The International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup is less than six months away and teams have already begun their final preparations for the mega-event.
The tournament which was originally scheduled to be organized in India is now likely to be shifted to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Just like any big event, cricket fans will witness some of the unknowns putting their hand up when it will matter the most in this year's competition as well.
Here are our top five sleepers for the ICC T20 World Cup who are likely to leave a lasting impact on the outcome of the tournament.
Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan)
First in the list features Afghanistan's top-order batsman Hazratullah Zazai. The left-hander has been a real sensation ever since making his debut in T20 cricket and is famous for his hard-hitting. Zazai's specialty is giving his team a brisk start by playing fearless cricket. The 23-year-old had an outstanding Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 in the UAE for the eventual runners-up Peshawar Zalmi where he was named the player-of-the-match three times in just five outings. Since the competition is now likely to be played in the UAE, Zazai will be a player to watch out for as he has already proved that he can dismantle any bowling lineup on any given day.
Sohaib Maqsood (Pakistan)
Sohaib Maqsood is a known name in the world of cricket but has not featured in internationals for quite some time. The right-hander
The International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup is less than six months away and teams have already begun their final preparations for the mega-event.
The tournament which was originally scheduled to be organized in India is now likely to be shifted to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Just like any big event, cricket fans will witness some of the unknowns putting their hand up when it will matter the most in this year's competition as well.
Here are our top five sleepers for the ICC T20 World Cup who are likely to leave a lasting impact on the outcome of the tournament.
Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan)
First in the list features Afghanistan's top-order batsman Hazratullah Zazai. The left-hander has been a real sensation ever since making his debut in T20 cricket and is famous for his hard-hitting. Zazai's specialty is giving his team a brisk start by playing fearless cricket. The 23-year-old had an outstanding Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 in the UAE for the eventual runners-up Peshawar Zalmi where he was named the player-of-the-match three times in just five outings. Since the competition is now likely to be played in the UAE, Zazai will be a player to watch out for as he has already proved that he can dismantle any bowling lineup on any given day.
Sohaib Maqsood (Pakistan)
Sohaib Maqsood is a known name in the world of cricket but has not featured in internationals for quite some time. The right-hander was named the player-of-the-tournament in the recently concluded PSL 2021 where he led Multan Sultans to their maiden title with outstanding batting performances. Those accomplishments did not go unnoticed as he deservedly earned a recall in Pakistan's T20I squad for the upcoming tours of West Indies and England. With the tournament expected to be played in the UAE, Maqsood might prove to be the trump card the Men-in-Green are looking for in the batting department.
Fabian Allen (West Indies)
Fabian Allen is the third player on the list of sleepers. The 26-year-old is very highly rated in the West Indies cricketing circles and in the recent past, he has slowly but surely became a permanent member of the T20I team. Allen has the ability to not only score crucial runs at the back end of the innings but is more than handy with the ball in hand as well.
George Linde (South Africa)
Fourth on the list of sleepers for this year's ICC T20 World Cup features South Africa's George Linde. The 29-year-old is a very underrated cricketer but has proved his ability, both with the bat and ball for the Proteas in the recent past. Since the mega-event is likely to be organized in the UAE, Linde's bowling, in particular, might prove to be a great asset for South Africa as he gets variable bounce because of his height and is very hard to get away as well, largely because of precise length.
Devon Conway (New Zealand)
Last in the list features New Zealand's top-order batsman Devon Conway. The left-hander has already had an outstanding beginning to his career for the Black Caps across all formats where he is looking just unstoppable at the moment. Conway has represented Kiwis in 14 T20Is in his short career where he has managed to score 473 runs at an outstanding average of 59.12 along with a brilliant strike-rate of 151.11, which included four half-centuries.
