T20 World Cup 2021: 5 great players who will miss the competition for the 1st time
The 2021 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup will begin next Sunday in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. 16 teams will battle against each other, with one of them emerging as the new world champions in the shortest format of the game on November 14.
Some of the biggest names in the cricket world like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Chris Gayle, Rashid Khan, Kieron Pollard, DJ Bravo, Eoin Morgan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Kane Williamson, Babar Azam and several others will be in action during the T20 World Cup 2021.
However, five great players who featured in each and every edition of the T20 World Cup from 2007 to 2016, will be missing the tournament this year. Here is a list of those five cricketers.
#1 Yuvraj Singh
The hero of India's first ICC T20 World Cup triumph, Yuvraj Singh, will miss the 2021 edition of the tournament. Singh has played 31 matches for India in the T20 WC, scoring 593 runs and picking up 12 wickets.
To date, Yuvraj has been the only player to smash six sixes in an over of an ICC T20 World Cup match. It will be interesting to see if any other player can join Yuvraj in that club.
#2 MS Dhoni - First captain to win ICC T20 World Cup
MS Dhoni was the first skipper to win the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007. He accomplished that feat in South Africa, and after that tournament, he led India in every T20 World Cup until 2016.
Dhoni retired from all formats of international cricket last year. The former Indian captain will play the role of mentor for the T20 World Cup 2021 India squad at the upcoming mega event.
#3 Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has played 34 matches for his country in the T20 World Cup, amassing 546 runs at an average of 18.83 and scalping 39 wickets at an average of 23.26.
Afridi has quit all forms of international cricket now. Like MS Dhoni, he has been playing in domestic leagues but not at the global level.
Check out the list of T20 World Cup winners from 2007 to 2016 here.
#4 AB de Villiers
"Ab De Villiers can play for 39-40 years." 🤩❤️ - Virat Kohli (On Star Sports)
@ABdeVilliers17 • @imVkohli • #RCB https://t.co/cJ4XN2pr3T
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers is another player on this list who has retired from international cricket but is playing in the T20 leagues. The right-handed batter played for his country in all previous T20 World Cup events.
Rumors were rife this year that De Villiers would come out of retirement to play for South Africa in the big competition. However, the same did not happen.
#5 TM Dilshan
5,492 Test runs.
10,290 ODI runs.
1,889 T20I runs.
1 classic shot - the Dilscoop!
Happy Birthday to Sri Lanka legend @TmDilshan_23! https://t.co/GKEMAQpk9y
The third highest run-getter in ICC T20 World Cup history, TM Dilshan, played for Sri Lanka in all previous editions of the big tournament, winning the competition in 2014.
Dilshan has been a part of 35 matches for his country at the global stage, where he scored 897 runs, with his highest score being 96*. The Dilscoop specialist has now retired from international cricket.