Suryakumar Yadav, India’s premier hitter, won the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award for his extraordinary and remarkable performances in 2022, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday.
Suryakumar had a spectacular year with the bat, breaking several records and creating a new standard in the sport. He became only the second hitter in T20I history to score more than 1000 runs in a calendar year, and he finished the year as the top run-scorer, with 1164 runs scored at a crazy strike rate of 187.43. Suryakumar has 1164 runs in 31 matches at a strike rate of 187.43 and an average of 46.56.
Suryakumar hit a stunning 68 sixes during the year, easily the most recorded by anyone in a year in the format’s history. The Indian, who scored two hundred and nine half-centuries, served as his team’s primary hitter throughout the year.
At the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Yadav was at the top of his game, scoring three fifties in six innings and averaging close to 60. Notably, his strike rate was 189.68, which was again very high.
After the World Cup tournament, Suryakumar maintained his outstanding year by scoring his second century in the T20Is of the year in the bilateral series in New Zealand. He had already scored a century earlier in the year. Yadav also attained a career-high 890 rating points to take the top spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings.
Yadav put up quite a few memorable performances throughout the year. But maybe his best performance came in Nottingham, where he made his first T20I hundred, a remarkable 117 off 55 balls, against one of the best white-ball teams currently, England.
Yadav lifted India from 31/3 in a 216-run chase to boost India, giving the visitors a chance to beat the goal. Despite his dismissal, India was still within striking reach of a spectacular victory that would have made them famous.
