T20 World Cup 2021: 3 Australia players who might have a great tournament
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, Australia's form has been awful and not too much has gone right for Justin Langer and his squad in recent months. Since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, Australia has played 21 T20Is and has managed to win just six games, a reading that will not give the side and its fans a lot of hope in the T20 World Cup.
Not only this, Australia has not been able to win any bilateral T20 series since February 2020 and have lost against England, India, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh.
The Australia skipper expects team selection decisions for each #T20WorldCup match to go right down to the wire 👀
bit.ly/2YJDi7n
However, the side has depth and they have players who can win matches all on their own and since it is an ICC tournament, Australia can well turn out to be the team to beat.
In this article, we take a look at 3 key players for Australia who can have a bumper T20 World Cup 2021.
1. Glenn Maxwell
One of the key men for Australia in the T20 World Cup will be Glenn Maxwell and he is perhaps the most in-form batter going into the tournament for Australia. The right-hander had a bumper Indian Premier League with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and played a pivotal part in the side making the playoffs.
In 15 matches, Maxwell scored 513 runs at an average of 42.75 and a strike rate of 144.10. He dominated the spinners and even the sluggish wickets in the UAE did not deter his strokeplay.
Is there a batter who plays the reverse sweep better than Glenn Maxwell?!
The king of this skill talks you through how he trains to play the shot on the big stage | @Gmaxi_32 👌 https://t.co/3xS2ZdcNqh
He will be crucial to Australia's chances in the T20 World Cup, not only with the bat, but also with his off-spin. If Maxwell fires, we may well see Australia make it to the top four and even go all the way.
2. Mitchell Marsh
In an otherwise miserable year for Australia in T20Is, Mitchell Marsh was the shining light. He was Australia's number 3 in the recent series against West Indies and Bangladesh as David Warner, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell were missing from the squad. It was at this position, though, that the Marsh found his touch.
He has scored 375 runs in ten games, including four fifties, and is the Kangaroos' in-form batter going into the T20 World Cup. He has also scored a century from the the number 3 slot for Western Australia in the Marsh Cup.
With the surfaces expected to assist spinners in the T20 World Cup, Marsh has been putting in the hard yards against Adam Zampa in the nets. Considering his big hitting prowess, he can well have a bumper tournament in the marquee event.
3. Mitchell Starc
The leader of the Australian attack, Mitchell Starc, is perhaps one of the most feared bowlers in this format. The left-arm pacer believes that Australia's poor form in the lead up to the T20 World Cup will count for nothing when the side takes the field in the event.
He has played six of the 10 T20Is on the recent tours of West Indies and Bangladesh, where he has managed to pick four wickets. However, Starc backs himself to be ready to lead the attack when the tournament commences.
"I've got a bit of speed on my side and focus on obviously my death bowling as well so I think that's key for me, focus on doing a few things really well rather than doing a lot of things okay," Starc said in a recent interview
If the left-arm quick manages to live up to this billing, he might be one of the players to watch out for.