No Bangladesh players in ICC T20I Team of the Year

There were no names from Bangladesh in ICC’s T20 Team of the Year (Men’s and Women’s) further underlining that the fact Tigers are still finding their feet in the shortest format of the game.

The ICC Team of the Year recognises 11 outstanding individuals who have impressed one and all – be it with the bat, the ball or their all-round exploits in a calendar year.

The ICC announced the Men’s and Women’s eleven on Monday. Here, we take a look at 11 players who make the cut in the shortest format of the game for men’s cricket.

1. Jos Buttler (c, wk) (England)

Jos Buttler had an incredible year, both as a player and captain. In 15 matches, Buttler accumulated 462 runs at an explosive strike rate of 160.41, often batting oppositions out of the game in the opening exchanges.

Following Eoin Morgan’s retirement in June 2022, Jos Buttler was appointed limited-overs captain of England and in his very first ICC tournament, he went all the way to get his hands on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

He led by example and was England’s highest run-getter at the tournament with 225 runs in six games at a strike rate of 144.23. Buttler solidified England’s white-ball domination by winning the T20 World Cup, thus holding both the Men’s senior World Cup titles at the same time.

2. Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

Mohammad Rizwan continued his form from 2021 into 2022, amassing 996 runs in the year, second only to India dynamo Suryakumar Yadav on the list for most Men’s T20I runs.

Rizwan smashed 10 half-centuries for the year in the shortest format and finished as the joint-highest scorer for Pakistan at the T20 World Cup with 175 runs. Enhancing his reputation as a high-quality anchor at the top, Rizwan holds on to the opening slot alongside Buttler in the ICC T20I Team of the Year for the second year in a row.

3. Virat Kohli (India)

2022 was the year Virat Kohli once again showed glimpses of Virat Kohli of old. He took the Asia Cup by storm, finishing as the second-highest run-getter with 276 runs in five games. He also brought an end to his century drought of close to three years with a magnificent century against Afghanistan.

The form carried over to the T20 World Cup, where Kohli played one of the greatest T20I innings in the heist against Pakistan in Melbourne. The 82* set the tone for the rest of the tournament, where he scored three more fifties and finished as the highest run-scorer with 296 runs.

4. Suryakumar Yadav (India)

Suryakumar Yadav had a sensational 2022 in T20Is, becoming just the second batter to score more than 1000 runs in a calendar year in the format. He ended the year as the highest run-getter, scoring 1164, including two hundreds and nine half-centuries while striking at a stunning 187.43,

SKY displayed his majestic prowess at the T20 World Cup as well, scoring 239 runs while going at a strike rate of 189.68. He finished the year as the No.1 batter in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings.

5. Glenn Phillips (New Zealand)

Batting, bowling, fielding – there’s nothing Glenn Phillips can’t do on the cricket field. The 26-year-old displayed remarkable consistency once again in the shortest format, aggregating 716 runs in 21 matches at a strike rate of 156.33.

At the T20 World Cup, he set the tone with a gravity-defying catch in the opening game against Australia and then went on to score a century against Sri Lanka. He played a pivotal role in New Zealand’s run into the final four, scoring 201 crucial runs while striking at 158.26.

6. Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)

Sikandar Raza had a stellar year with the bat and also contributed significantly with the ball in T20Is. He was at the centre of all things good that happened for Zimbabwe Cricket during the year, with the all-rounder putting in one brilliant performance after another in the shortest format.

Not only was he the leading scorer for Zimbabwe with 735 runs but he also led the wickets chart for them, scalping 25 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.13.

He was the Player of the Tournament at T20 World Cup Qualifier B in July and carried his form into the marquee event, winning the Player of the Match thrice, including Zimbabwe’s epic win over Pakistan in Perth.

7. Hardik Pandya (India)

In 2022, Hardik Pandya came into his own as the all-rounder India have wanted him to be, contributing heavily both with the bat and the ball. He enjoyed his best year by numbers in the Indian colours, scoring 607 runs while also picking up 20 wickets.

