Most Hated Players in T20 World Cup History

There have been a lot of cricketers in the recent history of the game who have been loved a lot by the fans. In the era of social media, the fans have also been divided and are usually seen defending their favourite stars. 

Besides that, the fans can also be trolling some cricketers and expressing hate towards them. It has also created a big opinion divide among the different sections of the fans in modern-day cricket, with the influence of social media.

Having said that, here we'll have a look at the most hated playing XI in the history of the T20 World Cup.

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Here's a look at the most hated playing XI in T20 World Cup history:

Quinton de Kock

The veteran South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock is probably one of the finest wicketkeeper-batters in the current era, having very decent numbers to his name. He has scored 3300 Test runs with an average of 38.82, alongside 6770 ODI runs and 2389 T20I runs with averages of 45.74 and 31.02 respectively.

But apart from his game, De Kock hasn’t been adored much among the fans due to some of his gestures and stances on and off the field. One of the major reasons for hate for him among fans was his gesture for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement during the T20 World Cup 2021.

Tamim Iqbal

The veteran Bangladesh opener was in the centre of the media headlines last year during the ODI World Cup 2023 due to his tussle with the skipper and senior Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. It attracted a big debate in the cricketing fraternity, in which Tamim was criticized for lying to the cricket Board on the updates on his fitness.

Besides that, his attitude on and off the field has also caught the eyeballs and attracted harsh opinions from the fans. So, he could be one of the openers with Quinton de Kock in this most hated XI in T20 World Cup history.

Babar Azam (c)

In the recently-revealed stats from the group stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, Babar Azam has the third worst strike following SA’s David Miller and his Pakistan teammate, Mohammad Rizwan. Babar has always been on the receiving end of harsh criticism for his poor and dismal strike rate in the shortest format of the game.

So, without any second opinion, the Pakistan skipper could be the first choice to lead this most hated playing XI in the 17-year-long history of the T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007.

Andrew Flintoff

The former star England all-rounder Ben Stokes was known as one of the bad boys in cricket when he used to play for his side in his active days. Flintoff was hard known for being in the good books of the match officials for his attitude in international cricket. He played very less cricket in the T20 format.

Still, he managed to register his name for bad reasons; one of the major highlights was when he was involved in a heated altercation with the former legendary India cricketer Yuvraj Singh in the T20 World Cup 2007. His provocation also made Yuvraj Singh attack England pacer Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in the 19th over of the super-8 match in T20 World Cup 2007.

Ben Stokes

The England Test skipper had been one of the prominent all-rounders in the limited-overs cricket as well. He has played 43 T20Is for the Three Lions and also played a crucial role in England’s title triumph in the last edition of the tournament in 2022.

However, Stokes has also several bad records on his name off the field, he has been in the headlines for his bad behaviour off the field. His fight in a bar was one of those incidents that forced the management to take disciplinary action against him.

Imad Wasim

The veteran Pakistan all-rounder recently took his retirement back to play for his side in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. However, he had a poor run of form with the bat and ball in the tournament, and Pakistan also got knocked out of the tournament in the group stage only.

Imad Wasim has also been at the front of criticism for his words and behaviour off the field and some statements in the TV shows he usually appears. Imad was also caught smoking a cigarette on camera during the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Speaking of his game, he has scored only 554 runs in T20Is and has scalped 73 wickets.

Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)

The veteran Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim hung his boots in the T20I cricket in September 2022. He has also poor records on his name in the shortest format of the game, scoring only 1500 runs in 93 T20I innings, with a very poor average of 19.48.

Rahim was also known for his rough and unprofessional attitude on and off the field, including his abusive gesture towards his teammate during a match. Apart from that, he was heavily trolled for his premature celebration in a T20 World Cup match against India, which Bangladesh eventually lost by 2 runs. He could be the best fit to become the wicketkeeper-batter in this most-hated XI in T20 World Cup history.

Also Read: List of teams qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026

Ravindra Jadeja

The veteran India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja hasn’t impressed a lot in the T20 format, especially when it comes to performing in the T20 World Cup for India. Jadeja has scored only 480 runs with a below-par average of 21.81 in the 37 T20I innings he batted out of his career’s 69 matches.

Apart from that, he has also picked only 53 wickets with a poor bowling average of 28.73 and a strike rate of 24.3. Jadeja has also been seen for making some unexpected and unwelcoming gestures on the field. One of these kind of instances was when he made a gesture to the commentary box to address former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar who came up with a critical assessment of Jadeja ‘as a player’.

Saeed Ajmal

The former Pakistan spinner played a lot of cricket for Pakistan, including 35 Tests, 113 ODIs, and 64 T20Is. Speaking of T20Is specifically, he scalped 85 wickets with an economy rate of 6.36 and a strike rate of 16.8 in 63 T20I innings he bowled.

Apart from his couple of achievements, Saeed Ajmal had also made a claim of fame for his infamous death over to Australia’s Michael Hussey in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2010; this over knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. So, Ajmal also earned a lot of hate in his own country for this over.

Mohammad Amir

The veteran Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir was also the one, alongside Imad Wasim to take retirement back to appear for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024. Amir impressed everyone with his performance in the tournament. The left-arm bowler was one of the lethal pacers and helped Pakistan in winning the Champions Trophy 2017, with a historic spell for Pakistan.

Apart from his cricket, Amir has been consistently hated for a long period both by a few Pakistan cricketers and a section of cricket fans for his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in the Lord’s Test against England in 2010.

Ishant Sharma

The veteran India pacer is currently active as a commentator in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. He has played 105 Tests for India, alongside 80 ODIs; however, Ishant Sharma hasn’t had good numbers in the T20I format as he has played only 14 T20Is and scalped only 8 wickets with a very poor economy rate of 8.63.

Ishant has been one of the criticized cricketers for their on-field behaviour, so he could be one of the bowlers in this bowling attack of the most hated playing XI in the history of the T20 World Cup.

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