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Ever since the T20 Cricket came into the international arena in 2004, it has slowly started to take centerstage and has now become the heart of entertainment in the cricketing world. There will always be awe for this format of the game for the players from the previous era mainly due to the duration of the game as the total game ends in a matter of just about three and a half hours and the popularity this game brings to the table.
Let us take a look at top 5 former players who would have thrived in T20 cricket
1. Lance Klusener
The dynamic power-hitting all-rounder from South Africa was one of the mainstays for South Africa from mid-90s to the early 2000s. He started as a bowler and went on to become one of the feared hitters of the ball. He impressed everyone with his power hitting down the order with the bat and more importantly, he finished the games with ease while chasing for the country.
He not only stopped with batting but also made his mark as a terrific bowler. He bowled some crucial spells and was always considered as a partnership breaker. He used to bowl the crucial death overs during his playing days and also used the old ball to get some reverse swing which made the life hard for batsmen. He has a batting average of 41 with a healthy strike rate of close to 90 and a bowling average of 29 with an impressive economy of 4.7. He definitely would have been a hot pick in today’s T20 franchise cricket around the world.
2. Wasim Akram
With Today’s games being played on pitches where there is hardly any help for bowlers, teams would definitely want a bowler who could take pitch completely out of the equation and give them quality 4 overs with the ball. One such bowler is Wasim Akram from Pakistan. He was called as the Swing of Sultan. Rightly so, he used to trouble the batsmen with his outswingers and inswingers and more importantly there is still no substitute for his pinpoint yorkers, often called Toe-Crushers that he bowls at the death.
He is also a useful hitter with the bat down the order whose career-best in test and one day is 257 and 86 respectively. He has an impressive strike rate of 88 in one-dayers with the bat, which during those days is considered as very good. He finished as the leading Wicket taker for Pakistan in both tests and one-dayersand still holds the record for most wickets for Pakistan. He has a combined 916 wickets in international cricket with an average of 23 and an economy of 3.5. No team wants to miss this kind of player in their team for sure.
3. Kapil Dev
The best all-rounder that India has ever produced to date. He was called as the Haryana Hurricane. He was the first player to play for India from Haryana during that time. He is a complete package that one could ask for especially in the T20 format. He can bat, bowl, field, and captain as well. He won the Ranjitrophy as a captain for Haryana the first time he captained Haryana. He won the World cup for India the first time he captained India.
His biggest strength was his counter-attacking approach which he used no matter the situation of the game. He always plays his natural game and was always in a mindset to attack. He was a terrific bowler with the ball as well. He used to bowl all the hard overs for India during his playing days and finished as the highest wicket-taker for India in both tests and One-dayers then.He was also the leading wicket-taker in test matches for a brief period. He had a strike rate of close to 95 in both tests and one-dayers with the bat which made him the most feared hitters around the world then. He definitely would have been a T20 superstar if he had played one.
4. Inzamam-ul-Haq
Many might be surprised to see his name in this list but Inzamam was one such player who could take the game away from the opposition within a matter of 6 to 7 balls which is the most important thing in T20. He might not be the quickest in the field or the fastest between the wickets but he definitely is the one player that one would have in the team just for the fear factor that he brings to the table.
When he entered the International cricket in 1994, he was like the next big thing in the cricketing world. He would thrash the bowlers all around the park and impressed everyone with his power hitting skills. As time went by, he has been given the responsibility to captain the side which dented his natural game and stroke play as he had to play with more responsibility. He had a modest strike rate of 74 in one-dayers but it largely came down in his later part of his career as he had to take the role of asenior position in the team. If given the freedom to play his natural strokes which is there is T20s, Inzamam would be one of the hottest picks in all playing XI
5. Sir Viv Richards
This mighty west Indian redefined the batting in world cricket and inspired lots of cricketers to come thereafter. He dominated the world cricket with the bat when that era was completely dominated by bowlers. He was just the kind of player needed by each and every team in today’s T20 cricket. He had a career strike rate of 90 in one-dayers and 86 in tests which at that time was looked as practically not possible.
He just played with utmost ease and cleared the long boundaries without any discomfort then. He would just walk out to bat without a helmet even when the fastest bowlers were operating. It just goes to tell the kind of attitude he had in his playing days. It is the exact kind of attitude that would be needed to play T20 cricket. With pitches going flat and boundaries being shortened, Viv Richards would definitely have been a nightmare for the bowlers in the T20 format of the game.
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