The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year 2024 on Saturday, January 25, featuring four Indians. Rohit Sharma, who led India to T20 World Cup 2024 glory last year, has been named the captain of the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year.
Apart from Rohit Sharma, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and young pace gun Arsheep Singh have made it to the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year 2024. Phil Salt and Travis Head are the only players to have made it to the prestigious team from England and Australia respectively .
ICC unveils T20I Team of the Year 2024, Rohit Sharma named captain
The ICC has selected the powerful West Indies batsman as the wicketkeeper in the 2024 T20I team, while Babar Azam and Sikandar Raza are the only players from their countries, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, to make the full cut. Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan have completed the 2024 T20I squad.
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The ICC said in a statement: “The ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year recognizes the best of the best who have impressed the world with their match-winning performances and made 2024 a memorable year in the shortest format.”
Rohit Sharma and Travis Head lead the batting line-up
Meanwhile, the year 2024 was truly a golden chapter in the legendary career of Rohit Sharma, who led India to their first T20 World Cup win since the glory of 2007. Apart from his incredible leadership, the seasoned player and- showed brilliance with the bat too, scoring 378 runs in 11 matches at an excellent average of 42.00 and an electrifying strike rate of over 160.
Rohit's performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup was also outstanding as he smashed three match-defining half-centuries, including an explosive 92 against Australia in the Super Eight stage. In 2024, the Indian captain's best score was 121 runs.
On the other hand, Australian batsman Travis Head scored 539 runs with a top score of 80 at an average of 38.50 and an amazing strike rate of 178.47 in 15 T20Is last year. Cap has hit four half-centuries in 2024 in the shorter format of the game.
England's Phil Salt has also been impressive with the bat in 2024, amassing 467 runs in 17 T20Is, with a top score of 103 at an average of 38.91 and a strike rate of 164.43. Babar Azam played 24 T20Is in 2024 and amassed 738 runs with the help of six half-centuries.
Hardik Pandya, Sikandar Raza and Wanindu Hasaranga were chosen as constables by the ICC
Meanwhile, West Indies' explosive batsman and wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran has 464 runs with a top score of 98 runs in 21 T20Is to his name last year. Zimbabwe T20I captain and all-rounder Sikandar Raza also had an outstanding 2024 in which he amassed 573 runs in 24 T20Is. He also scalped 24 wickets in the format.
It has been a remarkable year for Hardik Pandya who faced tough times during IPL 2024 but went on to play a key role in India's triumph in the T20 World Cup 2024. Pandya played 17 T20Is in 2024 where he scored 352 points and managed 16 wickets.
Talking about the bowling attack, Afghanistan spinner and T20I captain Rashid Khan scalped 31 wickets with best figures of 4/14 at an average of 9.58 in 14 T20Is last year. Rashid also took four 4-wicket hauls in the format in 2024. Wanindu Hasaranga has delivered consistently for Sri Lanka, scoring 179 runs and taking 38 wickets with best figures of 4/15 in 20 T20Is last year.
However, Jasprit Bumrah played only 8 T20I matches for India last year but his impact was huge. Bumrah ended the year with 15 wickets at an average of 8.26. In the end, Arshdeep Bumrah had a phenomenal year in 2024 with the ball, taking wickets with best figures of 4/9 in 18 T20Is.
ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year 2024:
Rohit Sharma (C), Travis Head, Phil Salt, Babar Azam, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Sikandar Raza, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.