Zimbabwe’s super star cricketer, Sikandar Raza has been named in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 Team of the Year.
Raza was also nominated for the ICC T20 Cricketer of the Year, One-Day International Cricketer of the Year and the Cricketer of the Year awards.
Winners of the awards will be announced this week.
The ICC Team of the Year recognises 11 outstanding individuals who have impressed one and all — be it with the bat, the ball or their all-round exploits in a calendar year.
The other 10 players picked in the Team of the Year include Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Hardik Pandya, Sam Curran, Wanindu Hasaranga, Haris Rauf and Josh Little.
Buttler had an incredible year, both as a player and captain.
In 15 matches, Buttler accumulated 462 runs at an explosive strike rate of 160.41, often batting oppositions out of the game in the opening exchanges.
Pakistan’s Rizwan continued his form from 2021 into 2022, amassing 996 runs in the year, second only to India dynamo Suryakumar Yadav on the list for most Men’s T20I runs.
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2022 was the year Kohli once again showed glimpses of his old self.
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.
Yadav had a sensational 2022 in T20Is, becoming just the second batter to score more than 1 000 runs in a calendar year in the format.
He ended the year as the highest run-getter, scoring 1 164, including two hundreds and nine half-centuries while striking at a stunning 187.43,
Batting, bowling, fielding — there’s nothing Glenn Phillips can’t do on the cricket field.
The 26-year-old displayed remarkable consistency once again in the shortest format, aggregating 716 runs in 21 matches at a strike rate of 156.33
Raza had a stellar year with the bat and also contributed significantly with the ball in T20Is.
He was at the centre of all things good that happened for Zimbabwe cricket during the year, with the all-rounder putting in one brilliant performance after another in the shortest format.
In 2022, 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.
The Player of the Tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup, Curran added another dimension to his bowling by becoming a solid death-overs specialist in England’s title-winning campaign.
He stepped up in the absence of several key bowlers, picking up 13 wickets from six matches.
Hasaranga continued to be Sri Lanka’s talisman in a year where they reigned supreme as the champions of the Asia Cup.
He picked up nine crucial wickets in six games at the Asia Cup but at the same time showed that he can do the damage with the bat, stroking a brilliant 27-ball 37 in the final against Pakistan to rescue his side
Pakistan enjoyed a great 2022 as a team – making it to the final of the Asia Cup and later the semi-final of the T20 World Cup — and Rauf was a crucial figure in both of those campaigns.
In the calendar year, no Pakistan bowler picked up more wickets than the right-armer (31).
The second-highest wicket-taker in the calendar year, Little spearheaded Ireland's attack in 2022 with a great pedigree.
The left-arm pacer was a menace with the ball, taking 39 wickets during the calendar year, 11 of which came at the T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the third ODI between Zimbabwe and Ireland was washed out at Harare Sports Club yesterday, leaving the series tied at 1-1.
Only 13 overs were balled with Zimbabwe on 55-1 when the rains arrived.
