Top 5 Best Cricketers with Impressive Domestic T20 Records but limited International Experience

Not all players are as lucky as these five best cricket players to have played a lot of domestic and international T20s. T20 is a format where being consistent is difficult for both batsmen and bowlers. The fast-paced nature of T20 means it’s hard to keep the same standards as in ODIs or Tests. Even when players reach great heights and achieve consistency, luck can often ruin their efforts.

Players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, and Lasith Malinga have excellent best T20 records and have had the chance to show their skills in T20 internationals. But not everyone has been so lucky. Some players, despite having impressive records in T20s, haven’t had many opportunities in T20 internationals to show their talent.

Here are 5 Best Cricketers with great domestic T20 records who haven’t played many T20Is:

5. Brad Hodge

If there’s one batsman in the world who is as good as Chris Gayle in terms of numbers but doesn’t get as much credit, it’s Brad Hodge.

Hodge has played 250 T20 matches for 15 different teams. Like Gayle, he is always on the move, but he makes an impact wherever he goes. Hodge is the only other batsman besides Gayle to score more than 6,500 T20 runs, which is impressive.

Hodge has hit more fours (673) than anyone else in T20s and has 47 fifties, with only two players having more. His average of over 37 is one of the best in T20 cricket, and his strike rate of over 130 shows he is a powerful middle-order batsman who can hit big shots and keep the score moving.

Despite these achievements, Hodge has only played 15 T20Is for Australia, with his last game in 2014. With the World T20 in India, a place where he has a lot of experience, the 41-year-old might get another chance to play internationally.

Even if he doesn’t, Hodge will be remembered as a T20 great who had a short international career.

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4. Shaun Marsh

You can have all the talent in the world, but without a bit of luck, you might not reach your full potential. Take Shaun Marsh as an example. He is a very talented batsman with amazing records in T20 cricket. Only Chris Gayle, the best in this format, has better stats.

Marsh has scored over 4,500 runs, averaging over 40 with a strike rate of almost 130. These numbers are beyond what most T20 openers can dream of. But Marsh is not just any opener.

Despite his talent, Australia’s strong opening options mean Marsh has only played 13 T20Is. His stats in those games aren’t great, but his overall T20 record shows he can succeed in this format.

Sadly for Marsh, with Aaron Finch and David Warner still playing, it’s unlikely he’ll get more chances. This is unfortunate given his incredible T20 record.

3. Yasir Arafat

T20 cricket is a fast-paced format designed to be more entertaining. The rules favor batsmen, so bowlers need to be quick and effective, like a death adder striking fast.

Among bowlers with at least 150 T20 wickets, only one has a better strike rate than Yasir Arafat. Arafat’s strike rate is even better than Malinga’s, who is considered one of the best T20 bowlers.

Arafat played for 14 domestic teams in 6 countries, taking 277 wickets in 217 matches. He has the most four-wicket hauls (10) but no five-wicket hauls.

Despite being the third-highest wicket-taker in T20 history, Arafat played only 13 T20Is for Pakistan between 2007 and 2012. Although he was one of the best finishers with the ball, he didn’t get many chances to finish games for Pakistan due to their selection policies.

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2. Alfonso Thomas

Death bowling is a skill that only a few have perfected. In T20 cricket, with smaller boundaries and a batsman-friendly game, it’s even harder. But anyone who has watched Alfonso Thomas knows he has mastered this skill and sometimes made it look easy.

Nicknamed “The Fonz,” Thomas is one of only five bowlers to take over 250 wickets in T20s. His 263 wickets came at an economy rate of 7.5, which is impressive since he mainly bowls in the challenging death overs.

His ability to bowl yorkers accurately is unmatched. While Lasith Malinga is famous for his death-over yorkers, Thomas has shown his expertise in this area even without much experience in the IPL or international cricket.

Despite his excellent record in T20s, Thomas played only one T20I for South Africa. In that game, he took 3 wickets and was the best bowler, but competing in an era with many strong South African seamers limited his international chances.

1. Azhar Mahmood

When Azhar Mahmood started his career, people thought he would be a big star for Pakistan. He proved them right by scoring three Test centuries against South Africa within five months of his debut. In ODIs, he was very useful because he could hit big shots and swing the ball.

When T20 cricket started in 2003, it seemed like Mahmood was made for this new format. In domestic T20s, he has been outstanding, being one of only two players to score 4,000 runs and take 250 wickets.

Despite his great record in T20s, he never played a single T20I for Pakistan. No one really knows why Pakistan stopped selecting him for ODIs either.

Without a national team to play for, he got British citizenship and continued playing T20s worldwide, but not T20Is. His talent was lost to international cricket for unknown reasons, and it’s a shame because watching Azhar Mahmood in T20Is would have been exciting.

Here is the table with all the stats:

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