Five Men Who Have Taken ICC World Twenty20 by Storm

The advent of Twenty20 came as a death knell for the textbook batsmen and spinners - at least that's what all the experts said. (Click here for latest Cricket stories)

But one quick glimpse at the players, who have done well in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament, will leave them eating their words.

Mahela Jayawardene's Elegance

Of all the surprises that could spring him, this has to be the most astonishing. Mahela Jayawardene, the name is synonymous with a man, who has made his name playing traditional shots that are pleasing to the eye.

But who would have thought that after five editions of the World T20, the diminutive Sri Lankan would top the run charts.

Yes, as shocked as you might be, but the truth is Jayawardene has scored 1,016 runs in World T20s - the only batsman to reach the 1000 mark.

He averages 39.07 in 31 matches played and what's even more unbelievable is his strike rate - 134.74, which is more than the likes of Brendon McCullum, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and even Mahendra Singh Dhoni - all of whom have made their names from walloping the ball over the boundary line.

Obviously, the naysayers will point to the fact that Jayawardene and the rest of the Sri Lankans have played more matches than the others courtesy their fine performance in the T20 World Cups - but that's just it!

It is just a phenomenal feat that the now retired batsman managed to do - maintain that consistency of scoring run at such a high strike-rate, when no one would have thought it possible. He will without doubt be on top of the list to players who have made a difference in the World T20 over the years.

Chris Gayle's Unbelievable Power-hitting

Now, when it comes to Twenty20 cricket, there is one man who is made this format his own - Chris Gayle. The name is synonymous with the shortest format of the sport.

Gayle has traversed the world, and blasted bowlers into oblivion with absolute disdain. A jog down memory lane will take us to the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup - and a certain Jamaican wielding his bat like a 'Star Wars Lightsaber'.

He smashed the South African attack to all parts of Johannesburg to record the first international century in the format. His 117 runs coming off just 57 balls, including seven fours and 10 sixes.

Gayle, not surprisingly, is the second highest run-getter in World T20 with 807 runs from 23 matches and a strike-rate of 141.82.

Saeed Ajmal's magic with ball

The next man in our list quashed all claims that spinners were like lambs to slaughter when it came to the T20 format.

Saaed Ajmal has spun a web around batsmen in Tests and ODIs, but few thought he could have the impact he has had in T20 cricket. Ajmal has bamboozled batsmen with his wits and the fact that the bat wielders have to go after him and can't afford to play him out, seems to have played into his hands.

Ajmal has thrived and besides taking a whopping 36 wickets in just 23 World Cup games, he also happens to have one of the best economy rate at 6.79.

Yorker specialist, Lasith Malinga

When the words 'deadly yorkers', 'death bowling' are said or written, there's only one man in people's thought - Lasith Malinga.

Yes, 'Slinga Malinga' has revolutionised world cricket with his action and his ability to get six balls in an over hitting the base of the stumps. There are few in world cricket - none that come to mind actually - who can do what this Sri Lankan bowling machine can do.

He is a bowling machine because only he has the ability to pull a yorker when he wants to and that also with deadly accuracy. So, it comes as no wonder that Malinga heads the wicket-taking charts in T20 World Cups.

Malinga has taken 38 wickets in 31 matches, most of the time bowling at the fag-end of the innings where the batsmen are just teeing off.

Enigmatic Shahid Afridi

The final name is quite a hard one to pick, especially with so many impact players, who have graced the format. However, his impact probably overshadows the others courtesy his ability to make a difference with both the bat and ball.

He rose to limelight when he smashed the fastest hundred in the world at a tender age but quickly his fortunes dropped as he only became a flash in the pan batsmen.

Shahid Afridi is the man tailor-made for T20 cricket. His 15-30 runs contributions in T20 matches actually make a difference because they come at such phenomenal speed. But the Pakistani all-rounder, to his credit, has shaped his game brilliantly to become an actual threat with the ball.