Birthday Special: Daniel Christian – A T20 freelancer with a penchant for trophies
Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian, who represents Victoria and Australia, has been a go-to player for nearly every short-format franchise-based T20 league across the world. He initially attended the Australian Cricket Academy in 2003 before starting his List A career for New South Wales in 2006-07.
Christian made his T20I debut for Australia in February 2010 against the West Indies. His ODI call-up came against India in the same month two years later. After spending a considerable amount of time around the Australian national team without managing a permanent spot, Christian went to South Australia and then Victoria in 2013-14.
An all-round package
A complete package who justifies the tag of an all-rounder, Christian can clear any boundary, has a good amount of variations with the ball, and can save runs with gun fielding. A T20 behemoth, he has represented 20 different teams, 17 of those being franchises in leagues across the world. These include the Indian Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, Big Bash League and Pakistan Super League.
Christian represented Hampshire in the 2010 Twenty20 cup and was part of the title-winning side. He was later bought by the Deccan Chargers in 2011 for 900,000 USD for the IPL’s fourth edition. The Royal Challengers Bangalore then picked him for the 2013 edition for a sum of 100,000 USD. He also played for the Gloucestershire Gladiators in the Friends Life T20 competition and has even represented them in a first-class game against Australia A.
The Big Bash Big Wig
In the Big Bash League, he was a consistent performer for the Brisbane Heat. In Australia’s domestic competitions, he represented state sides such as New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. Christian led Nottinghamshire to the T20 Blast title in 2017. The Delhi Capitals signed him for INR 1.5 crore ahead in the 2018 auction after his all-round skills proved crucial in Hobart Hurricanes reaching the final of BBL 2017-18.
He later represented Melbourne Renegades for two seasons and is currently in a two-year deal with Sydney Sixers, his fourth BBL franchise. Having represented Australia in 19 ODIs and 16 T20Is, Christian has 300 runs and 31 international wickets, but his major forte remains T20 cricket. In 350 matches across a 15-year-career, he has 5174 runs at a strike rate of nearly 140 and 259 wickets at an average of 28.71. The 37-year-old is currently part of RCB in IPL 2021.
