Top 5 players from the past who could have been successful in T20 cricket.

When we discuss about the cricket, we always discuss something about the Twenty-20 cricket. This version of limited-overs cricket, the shortest one, has attracted many audiences since its inception as it is glamorous and euphoric. People tend to watch this format more and more as it is less time consuming and there is a lot of excitement involved. There are many such players currently who have got tremendous success in this shortest format. But today I am going to list out top 5 players from the past who could have been successful in T20 cricket because of their heroics exploits in the game during their eras.

Sir Vivian Richards – WI – (1974-1991)

Vivian Richards was an aggressive top-order batsman for West Indies.

Sir Vivian Richards, also called Viv Richards, was the stalwart for West Indies during his playing days. He scored 6721 runs from 187 ODIs with an average of 47 and a strike-rate of 90.20. He scored 11 centuries and 45 half-centuries. He was equally successful in test cricket where he scored 8540 runs from 121 matches at an astonishing average of 50.23. These states show how lethal he was as he could tear apart any bowling line-up in the world. He was a part of that deadly West Indies team which won back-to-back World Cups in 1975 and 1979. Richards was also a handy right-arm off break bowler as he took 118 wickets with two 5-wicket hauls in ODIs. Hence, after seeing his stats and records, I feel that Sir Vivian Richards was truly amazing, and he could have got so much success had he played the T20 cricket.

Kapil Dev – IND – (1978-1994)

Kapil Dev many times rescued India from being collapsed with his pyrotechnics.

There were not many people in India who could even understand about cricket when India lifted their first World Cup in 1983. Kapil Dev had got so much fame after he scored that magnificent 175 against Zimbabwe in that world cup, that too when India were struggling at 17/5. His capability to handle the pressure and to take calculated risks during the innings was masterful. He played many vital knocks for India while batting in the lower middle order. Kapil Dev scored 3783 runs from 225 ODIs with an unbelievable strike-rate of 95.07 with one century and 14 half-centuries. He scored 5248 runs from 131 Test matches at a mind-blowing strike-rate of 94.76. Dev once famously hit 4 consecutive sixes in a Test match against England when India required 24 runs to avoid the follow-on; that was the last over before tea.

Kapil Dev is one of the greatest Indian bowlers in the history

His bowling exploits were tremendous too.  Kapil Dev was one of the greatest bowlers India have ever got. Dev took 253 wickets from 225 ODIs and 434 wickets from 131 Test matches. His tally of 434 wickets in Test matches remained a record for many years. Such was the caliber of Kapil Dev that he surely could have been successful in T20 cricket.

Sir Ian Botham – ENG – (1976-1992)

Sir Ian Botham was a high class all-rounder

Ian “Beefy” Botham, as he was fondly called, was a mega superstar from England. Like Kapil Dev, He was one of the greatest all-rounders in the history. Botham single handedly won the Ashes for England in 1981. In ODIs, Botham had a strike-rate of 79.11 which was considered fast-paced those days. Botham was far too successful in Test matches where he scored 5200 runs from 102 matches at an average of 33.50 and a strike-rate of 60.71. Botham was the fastest player to complete the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Test cricket. Botham took 383 wickets from 102 Tests with 27 five-wicket hauls. His capability to intimidate any batsman of any team far too easily puts him in this list. He definitely could have been lethal in T20s.

Mohinder Amarnath – IND – (1969-1988)

Mohinder "Jimmy" Amarnath's cut shots and pull shots were a treat to watch

Mohinder Amarnath was an useful Indian all-rounder who was known for his hook and pull shots. “Jimmy” was his famous nickname among his teammates. He many times provided some vital contributions by scoring runs with the bat and by providing crucial breakthroughs with the ball. His 3 wickets for 12 runs against West Indies in 1983 World Cup final was one of the brightest feathers in his cap which no Indian cricket fan could ever forget. With the bat Jimmy scored 4378 runs in 69 Test matches with a jaw-dropping strike-rate of 85.52. Jimmy was not the one who presented express quick pace with the ball, but his accuracy was very good. He was known to take the prized wickets of the opposition teams. His ability to clear the rope with ease that too in those big grounds surely puts him in this list. Hence, there is no doubt that Mohinder Amarnath could have been successful in T20s.

Lance Klusener – SA – (1996-2004)

Lance "Zulu" Klusener scored some vital runs batting down the order for South Africa.

The South African superstar, Lance “Zulu” Klusener rose to fame in a short span of international cricket that he played. He is yet another all-rounder in this list. Initially he didn’t get that much success, but he evolved in one game after another and became a very good all-rounder while batting lower down the order for South Africa. He was awarded the Man of the Tournament in the ICC World Cup 1999. He almost took South Africa into the finals single handedly. Klusener scored 3576 runs from 171 ODIs at an average of 41.10 and a strike-rate of almost 90. He scored 2 centuries and 19 half-centuries in ODIs. He also scored 4 centuries and 8 half-centuries in Test matches.

Zulu was a very good medium pace bowler.

He was a right-arm medium pace bowler having so many variations which could bamboozle any batsman in the world. Klusener took 192 wickets in ODIs with 6 five-wicket hauls. His ability to provide vital breakthroughs and to score some important runs by batting with the lower-order shows how immensely talented he was. So as per my point of view, Zulu too could have been successful in T20 cricket.

Other Notable nominations who missed out from my list:

Chris Cairns (NZ):  He was a terrific all-rounder for New Zealand.

Romesh Kaluwitharana (SL): The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper who set the trend to provide blistering starts to the innings along with Sanath Jayasuriya.

Dean Jones (AUS): A high-class Australian top order batsman.

Brian Lara (WI): The West Indies batting legend.

Mohammad Azharuddin (IND): The former legendary Indian Captain.

Kris Srikkanth (IND): An aggressive Indian opener.

 

Thanks

Rahul


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