The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the T20I Team of the Year 2023, naming India's Suryakumar Yadav as the captain.
The ICC Team of the Year acknowledges 11 outstanding individuals who have impressed throughout 2023, whether with the bat, the ball, or their all-round exploits across the calendar year.
Meanwhile, no cricketer from Pakistan was included with Indians dominating the XI.
In addition to Suryakumar, fellow Indians Yashasvi Jaiswal and bowlers Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh also secured spots in the men’s team.
Jaiswal was selected as the opener alongside England's Phil Salt. Jaiswal made his debut for India last year, playing against West Indies in August and scoring 430 runs in 14 innings in 2023 at a strike rate of 159. On the other hand, Salt scored 331 runs in the five-match T20I series, 170 runs more than the next top-scoring batter in the series.
West Indies wicket-keeper batter Nicholas Pooran claimed the No. 3 spot. Suryakumar achieved two centuries in the shortest format of the game and led the Indian cricket team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who took a break after the ODI World Cup.
New Zealand's Mark Chapman secured the No. 5 position in the team. Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza occupied the No. 6 spot.
Uganda's Alpesh Ramjani and Ireland's Mark Adair were placed at 7 and 8.
Ramjani topped the charts for T20I wickets in the year (55 at an economy of just 4.77) in 30 matches, while Ireland's bowling all-rounder Adair took 26 wickets at an economy of 7.42, claiming a wicket every 13 deliveries.
India spinner Ravi Bishnoi partnered with Zimbabwe's Richard Ngarava and fellow Indian Arshdeep Singh to complete the bowling attack.
Arshdeep took 26 wickets in 21 appearances for India last year, while Bishnoi claimed 18 wickets in just 44 overs across the year. The leg-spinner also ascended to No.1 on the ICC T20 Bowling Rankings due to his performances.
Ngarava concluded the year with 26 wickets in 15 matches, conceding only 5.63 runs per over and taking a wicket every 12.1 deliveries.
ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Phil Salt, Nicholas Pooran, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Mark Chapman, Sikandar Raza, Alpesh Ramjani, Mark Adair, Ravi Bishnoi, Richard Ngarava, Arshdeep Singh.
