The ICC has announced the Men’s T20I Team of the Year for 2022 and it is a strong list of 11 players. Here is a look at each player and some of their highlights from last year for their respective countries.
Jos Buttler (England)
England captain and wicket-keeper Jos Buttler led England to ICC T20 World Cup glory in Australia back in November. He scored 462 runs in T20I cricket for his country in 2022.
👏 Well played, @josbuttler!
The England white-ball captain has flown past 9⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣ T20 runs today.
🧢 3⃣4⃣0⃣ appearances
📈 3⃣4⃣.3⃣ average
🏏 6⃣7⃣ scores above 50The second Englishman to hit the milestone! pic.twitter.com/1Xl7FYZCIv
— PCA (@PCA) January 17, 2023
Buttler is considered one of the most dangerous opening batsmen in this format of the game. He was signed by the Paarl Royals to give them some firepower in the inaugural SA20 competition. As of January 24, the Royals and Buttler are +500 in the SA20 betting for that event.
Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
For the second time, Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan was shortlisted for the Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year. The opener had another great year in 2022, scoring 996 T20I runs. He helped his country reach the finals of the T20 World Cup (lost to England) and Asia Cup (lost to Sri Lanka).
Rizwan scored 10 half-centuries last year. He proved to be a dominant player in the game, and he had a solid 12 months with the gloves behind the wicket.
Virat Kohli (India)
Indian legend Virat Kohli was the highest runscorer at the T20 World Cup with 296 runs from his six innings. One of the highlights of his year was a century against Afghanistan at the 2022 Asia Cup, as reported by the BBC.
Suryakumar Yadav (India)
No player scored more T20I runs in 2022 than Suryakumar Yadav. He finished the year with 1,214 runs from 32 innings. The Indian player became only the second man in history to score over 1,000 T20I runs in a calendar year after Rizwan.
Glenn Phillips (New Zealand)
As well as having an excellent year with the bat in the middle order for New Zealand (716 runs from 21 matches), Glenn Phillips also showed his skills in the field. His catch against Australia at the T20 World Cup was one of the best of the tournament. The Kiwi also scored a century in that competition against Sri Lanka.
Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)
All-rounder Sikandar Raza is the star of the Zimbabwe team at the moment. He was their leading run scorer (735 runs) and leading wicket-taker (25 wickets) in 2022. The Zimbabwe player earned the Man of the Match award three times at the T20 World Cup. He is one of the players who has helped the Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) team have one of their best years in 2022.
Hardik Pandya (India)
New challenge, new energy 🥶 pic.twitter.com/OUayi3C3vA
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) November 17, 2022
The India international Hardik Pandya led the Gujarat Titans to IPL glory in 2022. The all-rounder has also had a big year for his country, with the bat (607 runs) and ball (20 wickets). He hit 63 runs from 33 balls against England in the T20 World Cup semi-final, but sadly for him, he ended up on the losing team. The senior player is hoping to make up for that with victory for the BCCI team at the Cricket World Cup in 2023.
Sam Curran (England)
England’s all-rounder Sam Curran was named the Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup. He was also the Man of the Match in the final after taking three wickets for 12 runs against Pakistan. As a result of that year, he became the most expensive purchase in IPL history ahead of the 2023 campaign of the franchise league. Before then, he will feature for England against a CSA team in an ODI series in South Africa.
Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)
With nine wickets from six matches, Wanindu Hasaranga played a huge role in Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup success in 2022. He also hit 37 runs from 27 balls in the final against Pakistan. The spinner followed up his big performances from that tournament with 15 wickets at the T20 World Cup.
Haris Rauf (Pakistan)
Seamer Haris Rauf led a strong Pakistan bowling attack in 2022 with 31 T20I wickets. The 29-year-old has proved to be one of the leading pace bowlers in the world at the moment with strong performances at the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.
Josh Little (Ireland)
Ireland’s Josh Little is one of the most exciting talents in world cricket. He picked up 39 wickets for his country in 2022 – 11 of those came at the T20 World Cup, including a hat-trick against New Zealand, as Reuters reported. He is set to appear in the IPL in 2023 for the first time in his career.
All of the above players will be hoping to continue their form into 2023 in what is a busy schedule in white-ball cricket, with the 50 overs World Cup in October being the highlight.
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