2020 has been a funny year, strange things have happened and cricket too hasn’t been spared. There have been many big players who have failed to come good in 2020. Stumpsandbails presents to you 5 such players who will be looking to dominate in 2021.
#5 Virat Kohli
The ICC Player of the Decade had a pretty middling year in 2020. It was the only year apart from 2009 where Virat Kohli failed to score a single century across formats. But that didn’t stop him from becoming the fastest player to reach 12,000 runs in ODIs. His team was whitewashed by New Zealand in New Zealand 2-0. This was the first time under Kohli’s captaincy that India suffered a whitewash. Kohli had to return to India after suffering a defeat at the hands of Australia in the first Test at Adelaide. King Kohli will be looking to make amends in 2021 and we are pretty sure he will be waiting.
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#4 Steve Smith
The ICC Test Player of the Decade had a very strange year in 2020. He was not able to time the ball at all in the Test matches. Smith struggled against Ravichandran Ashwin and got out to him twice in the space of 5 deliveries across 2 innings. He admitted that Ashwin is having a wood over him and he has to find ways to counter the threat. Smith uncharacteristically got out bowled to Jasprit Bumrah in the 2nd innings of the Boxing-Day Test match. He will be looking to have an immediate impact in 2021 starting the new year test in Sydney.
#3 Hardik Pandya
Talismanic allrounder Hardik Pandya is one of the biggest assets of the Indian team. His ability to strike the ball cleanly makes him a special entity. He has evolved into the role of a finisher for the Indian team in both ODIs and T20I’s. He had a fantastic limited-overs tour of Australia where he even won the Man of the Series award against Australia in the T20Is. Pandya will be looking to consolidate his batting credentials and look to contribute as a bowler too. He will be one of the key players to watch out for in 2021.
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#2 Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill had impressed one and all when he appeared for India U-19. He performed exceedingly well for Punjab in the domestic tournament too wherein he averaged a staggering 68. Gill caught everyone’s attention including those of Aussie greats when he played few impressive knocks in the practice games. He made some statement while playing his debut Test match against Australia in the Boxing-day Test. Gill will be looking to build on this fantastic start and achieve the greatness which many people expect from him.
#1 T. Natarajan
T. Natarajan is someone who is living his dream. His story is an inspiration. Natarajan graduated from playing tennis ball cricket to playing top-flight international cricket pretty soon. He made a commendable ODI debut against the Aussies while his T20I debut series was nothing short of exemplary. Indian cricket is looking up to the likes of Natarajan to come good even in 2021. His performance will prove to be crucial for India leading up to the T20 World Cup in late 2021.
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