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Cricket News: 2021 T20I Team of the Year: Who makes the XI? | CricBlog’s 2021 T20I Team of the Year: Which players make the XI?
The T20 World Cup was the focal point of this year’s white-ball action; a year filled with mouthwatering T20 action. 2021 was jam-packed with 20-over games and it was a treat for the fans to watch the T20 superstars displaying their skills and entertaining everyone.
So, here’s a look at an XI made out of such players who were the torchbearers for their team this year and topped the charts when it came down to their own numbers in T20Is.
CricBlog’s 2021 T20I Team of the Year
1. Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan stood tall and was a step above everyone else in the shortest format this year. In 29 T20Is, Rizwan racked up 1,326 runs at an average of 73.66.
He slammed one century and 12 fifties with the best score of 104*.
Rizwan finished with the most number of fours (119). Rizwan hit 42 sixes (highest) and had a strike rate of 134.89. The Pakistan opener became the first player to touch the 1,000-run mark in T20Is in a calendar year and he’ll be the first choice opener in this eleven.
2. Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler ticked all the boxes to partner Rizwan in this XI. His numbers were outstanding for any opening batter in this format. He scored 589 runs in 14 T20ls in 2021 at an average of 65.44 and a strike rate of 143.30 including a hundred against Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup.
Buttler played sensational knocks throughout the year and he always kept the opposition bowlers in check. Buttler’s success this year has a lot to do with his attacking approach, taking on the bowlers from the very first ball which helped England post big totals in T20Is this year.
3. Mitchell Marsh
This was Mitchell Marsh’s breakthrough year with the bat. The Australian all-rounder excelled on all kinds of pitches to score runs for his team.
Marsh played with the flair and ease of a finisher in the crucial number three slot, notching 627 runs at a strike rate of 129.81 in the 20 innings he batted. He’s Australia’s leading run-scorer in T20Is this year and played a huge part in their maiden T20 World Cup win in UAE.
Marsh has been picked over Babar Azam only because of his sheer impact with the bat and ability to score quick runs. He brings all-around value to the team with his medium-pace bowling. Destructive with the bat from the word go, efficient with the ball, and electric in the field, Marsh furtively ironed out the creases for Australia this year.
4. Devon Conway
Since Conway’s emergence in international cricket, he’s been a force to reckon with the bat in all three formats of the game. Although he had an average T20 World Cup in Dubai, he still ended the year with 428 runs in 13 innings at a great average of 47.55 and a strike rate of 135.01.
He also scored a couple of 90+ scores this year. The Kiwi batter has got all the attributes to be slotted at number 4 in this XI and a left-hander always brings that X-factor in the team and he can rally in case of early blows. The Kiwi batter is a flexible option in the middle order and can be used at any number but we believe he’s best placed at number 4 in this XI.
5. Aiden Markram
This year everyone saw a different version of Aiden Markram in the 20-over format. Since his debut, Markram has made a name for himself in Test cricket but he had very little to show in T20Is. He aced the art of T20 run-making and scored 570 runs at a blistering strike rate of close to 150 (148.82).
He scored six fifty-plus scores and top-scored in T20Is for South Africa this year. Markram’s strike rate proves that at five he can keep bludgeoning the opposition bowlers with his incredibly meaty GM bat.
6. Shakib Al Hasan
The number 2 T20I all-rounder in the world was awful with the bat this year and has been picked solely for his bowling in this lineup. Shakib is a premier all-rounder but him batting at 6 won’t give much to this team as he’s a more preferred option at the top of the order.
However, with the ball, he enjoyed a stellar run this year with 25 wickets in 18 games at an astonishing economy rate of 6.05. It’s unreal for a bowler who bowls the tough overs in the powerplay. The left-arm spinner is a canny operator with the ball and has the skill to bowl at any phase of the game which makes him a valuable player to this team.
7. Wanindu Hasaranga
The talismanic all-rounder’s exploits were the cornerstone of young Sri Lanka’s impressive run this year. Hasaranga topped the bowling charts with 36 wickets in 20 games at an unbelievable economy of 5.20.
The Lankan leggie was just too good with his variations and batters found it tough to pick him and tackle him which makes him the number 1 choice spinning option in this playing XI. In the T20 World Cup, he proved that he’s no less with the bat but a very useful lower-order batter coming at number 7.
8. Anrich Nortje
The speedster from South Africa displayed an array of skills with the ball to scalp 15 wickets from 11 matches in 2021. His express pace and bounce combined to keep his economy down to 6.07 at an average of 15.93.
Nortje complimented Kagiso Rabada and other pacers well, and had a very impactful year with the ball for South Africa. The Proteas quick bowled exceptionally well in all three phases of the game and he’s our express pace bowling option who can keep it tight in his quota of four overs and is a proven wicket-taking option.
9. Josh Hazlewood
Inarguably this was Josh Hazlewood’s year in T20Is as he ended 2021 as Australia’s most successful fast bowler in the 20-over format. The Aussie quick was one of the main reasons behind Australia’s successful campaign in the T20 World Cup. Hazlewood celebrated a successful 2021 with 23 wickets in 15 games.
Regarded as McGrath 2.0, Hazlewood’s discipline and accuracy have given him rewards this year, and not only with the new ball but he showed that he can be effective at the back end of the innings as well. He also can extract bounce and marginal seam movement which is not a forte to many modern-day bowlers.
10. Mustafizur Rahman
The Bangladeshi left-arm pacer is regarded as one of the finest T20 bowlers, and for him, 2021 was no different. Blessed with a freakishly supple wrist that can snap through 90 degrees at the point of release, the Fizz bagged 28 wickets in 20 matches this year.
Even though he doesn’t swing the ball much or have a snorting bouncer, Mustafizur still has found he can make the white ball jump and stop alarmingly without any change of action. He looked unplayable at home against Australia and New Zealand and was one of the main pillars of Bangladesh’s historic wins against the Trans Tasman countries.
Despite bowling most of the overs in the power play and the death overs, he managed to get wickets at only seven runs per over which is absolute gold in the 20-over format.
11. Tabraiz Shamsi
Before the start of the year 2021, Shamsi had played almost every match in the international calendar for South Africa in the shortest format. But, his consistency was a big issue at that time.
Now, all of the critics and questions raised were put to rest in 2021. Shamsi played 14 matches this year and bagged 32 wickets at a strike rate of 14.0 and average of 13.36. He ended as the joint leading wicket-taker in T20Is with Hasaranga. Being a left-arm wrist-spinner, Shamsi adds a different dimension to the bowling group. This year saw a remarkable rise of the Proteas spinner in T20Is thus it was tough to look past him and pick any other bowler to complete the eleven.
12th Man – Martin Guptill
Written by Vaibhav Tripathi. Follow Vaibhav on Twitter today.
