1 underrated player from each Super 12 team who performed exceedingly well in T20 World Cup 2021
ICC T20 World Cup 2021 culminated last Sunday in Dubai. Australia beat New Zealand in the summit clash to become the new T20 World Cup champions. The Aussies did not start as the favorites to win, but they surpassed everyone's expectations and ended the tournament as winners.
Like the Australian cricket team, there was one underrated player from each of the 12 teams that participated in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 stage who performed exceedingly well for their country.
In this listicle, we will take a look at those 12 players.
#1 Sri Lanka - Charith Asalanka
Charith Asalanka was the brightest star of Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. The opening batter scored 231 runs in six innings at a batting average of 46.20.
Asalanka scored two fifties and batted at a strike rate of 147.13 in the competition. His contributions earned him a place in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Team of the Tournament.
#2 South Africa - Dwaine Pretorius
Pace-bowling all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius bagged nine wickets in five matches for South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2021. He maintained an economy rate of less than seven runs per over.
Not many expected Pretorius to outshine the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi. But the 32-year-old all-rounder ended up as South Africa's joint-highest wicket-taker.
#3 Scotland - Chris Greaves
Not long ago, Chris Greaves was working as a delivery boy. He had played only a single T20I before the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
However, the Scottish all-rounder scored 45 runs and took two crucial wickets against Bangladesh to help his team register a historic win. Scotland got an opportunity to play against teams like India, New Zealand and Pakistan because of that performance, and Greaves ended the tournament with 97 runs and six wickets.
#4 Pakistan - Asif Ali
Asif Ali's two knocks played a huge role in Pakistan's 100% win record during the Super 12 round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Ali scored a 12-ball 27* against New Zealand and a 7-ball 25* against Afghanistan to help Pakistan record close wins in both games. He emerged as one of the best finishers of ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
#5 New Zealand - Daryl Mitchell
Daryl Mitchell had not scored a single T20I fifty for New Zealand before the T20 World Cup. But having received an opportunity to open the innings for his nation at the mega event, Mitchell delivered the goods.
The 30-year-old scored a brilliant 49 against India, and then played a match-winning knock of 72 runs against England to take his team to their first-ever T20 World Cup final.
#6 Namibia - Ruben Trumpelmann
23-year-old left-arm pacer Ruben Trumpelmann picked up six wickets for Namibia in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Born in Durban, Trumpelmann played brilliantly for the Namibian side.
He won the Man of the Match award for his three-wicket haul against Scotland that helped Namibia record their first-ever second-round victory in ICC T20 World Cup.