5 batsmen who have a higher T20I average than Test average
As a format, T20Is are notoriously difficult to be consistent. There is rarely any time to get settled and you always need to be ready to score quick runs even if that ends in your dismissal. That is the exact opposite of what is the case with Tests where you need to take care of your wicket and be ready to stay for as long as your team needs you.
So it is certainly surprising when certain batsmen have better T20I averages than their Test average. We are not just talking about those who just played a few games, but ones that played a considerable amount and yet had a better T20I batting average. For some, it is just down to their superior form in one format, for others it is down to their failure in one.
Whatever the case, here are 5 batsmen who have a higher T20I average than Test average:
Suresh Raina
No Indian player has scored runs in T20s than Suresh Raina, who is one of the best T20 batsmen the country has produced. So it is not especially surprising that his T20I average is better than his Test average. While he was a consistent member of the Indian limited-overs side, his Test career can only be described as stop-start.
Since his T20I debut in 2006, the 30-year-old has played 65 T20Is in which he has scored over 1,300 runs at an average of almost 30. One of the most consistent T20 batsmen in the world, Raina has carved a niche for himself in the format. He also became the first Indian batsman to score a century across all formats when he scored his Test century.
His form in whites, however, is far from impressive. A Test career that began five years after his ODI debut, Raina played just 18 Tests, the last of which came in 2015. In those games, he scored 768 runs at an average of just 26.48 with a solitary century to his name. Despite his impressive track record in the shorter formats, he wasn't quite able to carry that over to the Test arena even though he averaged over 44 in first-class cricket.