The men to watch out for in England

The men to watch out for in England

espnstar.com’s Rajarshi Gupta looks at some of the most exciting players to watch out for in the ICC World Twenty20.

The Championship is well under way and by the look of things, the shortest format of the game has lived up to its billing as powerhouse of surprises.

However, there are some guns that would blaze for sure. Who says T20 cricket is all about lusty, cross bat murder? Elegance counts and so does guile. If you disagree, keep an eye for these guys:

Rohit Sharma: Delightful to watch. When the right-handed artist gets going, there is hardly a better sight in world cricket. Sharma has been brutal in India's two warm-up game and though he looked a little out of sorts in the defending champions' opening game against Bangladesh, the world knows what he can do to bowlers.

Click here to watch Rohit go against the Bangla Tigers

With no news yet of Virender Sehwag's return to the team, Sharma can rest easy in the opening slot. That doesn't matter much though, even if he is pushed down the crest, Sharma would be just as much at ease, sending the white leather on a merry hunt.

Tillekaratne Dilshan: The Sri Lankan middle order mainstay was on fire for the Delhi Daredevils during the Indian Premier League in South Africa and he has carried his belligerent mood to cold England for the ICC World Twenty20. He whipped the Australians around Robin Hood's country to plunder 53 runs to brutally end Ricky Ponting's hopes of making a charge at the trophy.

Given the flat tracks in England at this time of the year and the sensational rhythm his bat seems to be in, captains across the line would have lots to think about. Dilshan just happens to be middling everything at the moment and the most disconcerting aspect about him is that he can clobber the spinners with as much disdain as the seamers. Food for thought that!

AB can murder them 

AB deVilliers: Predictable and clichéd but he had to be the one from the Proteas bank. No, they do have many more talented players but AB has been in sublime touch. His century for the Daredevils against the Chennai Super Kings sent some shock waves and his blistering unbeaten 79 off 30-odd deliveries sent Gavin Hamilton's team on a tizzy. What cannot he do? He can play elegant back foot drives through cover, rock back and smoke them over deep mid-wicket, glide the ball late through gully and cut square off the wicket with aplomb.

For a man in that kind of form, with those many shots and tracks as flat as they are in England, batting must be the easiest ritual in his daily life!

Ross Taylor: This man knows how to break hearts. His exploits for the New Zealand middle order are becoming part of folklore. There is not a dull moment in the game with Taylor at the crease and his massive blows can send shivers down the spines of many a bowler. Those excruciating pulls and hooks and short arm jabs are seriously beginning to torment captains, sending their strategies for a toss.

If the Kiwis are to be knocked over, the Taylor needs to be stitched up.

Watch out for Taylor! 

Pragyan Ojha: Yes, finally a bowler and it had to be him. The left-arm spinner, playing his first Twenty20 game for India looked like he always belonged there. Brought on by skipper MS Dhoni at a juncture when the Bangladesh bombers had started to cut loose, Ojha weaved a dark spell around them. By the time, he was done with his four over, the tweaker had stifled the Bangla charge, conceding just 21 runs besides dispatching four of the Tigers to a shocked dug-out. The debutant had turned the game on his head.

Dhoni's reliance on spinners is no more a secret. Ojha can make them dance and with the ball likely to grip in three surfaces, the Deccan Chargers recruit can expect to many more rewards. Ojha can turn it, bounce it, drift it and can win it. A lot of India's defending campaign would now depend on how this man bowls in tandem with Harbhajan Singh.

Exclusive with Mohammad Ashraful


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