T20 World Cup 2021: Rating Team India players based on their performance

In simple words, it was a mixed bag of a tournament for Virat Kohli’s Team India in the T20 World Cup 2021.

The World Cup has witnessed some top-notch cricketing performances by each team. Overall, this tournament has been a treat for several cricket fanatics. But the thing which people are finding tough to get over is Team India not qualifying for the semi-final.

It was a forgettable journey for Team India. Also, it was the first time for the team not qualifying for a semi-final of an ICC event since 2012. And they would hope to get their issues sorted before the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia

Well, it was a mixed bag of a performance from Kohli’s India. Though few players from the squad showed their mettle, some turned out to be underwhelming and disappointing.

So, here is a report card of each India player’s performance in this year’s T20 World Cup:

1. Rahul Chahar: 4/10

Rahul Chahar is a budding spinner and the cricketing world has known him from his IPL stints. But he was a surprise pick in the tournament, as many cricket fanatics weren’t expecting him to replace one of the best spinners in the sport, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Rahul Chahar just played a single match where he couldn’t scalp a wicket and was mediocre in his economy. Even in this year’s IPL edition, he wasn’t much impactful for his team, Mumbai Indians.

Even after the IPL, his struggle in terms of performance continued. Simultaneously, being a surprise pick, he was also a disappointment in the tournament, as he couldn’t show his leg-spin skills.

2. Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4/10

When we talk about Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he has been the most economical bowler the team has ever had. Thanks to his swinging deliveries, he has been a pivotal wicket-taker for the Indian cricket team.

But with injuries being a barrier, he hasn’t been performing for the team to the fullest. He has not been economical and has not been showing his calibre in the death-overs.

In the tournament, Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t have a good time with the ball. Even during the warm-up matches, he was leaking runs and wasn’t pleasing enough in terms of his wicket count and economy.

3. Shardul Thakur: 4/10

After some stellar performances in the red-ball format against Australia and England and being a valuable asset for Chennai Super Kings, everyone had high expectations from Shardul Thakur.

He has displayed all the qualities an all-rounder requires. He has taken crucial wickets, can hit sixes and can take catches to win matches for his teams.

But in this tournament, he couldn’t display his calibre for Team India. He just got one chance to bat and it went miserably. Also, he wasn’t economical with the ball and he just took some catches. Overall, it was a disappointing performance by the all-rounder.

4. Ishan Kishan: 4/10

Ishan Kishan has been a batting prodigy and is one to look out for in the cricketing world. Known for his controlled power-hitting, many expected him to display the same in the tournament.

But he wasn’t able to provide runs and was struggling in the whole tournament. Even in the previous edition of IPL, he had a mediocre batting average of 26.77.

In the tournament, he just played one match and scored just a mere four runs against New Zealand. The takeaway for him would be his warm-up match innings of 70 runs off 46 balls against England.

5. Varun Chakravarthy: 5/10

Hailed as the ‘Mystery Spinner’ because of his domestic and IPL performances, Varun Chakravarthy was a major highlight before the commencement of the T20 tournament.

Also, he was good with his spells in this year’s IPL and everyone was expecting him to go big in this tournament. But there wasn’t anything mysterious about his deliveries in the tournament. And the opposition batters were playing him with ease and he wasn’t able to take wickets.

Having played three matches in the tournament, he went wicketless. It was just against Scotland, where the leggie was economical in his performance for Team India.

6. Hardik Pandya: 5/10

Throughout his cricketing career, Hardik Pandya has been predominantly known for his explosive batting and power-hitting skills. Also, with an ability to bowl medium pace, he has been a go-to bowling option for the team.

But as a player, who had a number of severe injuries in the past, it hindered his bowling prowess. And as a result, he couldn’t make much of an impact with the ball in the tournament.

Coming to the batting, he did make an impact with his power-hitting and got some crucial runs, but it wasn’t up to the mark. As an all-rounder in whole, he didn’t perform to the fullest in the tournament for Team India.

7. Suryakumar Yadav: 5/10

Suryakumar Yadav is predominantly known for his impactful performance ever since he debuted for the Indian cricket team. He is also known for his consistent contribution for the Mumbai Indians.

Even the legendary Pakistani speedster, Wasim Akram, hailed him as a ‘game-changer’ for the Indian side in this tournament. But sadly, it was the opposite.

Suryakumar made a mere 42 runs in his three-innings campaign and didn’t leave an impacting impression with the bat in this tournament. And we hope to see some decent performances from him in the future as the 2022 WT20 is advancing.

