Ranking top 10 ‘all-time greats’ in T20 World Cup history

Michael Hussey ( Source : X / Twitter )

Explore top 10 ‘all-time greats’ in T20 World Cup history. Discover the legends who have left an indelible mark on tournament with their stellar performances. The mega cricket fest T20 World Cup 2024 is well underway in USA and West Indies which began on June 2, 2024. The tournament is just a week away from starting. The focus of the teams has been on preparing well for the tournament. As a tournament, T20 WC has a legacy with several great matches changing the complexion of the sport. It is regarded as the future of the sport.

T20 being the unpredictable format allows associate teams to beat the top teams on their given day. The chances of it happening in the ODI World Cup or Tests is less. The start of the T20 extravaganza was a massive move in the sport. Since then, several stars have emerged from the tournament. They have defined the tournament with their great performances. Many of them won the T20 World Cup for their side.

Here are the top 10 all-time greats in the history of the T20 World Cups:

10. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Lasith Malinga was brilliant in the death overs for Sri Lanka from 2007 to 2014. The unorthodox pacer played a key role in Sri Lanka reaching the final in 2009 and 2012. After going through heartbreaks, the champion could finally help his side to glory in 2014. He was brilliant with the ball as usual but led the side well under pressure.

In the 2014 T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka suffered some massive blows. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were out of form and the former had to be removed from captaincy midway through the tournament. A relatively inexperienced Malinga took Lanka to glory. In the final against India, his death bowling was at its peak and helped his team.

9. Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)

Ajantha Mendis. (Photo Source: PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images))

Ajantha Mendis was arguably the best spinner in the T20 World Cups till 2012. The mystery spinner was the leading wicket-taker in 2012 and the second-highest wicket-taker in 2009. At his peak, Mendis was hard to play. His variations were not read by many. After ending up as the runner-up in 2009 and 2012, Mendis finally became a champion in 2014.

When the 2nd edition of the tournament was played in England in 2009, Mendis claimed 12 wickets in 7 matches at a bowling average of 11.91, at an economy rate of 5.50, at a bowling SR of 13.00. In the T20 WC 2012, the unorthodox spinner claimed 15 wickets at a bowling average of 9.80, an economy rate of 6.12, and a bowling SR of 9.60.

8. Umar Gul (Pakistan)

Umar Gul. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Much like Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul will be remembered for his contribution to Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in 2007 and 2009. In both editions, Gul was the leading wicket-taker. The right-arm pacer was arguably the best bowler at the death and mostly operated in the middle overs and the death overs phase. He could nail Yorkers at will.

In 2007, Gul claimed 13 wickets in 7 matches at a bowling average of 11.92, at an economy rate of 5.60, at a bowling SR of 12.76. In 2009, Umar was the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan. In 7 matches, the right-arm pacer claimed 13 wickets at a bowling average of 12.15, at an economy rate of 6.44, and a bowling SR of 11.30.

7. Darren Sammy (West Indies)

Darren Sammy ( Source: X / Twitter )

Darren Sammy is the greatest captain in the T20 World Cups. The fact that managing a team like West Indies itself is a difficult task, coupled with the protest of the players against the boards and still managing to win two World Cups speaks volumes about his captaincy. Many regard him to be a great captain. But he was a good player too.

In the T20 World Cup 2010, he was the leading wicket-taker for West Indies. The medium pacer claimed 6 wickets in 5 innings at a bowling average of 12.00, an economy rate of 5.26, and a bowling SR of 13.66. In 2014, he scored 101 runs in 5 innings at a batting average of 101.00, and an insane batting SR of 224.44, with a match-winning knock against Australia.

6. Chris Gayle (West Indies)

Chris-Gayle. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Chris Gayle started the T20 World Cup on a crazy note when he smashed a hundred against South Africa in their own backyard. His 117 ended up on the losing cause, as SA chased down the huge total with ease. But the mark was left on the tournament by the Universe Boss right at the start. Since then, he has been one of the best openers in the tournament.

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The Caribbean giant was brilliant for the West Indies in most of their campaigns, especially in the 2012 and the 2016 seasons which were won by them. In both the tournaments, he was their most aggressive batter and gave blazing starts at the top. On slow pitches, he used to take the game away from the opponents in a matter of a few overs.

5. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Shahid Afridi. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Shahid Afridi was brilliant in the league as an All-rounder. As a lower-middle-order batter, he finished the games well for Pakistan. As a spin bowler, he was miserly and bowled in good lengths. Afridi was great in the first two editions of the tournament where he was amongst the leading wicket-takers in the tournament.

The star player will be remembered for his performance in the T20 World Cup 2009. In Pakistan’s title-winning campaign, he emerged as the player of the tournament. Afridi scored 176 runs at a batting average of 35.20, at a batting SR of 140.80. With the ball, he claimed 11 wickets at a bowling average of 13.54 and an economy rate of 5.32.

4. Michael Hussey (Australia)

Michael Hussey ( Source: X / Twitter )

Michael Hussey is one of the greatest finishers the tournament has ever seen. His knock against Pakistan in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2010 might be regarded as one of the greatest knocks in the history of the tournament. He averaged over 94 and had an SR of over 175 in a tournament batters were not that good.

His performance in 2010 helped Australia to enter their maiden final in the T20 WC. In the following tournament in 2012, when the pitches were even tougher to bat in Sri Lanka, Hussey was brilliant for Australia. The Southpaw scored 155 runs at a batting average of over 77 with a fifty-plus score to his name.

3. Kevin Pietersen (England)

Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Kevin Pietersen changed the dynamics of T20 cricket. Till 2012-13, the pitches were mostly slow in T20 cricket and a SR of 130 was considered good. Despite being a middle-order batter, Pietersen was highly consistent and aggressive at the same time. His batting in the T20 World Cup 2010 was way ahead of its time and unique.

Given his unorthodox ways to score runs, Pietersen instilled fear among the bowlers. His aggressive batting bagged him a Player of the Tournament award in the 2010 edition of the T20 World Cup. He was instrumental in England winning and achieving the glory. Even in other seasons, he did well and emerged as one of the best middle-order batters in the tournament.

2. Jos Buttler (England)

Jos Buttler (Photo Source: Twitter)

Jos Buttler has been underrated as a performer in the T20 World Cups. He has been versatile for England and has done the job asked of him. In the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups, he was a finisher for England and did well as a wicketkeeper. He played good knocks in the knockouts of the 2016 T20 WC lower down the order.

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Post-pandemic, he played for England as an opener. The star batter had a great World Cup in 2021 where he was at his destructive best against some of the best bowlers in the world. In the T20 WC 2022, he established his ultimate legacy as a batter by playing great knocks against India and Pakistan and leading England to glory as a skipper.

1. Virat Kohli (India)

Virat Kohli (Photo Source: Twitter)

Virat Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the history of the tournament. The star player has been the highest run-scorer for India in every tournament since his debut barring 2021. He has played some great knocks in the tournament like 82 against Australia and Pakistan in 2016 and 2022 respectively.

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His knocks in the knockouts against West Indies, South Africa, and Sri Lanka prove why he is one of the biggest legends in the history of the league. In 2014 and 2016, the 35-year-old bagged the Player of the Tournament award, the only player to have won it on multiple instances.