T20 World Cup 2021: Laziest XI of the tournament

Although over the years cricket has evolved into one of the top games in sports due to new additions in technology, new formats, and players being more fit, the game still has cricketers who are kind of just lazy to run between the wickets or are just keen to score runs by hitting fours and sixes. Although former Pakistani cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq is a legend in his own right, people still fondly remember how lazy he was in the field and while running between the wickets.

Inzamam has been involved in 92 run-out instances in cricket across formats. Sometimes he has run his partner out, the other time he was out because he was not able to make the crease in time. India’s Ramesh Powar, who is the current women’s team coach of India, was also one of the several cricketers, who was not a swift mover on the field. Although he was a brilliant off-spinner during his time, it would not be wrong to say he lost his place in the Indian team due to more fit cricketers emerging in the team.

But over the recent past few years, fitness has become important in the sport, and top teams like India, Australia, and England have vouched for fit players in the team. India skipper Virat Kohli has revolutionized fitness in the team and has said on his several of his interviews how it is essential in maintaining stamina and playing in the longer run. But the game still have players who are a bit lazy and not that agile in the field.

With the T20 World Cup starting, here’s a look at some of the laziest cricket players:

1. Rohit Sharma

Although Rohit Sharma has gone to be become one of the best white-ball openers in the world due to his dazzling stroke play and brilliant consistency, there is still one small glitch in Hitman. It is not related to his batting or his part-time off-spin. It is related to fielding, and that is comparatively one of his weaker areas in his game.

Rohit predominantly has been seen in the slips in all three formats of the game. Rarely has skipper Virat Kohli has made him stand in the boundary ropes, the most important aspect in the field during the end stage of the innings. Over the years, Rohit has developed his fielding skills and also his fitness.

But there still are some mishaps or others in the field which keep occurring from time to time. With the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 starting from October 17, in Oman and UAE, Rohit would sure love to not drop any of the important catches for his team.

2. Chris Gayle

The Universe Boss is a mighty force to reckon with in the shortest format of the game. With over 14000 runs in T20 cricket, Chris Gayle is the leading run-scorer in the format that he has undoubtedly the biggest player in this format of the game. Also, he is known as a Sixer King and became the first man to score 1000 sixes in T20 cricket.

At the ripe age of 42, Gayle is still a terror to the opposition team. But one thing he will himself acknowledge is that he is not a fit player. Often he does not take singles and twos on offer and prefers scoring the maximum instead. Also, the captain has to hide him somewhere on the field owing to the fear of him dropping some crucial catches when fielding on some important positions on the field.

Gayle is a member of the T20 squad for the West Indies. He will have to run hard between the wickets, and he has to take good catches if he wants his team to go all the way in the global event.

3. Mohammad Shahzad

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Shahzad slots in next. Known to strike big and plunder the bowling attack by not having enough feet movement, Shahzad is a superstar of the team. Idolizing MS Dhoni, the wicketkeeper-batter has so far scored 1860 runs at a healthy strike rate of 134.01. He often gest the team to a good start and lays the platform for the rest of the batters to follow.

The same, though, cannot be said about his wicketkeeping and fielding. He is one of the slowest fielders going around in the world. He was also dropped from the team for a brief while due to fitness. But the hard-hitting batter is recalled in the team due to the vast amount of experience he brings to the table. Shahzad says he has also worked on his fitness during the time off.

4. Soumya Sarkar

The Bangladeshi all-rounder Soumya Sarkar came with an immense amount of potential in the team but has so far failed to perform consistently as he would have liked for the team. The elegant southpaw has so far scored only 1109 runs at a dismal average of 18.8 in 62 games for Bangladesh. Also, his seam-bowling has yielded just nine wickets.

His fielding, by and large, has been poor, and Bangladesh cannot afford to have any more slips if they harbor hopes of qualifying for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh have so far been on the role as a team and they would hope to keep the same momentum during the global event.

