5 great cricketers who played just one T20 for their country
Twenty20 has changed the face of cricket since its inception. The first T20 international encounter was played between Australia and New Zealand in the year 2004. Subsequently the T20 World Cup and the emergence of world cricket's most lucrative product IPL, has only popularised the slam-bang format. Since that day in 2004, the game has become much faster and much more palatable to the audience with the entertainment factor shooting through the roof.
However, some legends of the game, who were at the fag end of their careers, failed to get as many chances as they would have liked to play the new version of the game. With new blood coming into most of the T20 sides, these players could only play a solitary game in their T20 careers.
Here are 5 legendary cricketers who only played just one international T20 in their career for their country.
#5 Jason Gillespie
Former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie played only a single T20 international for the Kangaroos. Gillespie played the match against Australia's traditional rival England on 13 June 2005.
Contrary to his stellar record in ODI's and Tests, Gillespie went for plenty in the match, conceding 49 runs in his stipulated quota of 4 overs. However, Gillespie's silver lining in the match was his batting performance.
While Australia were skittled out for a paltry 79 run total, Gillespie was the top scorer with 24 runs under his belt. The Australian great retired from ODIs the next month.
Jason Gillespie is one of the stalwarts of Australia’s greatest cricket generation. Together with Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie formed the fearsome quartet that rained terror on the cricket field in the early 2000s.
The fiery former Australian speedster is now enjoying the second innings of life after playing at the top level of cricket for nearly a decade (1996-2006). After his retirement, Jason Gillespie has been involved in host of coaching assignments, and has an envious record so far.
#4 Inzamam-ul-Haq
The highest run-getter for the Pakistan cricket team in ODIs and an all-time great, Inzamam-ul-Haq only played a solitary T20 for the Men in Green.
Inzamam-ul-Haq captained Pakistan in their first-ever T20 international against England in Bristol in August, 2006. The skipper played an unbeaten innings of 11 in the aforementioned game as Pakistan comfortably chased down a target of 145 set by England.
The middle-order batsmen hung up his boots from the game in 2007 and, since then has been involved in various coaching and administrative roles.
Inzamam captained Pakistan in thirty Tests, winning eleven, drawing nine and losing ten. He also captained the Pakistan team in 87 ODIs, winning 51 and losing 33.
#3 Murali Kartik
The left-arm spinner played just one international T20 match in his stop-start career. Kartik played his one and only 20-over match on 20 October 2007 against Australia, at the iconic Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.
Murali Kartik bowled four tidy overs where he conceded just 27 runs but unfortunately could not take any wicket. Kartik was one of the most talented spinners in the circuit but with spinners like Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble in the wings, Kartik never got a long rope.
After his solitary T20 International match, Kartik wasn't seen around much. Nowadays, the left arm spinner is working as a cricket pundit.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar
The God of Cricket made his T20I debut against South Africa in 2006 in Johannesburg. Sachin Tendulkar hit 10 runs off 12 deliveries before being castled by Charl Langveldt, the same bowler whose ball Tendulkar would dab to point, four years later in Indore to reach his maiden ODI double hundred.
Not many remember, but Tendulkar took the wicket of the dangerous Justin Kemp in the match too. Although the Master Blaster showed his mettle in the shortest format of the game in IPL for Mumbai Indians where he has a hundred too, he did not get any other opportunity to represent India in T20.
The Mumbai-born stalwart decided to skip the T20 World Cup in 2007 so as to give chance to youngsters.
#1 Rahul Dravid
Of the five cricketers in the list, Rahul Dravid arguably had the best outing in the only T20 match he played. The Wall of Indian cricket is famously remembered for hitting three consecutive sixes of left-arm off-spinner Samit Patel in the game.
After a disastrous Test match series, India were playing the T20 series against England and Dravid was making his T20I debut--16 years after making his first-class debut. On 31 August 2011, Dravid took guard against the English bowling side at the iconic Old Trafford ground of Manchester for the first and the last time in an international T20.
Dravid hit a quick-fire innings of 31 of 21 balls with an astonishing strike rate of 147.6. Unfortunately, India lost the match, but the greatest defensive batsmen of the modern era showed that when team required him to--he could change gears in no time.