The ICC T20 World Cup holds a special place in the hearts of all cricket fans. The reason behind it is that the tournament has been full of special moments. No one can forget the way MS Dhoni’s Team India defeated the Pakistan team to become the inaugural T20 World Champions. Similarly, all Pakistani fans would remember how their team won the second edition of the tournament.
West Indies team has dominated this competition, being the only side to have seized the T20 World Cup title twice. Meanwhile, England and Sri Lanka have also won the tournament once. Quite a few big names have participated in the ICC T20 World Cup event over the last 14 years. Unfortunately, some star players who have participated in all previous editions will not play the 2021 T20 World Cup. Here’s a look at those five star players.
1. MS Dhoni will miss ICC T20 World Cup for the first time
The first captain to win the ICC T20 World Cup trophy, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has retired from all formats of international cricket now. While Dhoni will soon head to the United Arab Emirates to play in IPL 2021, he will not play the subsequent ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Dhoni had been the skipper of the Indian cricket team in all previous editions of the biggest T20 event of the world. In 2021, Virat Kohli will captain the Men in Blue for the first time ever in the competition later this year.
2. Yuvraj Singh will miss ICC T20 World Cup for the first time
Another Indian star player who will not play in the ICC T20 World Cup for the first time ever is Yuvraj Singh. Like MS Dhoni, Singh has retired from all formats of international cricket. Yuvi is best remembered for hitting six sixes in an over bowled by Stuart Broad in the inaugural WT20 competition.
Yuvraj suffered an injury during the ICC T20 WC in the year 2016. Manish Pandey came in as a replacement for him, but he did not play a single game for Team India in that tourney.
3. Ross Taylor
Unlike MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, New Zealand’s veteran batsman Ross Taylor has not retired from international cricket yet. However, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) ignored him for the T20 World Cup set to played in the Middle East.
Taylor played for the Blackcaps in all previous editions of this event. Since he has the experience under his belt, the right-handed batsman could return to the squad as a replacement if any player gets injured.
4. Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has officially retired from T20I cricket. He has not played in this format of the game for Pakistan since 2018, and it is highly unlikely that Afridi will come out of his retirement again.
Afridi played in the 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 editions of T20 WC for the Men in Green. He won the trophy once in the year 2009.
5. Shane Watson
Another great all-rounder who will miss the T20 World Cup event for the first time is Australia’s Shane Watson. He had announced in 2016 itself that it would be his last World Cup for Australia.
Unfortunately, the Aussies could not give him proper farewell as they crashed out of the tournament in group stage. A special innings from Virat Kohli led to Australia’s exit from the tournament.
