Cricket News: Men's T20 team of 2022 - Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav are the only Indians on the list
It’s the end of the year 2022, and that means it is time to look back at the year gone by. For cricket fans, it was another eventful year.
Suryakumar Yadav: India's rising starBut who makes it to the playing XI of the year for 2022 in T20 cricket? That’s a question we will attempt to answer right now.
So, without further ado, here’s a look at the players who rank highest on the list regarding T20 cricket – domestic and international.
Jos Buttler – The man who captained England to the T20 World Cup trophy unsurprisingly makes a list and will be the captain of the T20 team of the year, besides being the team’s designated wicketkeeper.
2022 was, in many ways, the year of Buttler. He led an unfancied Rajasthan Royals to the IPL final, then led England to their second T20 World Cup. And it was a prolific year for him, too, as he scored 1570 runs across T20s at a phenomenal strike rate of 152.1.
Alex Hales – Few had ‘Hales makes England return’ in their bingo cards for the year, but he did so for the World Cup and made an immediate impact. He was arguably their best batsman as they went on to clinch the title.
Hales was at his run-scoring best in franchise cricket, and finished the year scoring 1801 runs at a tremendous strike rate of 155.5. Here’s hoping the devastating batter can continue such form into 2023 too.
Rilee Rossouw – The South African middle-order batsman had quite the year himself and was in many ways the best batsman for his country, but unfortunately, did not end up with any trophies – he came close to a Pakistan Super League title though, finishing runner-up with the Multan Sultans.
But the Proteas will hope he can continue to bat the way he has been in 2022 – he ends the year with a respectable 1410 runs at a banging strike rate of 172.3, and if he can match this form next year, it will be pretty fantastic.
Suryakumar Yadav – Yadav was arguably India’s shining star in the middle order, but such was his luck that he won nothing either with India or the Mumbai Indians despite playing some of the best cricket of his career.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="hi" dir="ltr">The rise of Suryakumar Yadav 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuryakumarYadav?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuryakumarYadav</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#India</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvsSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvsSL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20Is?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20Is</a> <a href="https://t.co/oMjWNdF7cN">pic.twitter.com/oMjWNdF7cN</a></p>— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/WisdenIndia/status/1608362764367691776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And that is reflected in his numbers, too; he scored a phenomenal 1503 runs across formats while striking at 175.9. That is insane, no matter how you look at it, and Indian fans can only pray he continues to play like this in 2023 too.
David Miller – The South African southpaw was a man invigorated through the year as he rediscovered his big-hitting best for South Africa and also played a crucial part in the Gujarat Titans winning the 2022 IPL title for their first time trying.
While previously known for being averse to spin, Miller fixed that problem, and his numbers reflect that – 1278 runs at a strike rate of 147.2 in all T20s, showing that the man nicknamed ‘Killer Miller’ is well and truly back to his prime.
Hardik Pandya – And speaking of the Gujarat Titans, how is it possible to leave out the man who led them to said glory? And also, lest we forget, the future T20I captain-elect for the Indian cricket team will come the 2023 year.
Pandya’s ability was never in doubt, but coming back to being an excellent middle-order batsman and middle-over bowler solidified his value to club and country. And that is reflected in his numbers – Hardik Pandya scored 1094 runs at a strike rate of 139 in T20s while taking 28 wickets at an economy of 8.1.
Sam Curran was named Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup, and it is easy to understand why. The young Curran also capped his year by fetching an Rs. 18.5 crore bid from the Punjab Kings.
Curran’s batting is somewhat understated this year – 495 runs at a strike rate of 133.8 – but his bowling has been phenomenal, as he took 46 wickets at an economy of 7.8 and became one of the best death bowlers in white ball cricket.
Wanindu Hasaranga – The Sri Lanka vice-captain was named Player of the Tournament as the island nation took a shock Asia Cup to win a home in 2022. But even beyond that, Hasaranga has been vital to the team’s success.
He is their leading wicket-taker, which reflects his stats, as he took 73 wickets at an excellent economy of 7. Moreover, he is also a handy lower-order bat and has been vital in that role for Sri Lanka.
Rashid Khan – Completing a Gujarat Titans trio, Rashid sneaks in on the back of his consistent performances not only for Afghanistan but also for the various franchises he represents worldwide.
Rashid remains the gold standard for spinners in this format – in 2022, he took 80 wickets at an economy of 6.3. He is not only hard to hit but is also someone who guarantees you wickets at all times.
Haris Rauf – The man who was crucial for Pakistan’s run to the T20 World Cup final also played a vital role in the Lahore Qalandars breaking their PSL duck and finally lifting the title for the first time in their history.
The express pace Rauf, who troubled all and sundry with his speed, ends the year with 60 wickets across all T20 games at a good economy of 8. Pakistan must hope he remains fit and firing for the coming years, too, as, at his best, he is unplayable.
Joshua Little – The Irish player becomes the fourth Gujarat Titans player added to this list, but he will only play for the team from 2023 onwards. Nevertheless, his exploits in T20 cricket made him such a hot commodity, to begin with.
He took 59 wickets at an economy of 7.4 and claimed a hat-trick in the T20 World Cup against New Zealand with excellent white ball swing bowling. Given he is still only 23, the sky does seem to be the limit for the young Irishman.