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Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane has revealed his top five current T20 batters, and his number one choice has turned heads. Ajinkya Rahane picked Jos Buttler, Finn Allen, Nicholas Pooran, Heinrich Klaasen, and Abhishek Sharma as his top five T20 batters.
Rahane explained why these five players impressed him with their attacking style and ability to change matches in the shorter format of the game.
Surprisingly, Rahane overlooked young Indian sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from his list despite his record-breaking start of his career. Earlier, Dinesh Karthik named the top 5 T20 batters, Virat Kohli at top, Abhishek Sharma snubbed.
Ajinkya Rahane picks Jos Buttler at No. 5 and Finn Allen at No. 4
Rahane placed England’s batting superstar Jos Buttler at number five. Having shared the dressing room with him at Rajasthan Royals during the IPL, Rahane called Buttler one of the most dangerous batters in T20 cricket.
Buttler has scored 13,466 runs in overall T20 cricket, including 4,646 runs in the IPL and 4,037 in T20I cricket. His eight T20 centuries in the format show his ability to play big innings.
At number four, Rahane selected New Zealand's explosive opener, Finn Allen. He praised Allen's quality as a top-order batter and his ability to put bowlers under pressure. Allen has scored 5,276 runs in overall T20 cricket at a strike rate of 181.43.
Ajinkya Rahane said on Cricbuzz: “At number five, for me, it is Jos Buttler. He is England’s greatest white-ball cricketer. I have played with him at Rajasthan Royals, and now he is with Gujarat Titans. He is a very dangerous player. At number four, I have Finn Allen. He is a quality top-order batter and very dangerous. I have played with him, and he is a great guy, but a very dangerous batter.”
Ajinkya Rahane picks Nicholas Pooran at No.3, explains what makes him so dangerous
West Indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran earned the third spot in Rahane’s list. The former KKR captain believes that Pooran can attack both fast bowlers and spinners and change the momentum of the game within a few overs in the shorter format of the game.
Pooran has already scored 10,549 runs in overall T20 cricket, including 2,527 in the IPL. He has 2,275 T20I runs to his name in 106 matches for the West Indies. His powerful hitting and ability to score quickly make him a major threat in the middle order.
The cricket pandit added, “At number three, it is Nicholas Pooran. He is a left-hander who is dangerous against both spinners and fast bowlers. He can change the game at any time.” Amid this, Suryakumar Yadav reveals biggest attraction of his Dubai property with Shah Rukh Khan connection.
Rahane makes huge statement on Heinrich Klaasen
Rahane then slotted South Africa's explosive batter Heinrich Klaasen at number two. India’s former Test vice-captain highlighted how much Klaasen has improved his game over the last three to five seasons. He also praised the batter's ability to win matches in different situations.
Klaasen has scored 6,467 runs in overall T20 cricket, with 2,104 coming in the IPL at a stunning strike rate of around 167. He scored 1000 runs in 58 T20I games for the Proteas side.
Rahane explained, “Heinrich Klaasen is at number two. Over the last three to five seasons, the way he has developed his game in this format and become so dangerous is amazing. Look at the number of matches he has won in different situations.”
Ajinkya Rahane names Abhishek Sharma his No. 1 T20 batter
Ajinkya Rahane reserved the number one spot for India's young opener Abhishek Sharma. He praised Abhishek's form, consistency, attacking intent, and growing maturity over the last couple of years.
The left-hander has so far scored 5,912 runs in overall T20 cricket, including 2,379 in the IPL and 1,546 runs in T20I cricket for India. His overall T20 strike rate of 176.64 reflects his attacking approach.
Rahane signed off by saying, "My No. 1 is Abhishek Sharma. His form, consistency, intent, and the maturity he has shown over the last one or two years have been amazing.”
