Four Indians named in ICC Men’s T20I Team of the year; Indian star chosen skipper

The World Cup-winning Indian team has made merry in the ICC Men’s T20I team of the year by having as many as four players in it that features players from eight cricketing nations. 

The World Cup-winning skipper Rohit Sharma has also been chosen as the captain of this team. The swashbuckling opener had a stellar 2024 in T20Is. He reinvented himself and scored 378 runs at an average of 42 and a strike rate of 160.16. 

He’ll open the innings along with Travis Head of Australia, who scored 539 runs at an average of 38.5 and strike rate of 178.47. The middle order comprises Phil Salt, Babar Azam, and Nicholas Pooran. 

In allrounders, Hardik Pandya made the team along with Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza. Pandya had shown everyone his quality as the world’s leading T20I allrounder by scoring 352 runs in 17 games and picking up 16 wickets. 

In fact, his clutch status was further reaffirmed when his best figure of the year, 3/20, came against South Africa in the T20 World Cup final. 

Rashid Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga occupy the spinners quota in the team. The pacers' spots are occupied by two Indians who were at the forefront of their World Cup-winning campaign — Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. 

While Bumrah averaged just 8. 2 with the ball in 2024 and picked up 15 wickets in eight games, he was almost unplayable when he arrived at the death in the World Cup final and shifted the momentum towards India decisively after Proteas had taken control of the chase. 

Meanwhile, left-arm pacer Arshdeep has also been named the ICC T20I Cricketer of the Year. He picked 36 wickets in just 18 games in the format and was sensational in the T20 World Cup final, bowling four overs for 2/20 as India defended 176.  

ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year: Rohit Sharma (capt), Travis Head, Phil Salt, Babar Azam, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sikandar Raza, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh