Seven stars who didn’t reach the 2021 IPL final, but will be at T20 World Cup

T20 World Cup
Virat Kohli

The Kolata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings will contest the final of the Indian Premier League 2021. The match will feature several superstars, including wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Eoin Morgan and Shakib Al Hasan.

Several other international stars featured in the tournament but were unable to reach the final like Dhoni and company.

1. Virat Kohli

This was the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman last IPL season as captain. The India captain will continue to play for the franchise, but no longer as the formal leader.

Kohli copped plenty of criticism for the decision, while others supported the move. RCB have been perennial underachievers in the IPL – and again exited during the play-offs.

2. Rashid Khan

The Afghanistan leg-spinner was among the mainstays of the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling and batting resources in the IPL again. SRH, though, were the first team to be eliminated from contention for the title this season.

Khan’s ability with bat and ball lacked enough support. He will be with Afghanistan during the 2021 T20 World Cup.

3. Steven Smith

The former Australian captain played just two matches for the Delhi Capitals in the United Arab Emirates this year.

A team that had openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan – and middle-order duo Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer – hardly needed this international resource to complement the local talent. Delhi lost the 2020 final – and almost reached the final two this time.

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4. Jason Holder

After being added to the SRH squad as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh for the 2020 IPL, the West Indies all-rounder emerged as a first-choice player for the franchise during 2020.

Like Khan, he couldn’t push the 2016 champions into another final, though. His talent with the new ball and late-order hitting also lacked ample support.

5. Kane Williamson

The New Zealand captain led the Sunrisers in 2021. They had previously had Australian batsman David Warner in charge, too.

Williamson impressed with characteristically solid tactical awareness and a half-century against the Rajasthan Royals, in particular. But this ultimately amounted to little, as SRH slipped out of the title race early.

Also read: Williamson recovering from injury

6. Quinton de Kock

The Proteas and Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batsman opened the order for the defending champions again this season.

He was a formidable counterpart to fellow opening batsman Rohit Sharma. Mumbai, however, faltered on enough occasions to prevent a genuine chance at a sixth title.

7. Kagiso Rabada

The South African pace ace has been a relatively longstanding servant of the Capitals – and recently welcomed Proteas team-mate Anrich Nortje to the Delhi bowling attack as well.

Rabada and Nortje were quick in challenging UAE conditions – and relished good help from local lad Avesh Khan. The Capitals ultimately missed out to the Kolkata Knight Riders for a final berth this year.

Jason Holder Kagiso Rabada Kane Williamson Quinton de Kock Rashid Khan Steven Smith Virat Kohli

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