5 famous T20I stars you might not know also appeared in the Test cricket

Red-ball cricket or Test cricket is known as the most traditional and longest format of the game. The experts and cricket pundits have also named it the purest format of the game. The Test format is also considered a litmus Test for the skills, persistence, and perseverance of a player providing him the extreme conditions and a turf full of tough experiences against a set of skilled players and veterans of the game.

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There was a time in cricket when every player ought to prepare himself for Test cricket. But the inception of T20 cricket in the early years of the decade of 2000s happened to change the dynamics of the cricketing world. The increasing number of T20 franchise leagues across the World has given a choice of players to avoid Test cricket and extend their careers by continuously playing in these leagues.

There are a lot of examples of veteran cricketers who are playing in the franchise T20 Leagues apart from the duties for their respective national teams. Meanwhile, there are also some renowned T20I cricketers whom the fans might not know but they have also made some appearances in Test cricket.

With said that, here we’ll have a look at 5 T20I players who also played Test cricket in their international careers.

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Piyush Chawla

The 34-year-old Indian leggie Piyush Chawla made his international debut for India almost 17 years back in the year 2006 in Mohali Test against England. It was also his first-ever Test appearance for the Indian team. The veteran of 25 ODIs and 7 T20Is could appear in only three Tests for the national team India.

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Notably, his third and last Test appearance was also against England six years after his debut during the Nagpur Test in December 2012. In these 3 Test appearances, Chawla scalped seven wickets with his best performance of 7/69 in an inning.

Lockie Ferguson

Auckland-born pacer Lockie Ferguson is known for his brilliant bowling in white-ball cricket with 81 and 41 wickets in 47 ODI and 28 T20I matches respectively. Lockie made his first international appearance in New Zealand colors almost 10 years back in the year 2013 in Napier T20I against Bangladesh.

But it is known to very less cricket fans that a player with a career of almost a decade to his name has played only one Test match in his entire international career. The 30-year-old pacer had his only Test against Australia back in December 2019 at the Perth Stadium in Perth.

Andre Russell

Andre Russell is undoubtedly a name that does not rely on any introduction in limited-overs cricket, especially T20I cricket owing to his brilliant outing both with the bat and ball in white-ball cricket. Jamaican all-rounder has played 56 ODIs and 67 T20Is for West Indies since his limited-overs debut during the ODI World  Cup of 2011 against Ireland.

Interestingly, after seeing his performances and regular appearances in the cricket of colored clothes, no one would’ve thought Russel had also donned the white outfits for the Caribbean team. He played his international career first ever match and only Test against Sri Lanka in Galle almost 12 years back in the year 2010.

Tabraiz Shamsi

The Proteas wrist spinner is known for his bowling excellence in limited-over cricket in the international circuit and the franchise T20 leagues as well. The 34-year-old has had 39 appearances in ODIs and 59 T20Is to his name having 50 and 73 wickets respectively to his name.

Although it’s quite hard to imagine white-ball cricket’s veteran in Test cricket surprisingly, it’s true that Shamsi also played in red-ball cricket during his seven-year international career.

Johannesburg-based spinner played 2 Tests for South Africa and 6 wickets in these matches including a best performance of 3/91 in an inning.

Lasith Malinga

Whenever the greatest bowlers of all time who ever played the game, will be discussed, it won’t be completed without the name of former legendary Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga. The guy who dominated the cricketing world for 16 years with his amazing unorthodox bowling action.

He was dubbed as the counterpart of fear for batters across the world, The only owner of a double hattrick in the ODI World Cup played 226 ODIs and 84 T20Is and scalped 338 and 107 wickets respectively.

But how many of us are known of the fact that the limited-overs cricket legend also appeared in 30 Tests for Sri Lanka? He scalped 101 wickets including seven 4-wicket hauls and three five-wickets hauls in an inning of a Test match.