Birthday special: Marcus Stoinis – A talented all-rounder with tremendous potential

A top-order batter with aggressive instincts and the ability to bowl wicket-taking medium pace, Australia’s Marcus Stoinis is cricket’s most sought-after breed of players, seam-bowling all-rounders. Stoinis started cricket early, as he debuted for his home state of West Australia as a 19-year-old, before shifting his base to Victoria, a team he represented in the Sheffield Shield season 2013-14. Impressive performances there brought him into the spotlight as he was called into the national team for the limited-overs series against England in 2015.

Stoinis did not manage to immediately cement his spot in a competitive Australia team, although, at the first-class level, his exploits remained consistent. His fearless brand of play and ability to adapt and move in the batting order as per the demand made him a suitable choice for short-format leagues, and he opened the batting for Big Bash League team Melbourne Stars in the league’s 2018-19 edition.

Clinching fame in international cricket

By this time, Stoinis had started to make his case stronger for becoming a permanent player in the Australian national team. However, inconsistency at the international level never allowed him to make this spot his own despite having all the necessary skill sets needed to make it big. Meanwhile, Stoinis continued to make his reputation as a T20 asset in the Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League, where he was initially signed by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2015, before moving to Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the auctions later.

Stonis’ BBL performance later prompted the Royal Challengers Bangalore to sign him during the 2018 season, while he currently plies his trade for his initial franchise Delhi Capitals. In his 54-match IPL career, Stoinis has 896 runs and 30 wickets, while in his international career, where he has played 45 ODIs and 28 T20Is, he has scored 1106 and 376 runs, respectively, with 33 and 10 wickets with the ball.

Despite his potential to bat anywhere in the order, score quickfire runs and good variations in his bowling arsenal, Stoinis, who turns 32 today, continues to remain a player who has not managed to exploit his potential to the fullest for Australia.