Batters from three continents have been named as finalists for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2022 award. We look at their exploits in this section.
Suryakumar Yadav – India
- 1164 runs in 31 matches
Suryakumar Yadav had a fantastic 2022 in the shortest version of the game, becoming the second batter in the format to hit more than 1000 runs in a year. He finished the year as the leading run-scorer, with 1164 runs scored at a crazy strike rate of 187.43. His total of 68 sixes in T20Is in a calendar year is by far the greatest in the format in a calendar year. Yadav’s exceptional consistency in the format is shown in his mid-40s average.
Yadav was the outstanding men’s T20I batsman this year, with two hundred and nine half-centuries. Yadav scored three fifties in six innings in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia, averaging almost 60 and striking at a strike rate of 189.68. He maintained his outstanding year following the event, scoring his second T20I century of the year in a bilateral series in New Zealand. Yadav also became the top-ranked MF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings in the year, with a career-high 890 rating points. SKY is nominated for Cricketer of the Year 2022.
Outstanding performance
There were many standout performances for Yadav in what was a fantastic year for him in T20Is. However, his first T20I century, a magnificent 117 off 55 balls against England in Nottingham, stood out. Dynamic Suryakumar achieves a half-century in 25 balls | Highlights | T20WC 2022 Yadav raised India from 31/3 in a run chase of 216 with his incredible stroke-making, giving the visitors a chance to knock down the goal. His ejection ended India’s chances, but he got the squad within striking distance of an unbelievable victory.
Sikandar Raza is a Zimbabwean politician.
- 735 runs and 25 wickets in 24 matches
That was the year
Sikandar Raza had a fantastic year with the bat and also made major contributions with the ball in T20Is. The Zimbabwe all-outstanding rounder’s performance in the T20 World Cup in Australia rounded off a fantastic year. Raza outscored the next greatest Zimbabwe batsman in T20Is by more than 250 runs, scoring 735 runs at a strike rate of more than 150. He also led the team in wickets, capturing 25 at an outstanding economy rate of 6.13.
Outstanding performance
While Raza’s year at the plate was indeed exceptional, his greatest effort came in a game in which he contributed nothing with the bat. He was instrumental in Zimbabwe’s one-run triumph against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, taking 3/25 with the ball before inflicting the run out off the penultimate ball. Raza is nominated for Cricketer of the Year 2022.
Sam Curran from England
- 67 runs and 25 wickets in 19 matches
Sam Curran, the Player of the Tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup, saw his bowling stock in the T20s rise this year, with his death bowling, in particular, gaining praise. With England lacking key fast bowlers for the tournament, Curran stepped up excellently to end the World Cup with 13 wickets, second only to Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga. In the competition, his best of 5/10 against Afghanistan was the first time any England bowler achieved a five-wicket haul in men’s T20Is.
The left-arm fast made up for missing the tournament in 2021 due to injuries with an outstanding outing with the ball in Australia. Curran’s efforts, notably a three-wicket haul in the final, were critical in England’s second T20 World Cup victory. Sam Curran is nominated for Cricketer of the Year 2022.
Outstanding performance
Curran’s outstanding T20 World Cup performance was the highlight of his year in this format, with his greatest performance coming in the final against Pakistan in Melbourne, when he gave just 12 runs in four overs while claiming three wickets. His victims were Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, and Mohammad Nawaz, as Pakistan only managed 137 runs, a score that England easily defeated with an over to spare.
Pakistani Mohammad Rizwan
- 996 runs, nine catches, and three stumpings in 25 matches
The wicket-keeper batsman scored 996 runs in the year, building on his record-breaking performance in T20Is in 2021. Only Suryakumar Yadav has more runs in men’s T20Is this year. Rizwan scored ten half-centuries in T20Is this year and ended with 175 runs in the T20 World Cup, the joint-most by a Pakistan batsman.
Rizwan improved his reputation as a high-quality anchor at the top of Pakistan’s batting order in 2022, averaging 45.27 in T20Is. Rizwan also briefly held the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings for hitters this year. He finishes the year ranked second with 836 rating points. Rizwan is nominated for Cricketer of the Year 2022.
Outstanding performance
Rizwan’s greatest performance came in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, when he hit an unbeaten 88 off 51 balls as Pakistan chased down a 200-plus mark without losing a wicket.