Virat Kohli Among Three Indians In ICC Men's T20I Team Of 2022, No Place For Babar Azam

Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya are the Indian players who have made cuts into the Men's T20I Team of the Year 2022 announced by the International Cricket Council on Monday. While Kohli has been altogether a different batter since the 2022 Asia Cup -- which was held in the T20 format, Suryakumar has been a batting sensation for the Indian side in the shortest format for quite a long time now. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya provided the team a perfect balance with some superb all-round performance.

The ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year 2022 is here

Is your favourite player in the XI? #ICCAwards

— ICC (@ICC) January 23, 2023

Jos Buttler was picked as the captain of the team announced by ICC, while Mohammad Rizwan was selected as his fellow opener. Glenn Phillips, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Wanindu Hasaranga, Haris Rauf and Joshua Little completed the XI.

The resurgence of Virat Kohli

2022 was the year Virat Kohli once again showed glimpses of Virat Kohli of old. He took the Asia Cup by storm, finishing as the second-highest run-getter with 276 runs in five games. He also brought an end to his century drought of close to three years with a magnificent century against Afghanistan.

SKY's impeccable form

Suryakumar Yadav had a sensational 2022 in T20Is, becoming just the second batter to score more than 1000 runs in a calendar year in the format. He ended the year as the highest run-getter, scoring 1164, including two hundreds and nine half-centuries while striking at a stunning 187.43,

SKY displayed his majestic prowess at the T20 World Cup as well, scoring 239 runs while going at a strike rate of 189.68. He finished the year as the No.1 batter in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings.

Hardik Pandya's all-round show

In 2022, Hardik Pandya came into his own as the all-rounder India have wanted him to be, contributing heavily both with the bat and the ball. He enjoyed his best year by numbers in the Indian colours, scoring 607 runs while also picking up 20 wickets.

While Virat Kohli's knock against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup will be remembered for the ages, it was Pandya at the other end who helped the rebuild. Later in the tournament, he also displayed his incredible hitting, with his 33-ball 63 taking India to a respectable total against England in the semi-final, though the knock eventually went in vain.

(With ICC Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team International Cricket Council Virat Kohli Hardik Pandya Suryakumar Yadav Jos Buttler