ICC T20 Captains 2021: The ICC World T20 2021 is about to get underway this Sunday! As the multi-nation tournament starts, here are 5 players who’ll lead their sides into the T20 World Cup for the first time!
The World stage of the shortest format of cricket is set, as the ICC World T20 commences this Sunday, 17th October! First up are the qualifier stages where 8 teams will play for 4 vacant slots in the Super 12s.
The T20 World Cup is happening after quite a gap – 5 years, to be precise. In that time, almost every team has a different captain, from then to now!
Here are 5 such captains who will lead their sides for the first time in a T20 World Cup:
ICC T20 Captains 2021
#5 – Mahmudullah Riyad (Bangladesh)
The talented youngster Mahmudullah will be leading his side with a tough job at hand. They have to first win the qualifiers to ensure a place into the tournament proper.
He succeeds senior statesman Mashrafe Mortaza who led the men in green and red in the 2016 edition!
Riyad has a good record in T20Is. In 104 matches, he has 1,770 runs and 33 wickets to his name. He will look to guide his team to a deep run into the tournament!
#4 – Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka)
The young Sri Lankan all-rounder has been the island nation’s captain in limited overs since the time India toured them in July this year.
Like Mahmudullah, Shanaka also has to ensure qualification into the Super 12s stage, as Sri Lanka failed to guarantee automatic qualification for themselves.
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Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews led the side in the 2016 edition.
#3 – Temba Bavuma (South Africa)
The Proteas have had quite a year with the captaincy being rotated between Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and finally Temba Bavuma.
The pint-sized man does not have a lot of experience in the shortest format. He has played only 16 T20Is and scored 410 runs in them.
However, he has good technical knowledge of the game, and would like to apply it in this edition!
#2 – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
The prolific Pakistani batsman has been an absolute treat to watch over the years! He has 2,204 runs in 61 T20I matches, at an average of almost 47.
Pakistani legend Shahid Afridi was at the helm of affairs in the 2016 edition. Babar will look to impress one and all with his captaincy skills, knowing Pakistan are one of the serious contenders for the World Cup!
#1 – Virat Kohli
It seems as a surprise, since Kohli has been India skipper in all 3 formats for so long! However, in the 2016 edition, it was MS Dhoni who led India to the semifinal.
Virat Kohli’s numbers in all 3 formats speak for themselves. He has racked up 3,159 runs in 84 T20I innings at an average touching 53, and a strike rate of 130!
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Coincidentally, this is also his last T20 World Cup as captain, as he has already announced that he will be stepping down from T20 captaincy after this assignment! Can he finish it on a high?
So these are the 5 players who will be captaining their sides for the first time in this year’s ICC T20 World Cup!
