11 of the finest T20I cricketers to have graced the game

Twenty20 is the shortest format of the gentleman's game to be played at the international level. It was coined by England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003 for domestic competition, which was later officially recognized by International Cricket Council as the third format after the Test and ODI cricket.

In 2005, the first ever T20 International match took place between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland and the inaugural world cup called the ICC World Twenty20 was hosted by South Africa in 2007.

When it comes to T20 cricket, players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Yuvraj Singh, Adam Gilchrist, Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Shahid Afridi, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Starc and others create a different aura altogether. Let's see how many of them have the goods to make it to the list.

#1 Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)

The squash-buckling batsman that often give nightmares to the opposition bowlers, Brendon McCullum was the all-time highest run-scorer in T20 internationals including 91 sixes for a vastly long time until his fellow country-man, Martin Guptill overtook him in the tri-series against Australia and England.

'The Baz' also has two centuries to his name in the format. However, the 36-year-old has a mediocre record as a captain of New Zealand, with 13 wins in 28 games.

T20I Career Batting:

#2 Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

Martin Guptill is one of the batting-mainstays for New Zealand in white-ball cricket, especially in T20 internationals since the retirement of McCullum. He is currently the leading run-scorer in the format, having scored two centuries and 14 fifties in his career of 74 matches.

The 31-year-old's reputation in T20Is is evident enough from his seven man-of-the-match performances and a player of the series award. He also has 102 sixes to his name, one short of the Chris Gayle's 103, which is the most in T20I's.

T20I Career Batting:

#3 Virat Kohli (India)

Arguably the best T20 batsman in international cricket right now, Virat Kohli has the highest batting average in this format and a strike-rate beating the likes of De Villiers, McCullum, Raina and many more.

The 29-year-old claims his technique in the shortest format to be an extension of that in Test cricket, making his success even more special. He has hit 210 fours in this format, which is the second-highest overall, 13 behind TM Dilshan's tally of 213.

The Indian captain is set to become the fastest batsman to score 2000 T20I runs.

T20I Career Batting:

#4 Shane Watson (Australia)

Shane Watson is the best fast-bowling all-rounder to have played T20I cricket. His numbers stick up for the fact that he held the No.1 position in the ICC All-rounders ranking for a record 150 weeks, reaching the milestone of highest rating points of 557.

The 36-year-old also holds a unique record of scoring most sixes and claiming most wickets for the Kangaroos.

T20I Career Batting:

T20I Career Bowling:

#5 Eoin Morgan (England)

The Ireland-born English left-hander, Eoin Morgan is a modern-day T20I specialist and England's captain in white-ball cricket. He was instrumental in his side's ICC World T20 2010 title triumph in the Caribbean, top scoring in a couple of group stage victories.

Being the highest run-scorer for England in T20I's, Morgan has scored nine fifties and is yet to achieve a three-digit number to his name. The 31-year-old has the equal number of wins and losses during his tenure as captain.

T20I Career Batting:

#6 MS Dhoni (India) (C & WK)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the most successful captain in T20I cricket, when it comes to the number of wins. India have won 41 out of 72 matches under his leadership with a staggering win percentage of 59.28.

Furthermore, Dhoni holds the record for most dismissals for a wicket-keeper with 48 catches and 29 stumpings. And yes, who can forget that famous WT20 runout against Bangladesh at crux.

The 36-year-old hasn't quite cashed-in with the bat, having only a couple of fifties to his name. Although with the limited batting opportunities that he's got, he has done well enough to get on this list, and of course on the arm of his artistry with the gloves and captaincy as well.

T20I Career Batting:

#7 Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Shahid Afridi has always been in the limelight for his butcher-style batting, who held the fastest ODI century record for two decades. He was the player of the series in the 2007 edition of the World T20 and the part of the winning squad in 2009. 'Boom Boom' is the leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket.

Only a handful of people must be aware of the fact that Afridi holds the record for taking the most number of wickets as captain in T20Is and not surprisingly, he was the top rank holder in T20I bowling charts for about five months. With the mix of leg-spin and ferocious batting, Afridi is a definite pick in the all-time XI.

T20I Career Batting:

T20I Career Bowling:

#8 Dale Steyn (South Africa)

The fiery fast bowler with over the top hostility visible through his eyes, Dale Steyn is one of a few genuine all-format pacers in the world. The South African, at his peak, was very much capable of clicking 150 kmph. He was equally lethal in swinging the brand new ball as well as reversing the older one.

Having played his last T20I back in 2016, Steyn is still one of the most economical fast bowlers in the history of this format. The 34-year-old is the obvious choice to make it to the all-time XI, no matter what format it is.

T20I Career Bowling:

#9 Umar Gul (Pakistan)

When talking about Pakistan's bowling sensations, we often shut our eyes on Umar Gul, who is a highly under-rated player, especially in white ball cricket. The lanky fast bowler's illustrious career was cut short by recurring injuries.

Gul is the only fast bowler to pick two five-wicket hauls in T20I cricket, with astonishing career-best figures of 5/6. Ahead of the 2007 edition of the ICC World T20, he got an opportunity in the national team replacing the spearheads like Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq and was Pakistan's best bowler at the death.

T20I Career Bowling:

#10 Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)

With batsmen establishing their dominance in white-ball cricket, Ajantha Mendis burst into the international circuit. In no time, he broke the long-held record by becoming the fastest to reach 50 ODI wickets and still holds it.

In T20I cricket too, Mendis became quickest to 50 wickets by breaking Gul's record in ten fewer matches. In addition to that, the Sri Lankan has a six-wicket haul to his name, which no other player has been able to achieve thus far.

T20I Career Bowling:

#11 Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Lasith Malinga is the leading wicket-taker amongst the quick bowlers in the history of the T20Is.

The slingy round-arm action with an ability to generate bounce and reverse swing has been fundamental to his success even on batting-friendly wickets in this format.

Furthermore, he led Sri Lanka to lay hands on their first ICC World T20 trophy by defeating India in 2014.