4 Indians named in ICC T20I XI of 2023; Suryakumar Yadav to lead the side
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the Men's T20I Team of the Year for 2023. Four Indians have made it to the playing XI, with Suryakumar Yadav, who had led the Men in Blue to a comprehensive series win over Australia, to captain the team.
With the 50-over World Cup grabbing the spotlight, T20Is were played at a bare minimum by full-member nations. However, there were still some notable performers while several players from franchise cricket also displayed a smooth transition into the international arena.
We take a look at the T20I XI announced by the ICC:
Top order: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Phil Salt, and Nicholas Pooran (wk):
Yashasvi Jaiswal got a spot in the T20I team after a stellar IPL 2023 campaign where he amassed over 600 runs for the Rajasthan Royals. He transitioned his form smoothly into the international arena, mustering 430 runs in 15 T20Is, striking at 159.26 with a best of 100 during the Asian Games 2023.
England's Phil Salt emerged towards the end of 2023 as one of the best batters in the shortest format, performing incredibly well in the West Indies. Over the five T20Is in the Caribbean, the keeper-batter hammered 331 runs at 82.75 with two consecutive centuries. Salt finished the year with 394 runs in eight T20Is at 56.29.
Nicholas Pooran will keep wickets in the ICC XI and delivered the goods during West Indies' 3-2 series win over England at home. The 28-year-old finished that series with 149 runs in five matches, striking at an enormous 179.52, and aggregated 384 runs in 13 T20Is in 2023.
Middle order: Suryakumar Yadav, Mark Chapman, Sikandar Raza, and Alpesh Ramjani
No.1-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav, who has been appointed captain of the side, finished the year as the third-highest run-getter in T20Is. The right-handed batter mustered 733 runs in 18 matches at an average of 48.86, striking at 155.95 with two the aid of centuries.
New Zealand's Mark Chapman also had a memorable year in the shortest format, scoring 576 runs in 21 matches at an average of 44.30 and maintaining a strike rate of 141.87. Chapman's best of 104* came in the fifth T20I against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, helping the tourists chase down 194 comfortably.
Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza has been the silver lining in an otherwise ordinary year for the national team. The year 2023 saw Raza muster 515 runs in 12 matches at an average of 51.50, striking at a healthy 150.14. He also took 17 wickets at an average of 14.88.
Uganda's Alpesh Ramjani has bagged a spot in the ICC T20I side after finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the shortest format in 2023. The left-arm spinner claimed 55 scalps in 30 matches at an average of 8.98 and a stunning economy rate of 4.77.
Bowlers: Mark Adair, Ravi Bishnoi, Richard Ngarava, and Arshdeep Singh
Ireland's Mark Adair finished as the leading wicket-taker for Ireland in T20Is, picking up 26 wickets in 16 T20Is in 2023 at an average of 16.26. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has established himself as an undroppable member of the Indian T20I side, especially after his match-winning performances against Australia.
The leggie finished the year with 18 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 17.13 alongside a promising economy rate of 7.09. Zimbabwe's right-arm seamer Richard Ngarava ended 2023 with a whopping 26 scalps in 15 matches at an average of 11.42 and a sensational economy rate of 5.63.
India's left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh completes the ICC XI, having claimed 26 scalps in 21 T20Is in 2023 at an average of 24.26. However, his economy rate was slightly on the higher side at 9.24.