament, nearly double Yuvraj Singh’s second record at 33, and is the only player to land two centuries of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 1,016 races in 31 games
No one has scored more points in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cups than Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene, the only player to exceed 1,000 points in the tournament.
He played in all competitions from 2007 to 2014, losing in style as he helped Sri Lanka win the title in their last appearance.
In that match, he managed a run-a-ball 24 as Sri Lanka chased India’s 130/4 tally to win the tournament for the first time, becoming the first player to reach four figures in the process.
Among other highlights, he experienced a purple stain in the 2010 T20 World Cup when he scored 81, 100 and 98 steps in three successive innings as Sri Lanka reached the semi-finals.
Virat Kohli (India) – 777 races in 16 games
The list of candidates for the best player to ever win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup begins and ends with Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper has posted an absurd average of 86.33 over the 16 matches he has played.
With half a century on more than half of his innings, Kohli has been as consistent a player as the tournament has seen him.
He has been named player of the tournament in each of the last two editions of the competition, averaging over 100 in both editions, while his lowest score in a knockout match is the 72 step he has taken. scored against South Africa in the semifinals. win in 2014.
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) – 38 wickets in 31 games
The most prolific teller in the history of T20 internationals, Lasith Malinga is just behind Shahid Afridi in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Yorker master, Malinga was death’s ultimate bowler, able to crush toes and clear the wickets at decisive moments in matches.
It is also a testament to his importance to the Sri Lankan squad that Malinga was captain of the team that won the title in 2014, in a team made up of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
And even in a game where he didn’t take a wicket, the way Malinga limited India to just 11 points out of their 18th and 20th innings in the final was crucial to the eventual success of the six wickets.
Kevin Pietersen (England) – 580 races in 15 games
In the vein of Samuel Badree, Kevin Pietersen’s influence on the tournament was relatively short, but his star shone incredibly.
The driving force behind England’s 2010 march to glory in the Caribbean, Pietersen’s 580 races in just 15 rounds are a phenomenal comeback.
Only Kohli and Mike Hussey are averaging over Pietersen’s 44.61 by players with ten or more innings, and his 148.33 strike rate is the best of all ten top scorers of all time.
He also has the silverware to go with it – being named Player of the Tournament as an aggressive England side has propelled their way to the title.
He scored 248 points in this tournament, finishing a three-season run in which he was England’s most devastating hitter.
[ad_2]