While Virat Kohli’s knock against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup will be remembered for the ages, it was Pandya at the other end who helped the rebuild. Later in the tournament, he also displayed his incredible hitting, with his 33-ball 63 taking India to a respectable total against England in the semi-final, though the knock eventually went in vain.

8. Sam Curran (England)

The Player of the Tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup, Sam Curran added another dimension to his bowling by becoming a solid death-overs specialist in England’s title-winning campaign. He stepped up in the absence of several key bowlers, picking up 13 wickets from six matches.

He recorded figures of 5/10 against Afghanistan during the tournament, which was the first five-wicket haul by an England bowler in men’s T20Is. Curran saved the best for last, with his spell of 3/12 in the final breaking the back of the Pakistan batting line-up.

9. Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)

Wanindu Hasaranga continued to be Sri Lanka’s talisman in a year where they reigned supreme as the champions of the Asia Cup. He picked up nine crucial wickets in six games at the Asia Cup but at the same time, showed that he can do the damage with the bat, stroking a brilliant 27-ball 37 in the final against Pakistan to rescue his side.

The wrist-spinner weaved his magic at the T20 World Cup as well, picking up 15 wickets in eight games.

10. Haris Rauf (Pakistan)

Pakistan enjoyed a great 2022 as a team – making it to the final of the Asia Cup and later the semi-final of the T20 World Cup – and Haris Rauf was a crucial figure in both of those campaigns. In the calendar year, no Pakistan bowler picked up more wickets than the right-armer (31).

Rauf impressed everybody with his raw pace and often left batters clueless. In the absence of Shaheen Afridi during the latter half of the year, Pakistan relied heavily on Rauf to lead the bowling attack.

In the Asia Cup, he was the joint second-highest wicket-taker with eight wickets. Later in the T20 World Cup, Rauf scalped two crucial wickets in the final, including that of Jos Buttler, to give Pakistan a chance but England eventually prevailed.

11. Josh Little (Ireland)

The second-highest wicket-taker in the calendar year, Josh Little spearheaded Ireland’s attack in 2022 with a great pedigree. The left-arm pacer was a menace with the ball, taking 39 wickets during the calendar year, 11 of which came at the T20 World Cup.

Though his most memorable performance was his four-for against New Zealand in Belfast in July 2022, his opening spell in Ireland’s clash over neighbours England at the T20 World Cup proved to be a match-winning one as they emerged victorious by DLS method.

We take a look at the 11 exceptional players who shone in women’s T20Is in 2022.

1. Smriti Mandhana (India)

India’s batting superstar Smriti Mandhana had a terrific year with the bat, making 594 runs at an average of 33.00 and a strike-rate of 133.48. She hit five half-centuries in 21 innings during the year, including one in the final of the Women’s Asia Cup in October against Sri Lanka.

The unbeaten 51 off just 25 balls came in a run-chase of 66, Mandhana making more than 70 percent of the team runs. She also made two half-centuries in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, helping India to wins in both these games against Pakistan and England respectively. She finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the year in women’s T20Is.

2. Beth Mooney (Australia)

Although Mooney only played 14 T20Is in 2022, she was at her best, averaging 56.12 for the year while striking at a rate of 134.43. The top-scorer, with 61 off 41 balls, for the Aussies in the Commonwealth Games final against India in Birmingham as her team won the Gold, Mooney carried her form into the India series, making two half-centuries at the start of the bilaterals in sub-continental conditions.

The fact that was she only just about fit to take the field at the start of the India series further makes her numbers incredible.

3. Sophie Devine (c) (New Zealand)

With 389 runs and 13 wickets during the year, Sophie Devine once again stood above the rest. The New Zealand batter hit half-centuries against Australia and England, two of the strongest teams, in back-to-back matches at the Commonwealth Games. She finished as the second-highest run-scorer behind Mooney in the tournament while also taking six wickets with the ball. Devine was yet again the pillar for New Zealand in the year, topping the run charts and finishing with the joint-second-most wickets.

4. Ash Gardner (Australia)

Gardner walks into this team on the back of a brilliant strike-rate of 152.11 in the year in the 216 runs she made. Averaging 72 while doing so makes it one of the all-time best performances in a year by a batter in the women’s game.

