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You would be surprised how many stars of this World T20 in fact have poor records in T20 Internationals. Meanwhile, some lesser lights have had outstanding careers in the format.
So who are the underrated and overrated players based on their performances in T20 cricket at the international level?
Overrated
AB De Villiers (South Africa)
1258 runs at an average of 23, from 67 T20Is.
De Villiers is a Test champion, an ODI behemoth and owns a remarkable Indian Premier League record, with 2570 runs at 37.
Yet, ten years after making his Twenty20 debut, the Proteas superstar still is struggling to translate his talent into the shortest format for his country. Even over the last three years, as he has graduated into arguably the world’s best all-round batsman, De Villiers has averaged a poor 23 with the bat from his 22 T20Is.
This surely can’t continue, and it won’t surprise anyone if he tears this World T20 to shreds.
Glenn Maxwell (Australia)
502 runs at 22, plus 15 wickets at 32, from 30 T20Is.
Strangely, Maxwell seems to cop more criticism for his international performances in ODIs than in T20Is. I say strangely because the Victorian all-rounder owns a fine 50-over record and was selected in the team of the tournament as Australia won last year’s World Cup. Still, he is blasted by many fans as overrated.
In reality, it is as a T20 international cricketer that Maxwell’s reputation is out of whack with his performances.
A batting average of 22 and bowling average of 32 are not quality numbers. Maxwell’s best is utterly extraordinary but he rarely has produced it for Australia in T20s.
Ben Stokes (England)
86 runs at 14, plus four wickets at 49, from 11 T20Is.
Stokes is being hailed in England as a game changer in this World T20, with former spinner Graeme Swann nominating him as the Poms’ key player. However, for all his talent, the 24-year-old so far has had success only in Tests, where he has become arguably the format’s elite all-rounder.
The hype surrounding Stokes the limited overs player is unwarranted. Not only has he had zero impact in his brief Twenty20 career, but his ODI performances also have been underwhelming, averaging 21 with the bat and 37 with the ball from 39 matches. Stokes is, however, too gifted and seemingly too well suited to the shorter formats for this underperformance to continue.
Underrated
JP Duminy (South Africa)
1571 runs at 37, plus 16 wickets at 30, from 68 T20Is.
JP Duminy is a better batsman than AB De Villiers. That sounds ridiculous, but it has been the case in the Twenty20 format. Duminy and De Villiers have played 68 and 67 T20Is respectively, with Duminy scoring 299 runs more than his highly rated colleague, at a brilliant average of 37 compared to De Villiers’ 23.
Add in Duminy’s increasingly handy off breaks and he is one of the elite Twenty20 players on the planet. Yet when South Africa play T20s all the batting focus is on the likes of De Villiers, Hashim Amla, and skipper Faf du Plessis, leaving Duminy to skim well under the radar.
Nathan McCullum (New Zealand)
55 wickets at 23 from 61 T20Is.
Brendon McCullum is rightly recognised as one of the legends of the T20 format – both at international and franchise level. Meanwhile, his older brother Nathan quietly compiled a terrific Twenty20 career for the Kiwis.
He continually cramps batsmen for room with his miserly off breaks, offering his captain fantastic control. This valuable economy was again showcased in New Zealand’s warm-up match against England on Saturday, as McCullum snared 2-25 from his four overs.
It remains to be seen whether he can crack the Kiwis’ starting line-up tomorrow in Australia’s opening match of the tournament, as he faces stiff competition from young tweakers Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) 93 wickets at 24, plus 1315 runs at 18, from 94 T20Is.
Afridi will be remembered as a player who did not fully exploit his dynamic all-round talents across all three formats. T20 seemed tailor-made for Afridi, with his famous ability to clear the ropes.
He has been a superstar Twenty20 player, but not because of his batting – he has averaged just 18 with the blade across his 94 T20Is. It is his accurate and cunning leg spin which has made him arguably Pakistan’s best-ever Twenty20 cricketer.
Afridi has proved to be one of the most difficult-to-get-after bowlers in T20Is, conceding a wonderfully frugal 6.57 runs per over in his career, while averaging one wicket per match.