5. Azam Khan

Before even impressing with his fearless style of batting, Azam Khan has become a hot topic of debate due to his weight. His selection during Pakistan’s limited-overs tour of England was the most talked about among the Pakistani fans and supporters. And now he has been selected in the squad for the T20 World Cup as well.

Azam said he has lost a lot of weight and has far worked on his fitness but, there is still a question mark over his fielding and fitness. The 22-year-old relatively looks a bit plump, and it remains to be seen what impact he will have on his batting, when Pakistan begins their T20 World Cup campaign against India on October 24.

6. Khushdil Shah

The Pakistani batter Khushdil Shah has been selected in the team due to his fearless batting and stroke play in the domestic and Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches. But there was a lot of stir and controversy attached to it when he was included in the squad for the T20 World Cup.

Skipper Babar Azam wanted a few experienced players in the team rather than a few of the youngsters in the team. But the selectors had other ideas and went with the youth. Khushdil’s fielding is still not yet polished, and Pakistan cannot afford slips in the field during the T20 World Cup.

7. Adil Rashid

The England leg-spinner is the team’s leader when it comes to the spin department. Over the past three years or so, Adil Rashid has gone to win games for his country in the white-ball formats. Skipper Eoin Morgan too trusts him to deliver the goods under a crunch situation. He is in the 15-member squad for team England for the T20 World Cup.

The onus of taking wickets rests on his shoulders. But the leg-spinner also needs to be a bit active on the field. Adil is not one of the active cricketers going around, and often there are lapses seen from him. But with the experience of playing 62 T20Is, the veteran player sure knows a thing the importance of dropped catches and misfield in the T20 format.

8. Oshane Thomas

The West Indian fast bowler has impressed one and all with his sheer pace and accuracy. Also, he has formed a potent pair in the bowling department with Sheldon Cottrell. Thomas hits those good lengths and makes life difficult for the batters. He has so far played 17 T20Is for West Indies and has picked 19 wickets. The right-arm pacer also had a good outing during the 2019 cricket World Cup.

The tall West Indian pace bowler has not been so effective on the field. Generally, fast bowlers are good fielders owing to their athleticism but Thomas has not done enough in the field to inspire his skipper to put him in cover or point regions. But the pacer will have enough chances during the T20 World Cup to prove the management wrong.

9. Tabraiz Shamsi

The number one ranked T20I bowler Tabraiz Shamsi has finally shed the tag from being an ordinary spinner to now become the team’s leading bowler. Shamsi’s rise has also coincided with South Africa’s timely form in cricket. The chinaman has so far taken 49 wickets for the team in just 42 games. Without a doubt, he is one of the most important bowlers going around in the Proteas team.

Generally, South Africa have prided on being in the fielding department. But over the past few years, the team has gone down on the aspect. Shamsi is also one of the culprits who is not that agile on the field. Often there is a misfield or a few dropped chances can be seen of Shamsi’s fielding. With the team finding ways to win games, the South African spinner also has to buck up in the field and try to bring his A-game to win games for South Africa.

10. Todd Astle

The New Zealand leg-spinner Todd Astle is a late bloomer of sorts in the international circuit. He is 35 years of age and has started to get opportunities in the team from the past year or so. Generally, the Blackcaps do not rely so much on spinners but, considering the T20 World Cup is going to be staged in the UAE, the team has included three spinners.

Astle is one of them, and he is also one of the oldest members of the team. With the T20 format one of the fastest, the leg-spinner will have to be on the toes to take whatever opportunities that come along. So far, he has played four matches and picked up seven wickets. But he would love to contribute in the field a bit more for New Zealand.

11. Hamid Hassan

A lot of controversies erupted when Afghanistan announced its squad for the T20 World Cup. Rather than investing in youth, the team announced included a few old and not-so-fit players in their 15-member squad. One of them was pacer bowler Hamid Hassan. The fast bowler has played 21 T20Is and has picked 29 wickets so far.

Considering the team already has slow fielders, Hassan’s inclusion is a bit surprising given the team had other young pacers to choose from. It remains to be seen if the 34-year-old gets a chance in playing XI directly for the T20 World Cup.