Replicating Alyssa Healy in 2019 and Rachael Haynes in 2018, Gardner became just the third player in women’s T20Is to score over 200 runs in a calendar year in the format while averaging 50-plus and striking at a rate of 150 or more. Gardner batted just seven times and made two half-centuries.

The best of the lot came at the Brabourne Stadium against India, when she lifted the team from 55/3 to 196 with an unbeaten 66 off just 32 balls.

5. Tahila McGrath (Australia)

Averaging 60-plus with the bat while taking 13 wickets with the ball in the year in T20Is means that Tahlia McGrath was a no-brainer in the team of the year.

The Aussie all-rounder made 435 runs for the year in T20Is, striking at an incredible rate of 145.0 with four half-centuries in 11 knocks, one nearly every third innings.

Her best came at the start of the year against England when she made an unbeaten 91 off just 49 balls in the first T20I of the women’s Ashes after she had taken 3/26 with the ball earlier in the game, one of the all-time best all-round performances in women’s T20Is.

6. Nida Dar (Pakistan)

With 15 wickets at an average of 18.33 and an economy rate of 5.50 in T20Is in 2022, Pakistan’s veteran off-spinner Nida Dar enjoyed one of the best bowling years in her career. Dar went wicketless in only three of her 14 T20Is, playing a pivotal role every time she came onto bowl. The all-rounder’s best came against arch-rivals India in the Women’s Asia Cup when she made 56* off 37 balls with the bat before taking 2/23 with the ball to win the Player of the Match award as Pakistan notched up a rare win over India.

7. Deepti Sharma (India)

The off-spinner took 29 wickets in the year, the joint-third-highest by any bowler in women’s T20Is. Averaging 18.55 with the ball, Deepti also bowled at an economy rate of just over six, while also fulfilling batting duties pretty well.

She made 370 runs for the year with the bat in T20Is, averaging 37 while striking at a rate of 136.02, considerably higher than her career strike rate of 106.39 in the format. Her 13 wickets in the Women’s Asia Cup in Bangladesh made her the Player of the Tournament. She set the tone in the final against Sri Lanka, bowling a miserly spell of 4-0-7-0 after taking the new ball.

8. Richa Ghosh (India)

With a strike rate of over 150 in the year, young gun Richa Ghosh was a standout player for India in the format. In 18 matches, the wicketkeeper-batter accumulated 259 runs, smashing 13 sixes with the bat and showcasing incredible flair from lower down the order. Her best came at Brabourne against Australia when she smashed an unbeaten 40 in just 19 balls to lift India to a good total.

9. Sophie Ecclestone (England)

With 19 wickets in 17 T20Is, the No.1 ranked T20I spinner in the women’s game had another great year in the format. Ecclestone won the Player of the Match award twice in the year – once in the Derby game against South Africa, where she made 33* off just 12 balls with the bat and then took two wickets, and then against India in Bristol when her 3/25 cleaned up India’s lower middle-order.

10. Inoka Ranaweera (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka’s left-arm orthodox spinner Inoka Ranaweera had a spectacular year with the ball, finishing with 27 wickets in 19 T20Is, while averaging 13.85 with the ball and conceding runs at an economy rate of 5.75.

She took three or more wickets in four of the 19 T20Is she played in the year with a best of 4/7 coming against Bangladesh in the Sylhet in the Women’s Asia Cup. Her effort led Sri Lanka to a three-run victory over Bangladesh in the game.

11. Renuka Singh (India)

With 22 T20I wickets at an average of 23.95 and an economy rate of 6.50, Renuka was a standout bowler for her team. One of the nominees for the prestigious ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year award, Renuka had a lot of buzz about her in the year.

Renuka was a thorn in the side of Australia’s line-up in the seven T20I meetings across the year, taking eight wickets, and her performances across the Commonwealth Games and Asia Cup show she is no shrinking violet in tournament action. She claimed 17 wickets in 11 matches, at an economy of just 5.21. Her best came against the Aussies, when she produced a stirring spell of 4/18 that included 16 dot balls.