8. Virat Kohli: 5/10

When Virat Kohli announced his withdrawal as a T20 captain from the national side, many expected him to end his captaincy tenure with a bang. But it wasn’t a happy ending for him, as India did not get through to the semi-final.

During the losses in the first two-crucial matches against Pakistan and New Zealand, his captaincy wasn’t up to the mark. But he did pull things off by winning the remaining group matches, which went in vain.

Scoring 66 runs in his three innings and having a mere average of 34, he was mediocre in his batting. His crucial half-century against Pakistan was the only highlight from his bat.

9. Rishabh Pant: 6/10

Rishabh Pant had an impeccable IPL edition as the captain of Delhi Capitals and was good enough with the bat (419 runs in 16 matches). By this, many had hoped for the Delhi boy to do the same in the World Cup as well.

In the tournament, Rishabh Pant did well with the wicketkeeping gloves. In terms of batting, many expected it to be better. Though he made some runs for the side, he didn’t quite live up to the expectations.

He scored a total of 78 runs in his five-match campaign. And for a few matches, he was clinical in giving some swashbuckling one-handed shots.

10. Ravindra Jadeja: 7/10

Ravindra Jadeja has been wholesome when it comes to his all-round performance. Not only just batting and bowling, but he also showed his athleticism in fielding. Even in the IPL 2021, he managed to provide some valuable runs and wickets for Chennai Super Kings.

Coming to this year’s tournament, he was crucial wicket-taker and had taken some impeccable catches on-field. He took seven wickets in total and bagged one Man of the Match award for his three-wicket haul against Namibia.

The underwhelming aspect would be his batting. In this tournament, he wasn’t impactful and couldn’t obtain a swashbuckling inning for the team. He just scored a mere 49 runs in his two-innings campaign.

11. Mohammed Shami: 7/10

Mohammed Shami faced an unnecessary backlash from social media after displaying a poor bowling performance against Pakistan and New Zealand. But he did make a comeback by showing some class performance with the ball.

Mohammed Shami has been a crucial figure in India’s bowling department not only in the red-ball format but also in the shortest format of the game.

He scalped a total of six wickets in his campaign and picked two three-wicket hauls against Afghanistan (3/32) and Scotland (3/15). Overall, he showed his skills in this tournament with his pace and swing.

12. Ravi Ashwin: 7.5/10

Though he was given a late start to his campaign, Ravi Ashwin was handy enough with his experience and spinning skills with the ball. It was a surprise for some when he got a call in the 15-man squad, but he put in commendable performances in this tournament.

Having made a comeback to white-ball cricket after four years, the off-spinner was economical and gave some crucial wickets to the side. Kudos to Ashwin’s consistent performance in this tournament.

In total, the tweaker scalped six wickets in his three-match campaign. Also, he took a three-wicket haul against Gerhard Erasmus’s Namibia in this tournament.

13. Rohit Sharma: 7.5/10

One of the players from the squad, who have shown their consistency, Rohit Sharma, did it again. He has been a reliable component of the team’s batting department and he can provide some runs with his powerful hitting.

In this tournament, though he did play well and churned out some swashbuckling innings, his bat couldn’t do the trick in the crucial stages of the tournament (against Pakistan and New Zealand).

Scoring a total of 174 runs in his five-match campaign and bagging one Man of the Match award, he contributed well enough with the bat. Also, after Virat Kohli stepped down as the T20I captain for the national side, he is set to take the responsibility of leading the team in the upcoming T20I clashes.

14. Jasprit Bumrah: 8/10

When it comes to the most consistent player for the Indian team in this tournament, it has to be Jasprit Bumrah. The former No.1 T20I bowler has been the biggest asset for Team India’s bowling department.

Though there were a few bowlers, who were struggling with their economy or weren’t scalping wickets, Jasprit Bumrah was good with both. He was a wicket-taking and simultaneously an economical bowler.

Jasprit Bumrah was the highest wicket-taker for the Indian team by scalping seven wickets in total. Also, he bowled at a commendable economy rate of 5.08 runs in his five-match campaign.

15. KL Rahul: 8/10

As his previous IPL performance suggests, many cricket fanatics predicted that KL Rahul would be the X-factor for India as an opener. And indeed he was. He was destructive with the bat and overall, has been a talent for the Indian cricket team.

KL Rahul happens to be the highest run-scorer from the Indian side by making 194 runs in his five-match campaign. Known for class and fluent knocks, he made the tournament’s fastest half-century off just 18 balls against Scotland.

He along with Rohit Sharma, made a hattrick of 50-run partnership in the last three games. But just like Rohit, it was the same case with KL Rahul, who couldn’t show his calibre against Pakistan and New Zealand.