Suryakumar Yadav named the ICC Men's T20I cricketer of the year for 2023
Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav bagged the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year honors for a second consecutive year. The 33-year-old overcame other nominees, Sikandar Raza, Alpesh Ramjani, and Mark Chapman, to win the prestigious award.
Suryakumar remains the World's No.1 ranked T20I batter per the latest ICC rankings. Coming off a blistering 2022 T20 World Cup, the swashbuckling batter continued in his merry way last year.
After a single-digit outing against Sri Lanka in his opening game of 2023, Suryakumar immediately hit top gear with a 51 and 112* against the Lankans in the remaining two T20Is.
The Mumbai batter played a few valuable cameos in his subsequent five innings before a match-winning 83 off 54 in the third T20I of the five-match series in West Indies. He also scored a magnificent 61 in the final T20I despite India suffering a series defeat.
Suryakumar also led the side in the final two T20I series of the year against Australia and South Africa. Yet, his performances with the bat never waned with the extra burden of captaining the side. The champion batter a scintillating 42-ball 80 in the opening game against the Aussies.
A lull followed in the next four games before a final flourish saw Suryakumar produce a couple of magical knocks of 56 and 100 against South Africa to round off an incredible year in the shortest format.
Overall, Suryakumar Yadav scored 733 runs in 18 T20Is at an average of 48.86 and a strike rate of 155.95, including two centuries and five half-centuries in 2023.
He has now won the T20I Cricketer of the Year award in two of the three years since its inception, with Mohammad Rizwan winning in 2021.
Suryakumar Yadav was also named the captain of the ICC Men's T20I XI of 2023
It has been a season of accolades for Suryakumar Yadav, as he was also named the captain of the ICC Men's T20I team of 2023 on Monday, January 22.
The XI featured three other Indian cricketers, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi, and Arshdeep Singh.
Surya displayed admirable leadership qualities, captaining India to a 4-1 home T20I series against Australia. Following the Australian series, he led the Men in Blue to a 1-1 T20I series draw in South Africa.
ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Phil Salt, Nicholas Pooran, Mark Chapman, Sikandar Raza, Alpesh Ramjani, Mark Adair, Ravi Bishnoi, Richard Ngarava, and Arshdeep Singh.