Birthday special: Daniel Christian – An underrated T20 all-rounder
Daniel Trevor Christian is one of the unsung heroes of Australian cricket who could never realize his potential at the highest level. Since he could never cement his place in the national team, Christian proved his mettle by participating in various T20 franchise leagues across the globe where he impressed one and all.
As Daniel Christian turns 39 on May 4, here’s a look at how the all-round sensation made the most of his opportunities elsewhere when the national selectors had closed all doors on him.
Daniel Christian: One of the best T20 cricketers
Dan Christian has just managed to make 20 One Day International and 23 T20I appearances for Australia ever since his international debut in 2010 in which he has amassed 273 and 118 runs and also has 20 and 13 scalps respectively. Some cut-throat competition and inconsistent performances meant that he was not in the selectors’ scheme of things after a point in time.
Nonetheless, the New South Wales cricketer did not lose hope and decided to make the most of his opportunities by playing franchise and County cricket. In the last decade, the veteran all-rounder represented some of the different franchise teams like the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers, Trinbago Knight Riders, Hobart Hurricanes to name a few.
His efforts finally bore fruits as he was named one of the three players as injury cover in the victorious Australian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE. Unfortunately for him, he could not feature in a single game where they Aussies went on to clinch their first and only world title in the shortest format.
Apart from his cricketing exploits, Christian has also authored a book. Earlier this year, the star cricketer wrote his book titled ‘The All-rounder- The inside story of big time cricket’ with Gideon Haigh where he has talked his cricketing stints in 2021 with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and The Hundred.
With age not on his side, Christian’s comeback to the Australian team is a foregone conclusion, but he would now be hoping to showcase outstanding performances on the cricket field with both bat and ball at the twilight of his glorious career.
