Following an incredible season in the shortest format of the game, Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav won the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year for 2022 on Wednesday.
He finished the year as the format’s top run-getter, scoring 1,164 runs at a staggering strike-rate of 187.43, making him just the second T20I batter to score more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year.
Among the many records he broke in 2022, Yadav hit a stunning 68 sixes during the year which is the most recorded by a batter in men’s T20I cricket. During his stellar year, he smashed two hundreds and nine half-centuries.
During the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, he amassed 239 runs and three fifty-plus scores in six innings and averaged nearly 60. In November, Yadav rose to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, becoming just the second Indian, after Virat Kohli to hold that position.
The T20I Cricketers of the Year both find themselves at the summit of the ICC T20I Player Rankings for batters as Australia’s Tahlia McGrath was named the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year.
Reacting to his award win, Yadav said, “It is a great honour to have been voted the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year by the panel, especially after being nominated alongside such a strong list of contenders. I enjoyed many highlights during the year and to receive this award is another reason why 2022 was very special for me, with a lot of positives to take moving forward.
“This achievement is only made possible thanks to the teammates, coaches, support staff and cricket fans who helped me on my journey. We have a big year ahead in 2023, and I will strive to continue this success for my country in every performance.”
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year Tahlia McGrath reached the summit of the T20I batter rankings back in December, and despite only having made her debut for Australia in late 2021, her rise to the top has seen plenty of individual and team success. Across several notable performances in the format during the year, she registered 435 runs at an average of 62.14. One of those moments came in her side’s Commonwealth gold-medal winning campaign in Birmingham, starring against Pakistan with an unbeaten 78 and three wickets – a display which helped her win the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for August.
McGrath said, “It’s an incredible honour to be named the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year, especially with so many incredible players across the world taking to the game to the next level.
“It’s been a great year for the team in the T20 format, winning the first ever women’s cricket gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and beating India at home; this is a really nice way to cap it off.”
Emerging Cricketers of the Year
Among the wealth of exciting talent to have surfaced in international cricket during 2022, India’s Renuka Singh claims the ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year from a competitive field, and South Africa’s Marco Jansen has beaten strong contenders to win the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year award.
Renuka gained her first cap for India in October 2021 and hasn’t looked back since. Her customary threat with the swinging ball helped her claim 40 international wickets during the year – 18 in ODIs and 22 in T20Is. Her tours of Sri Lanka and England were particularly prolific, and the former helped her gain her first nomination in the ICC Player of the Month category. She now stands comfortably in the top ten of the ICC Women’s T20I bowler rankings, and could be a key weapon for India’s campaign in the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Marco Jansen has made a significant impact on international cricket since making his debut for South Africa in December 2021, most notably in the longest format. The athletic left-armer took 36 wickets in eight Test matches during 2022, all of which came against high-ranking Test sides; Australia, India, England and New Zealand. In addition to his impressive bowling average of 19.02, the 22-year-old also provided valuable runs in the lower order, underlining his credentials as a promising all-rounder to watch.
Jansen was equally thrilled with his award win, stating, “I am absolutely delighted to receive this award. I have worked hard on both my disciplines over the last 12 months, especially my batting, so to be rewarded by being named the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year for 2022 is a special honour.
“I would like to thank all the coaches, support staff and my teammates that have helped me develop over the past year and hopefully I can keep improving and performing for South Africa in the years to come.
Associate Cricketers of the Year
Two eye-catching performers celebrate the Associate accolades in the ICC Awards 2022, as Namibia’s influential leader Gerhard Erasmus claims the ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year award, and the UAE’s all-round starlet Esha Oza secures the ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year award.
Erasmus became a familiar figure following Namibia’s historic campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021, and he built on this success to find plenty of success in the shorter formats last year. From his captaincy in Namibia’s upset over Sri Lanka in their opening T20WC 2022 fixture, to his match-winning unbeaten 121 against Oman to claim a vital Cricket World Cup League 2 victory, his 2022 was littered with success. Individually, he ended the year as the leading ODI run scorer around the globe, with 956 runs at an impressive 56.23 average.
Speaking on his accolade, Erasmus commented, “It is a great honour to win the award as ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year amongst a growing group of coveted cricketers. Associate cricket continues to push the level of cricket closer to that of higher ranked teams.
“The standard has never been higher, and I’m therefore delighted to have won this award with my on-field performances. A huge credit also to our management and my teammates.”
Claiming the Women’s Associate award following a superb 2022, UAE’s batting all-rounder Oza scored 675 runs in T20Is during 2022, including two big centuries. Her accomplishments at the crease meant the 24-year-old was the second-highest run scorer in the format for the year in women’s internationals. Not limited to just her batting achievements, Oza also took 15 wickets through the year at 15.40, highlighting her prowess at both disciplines of the international game.
Oza reacted to her award win by saying, “I feel deeply honoured to receive the ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year 2022 award. I was delightfully awestruck and couldn’t believe my ears.
“2022 was a great year for me as a player as well as for us as a team. It feels great to be rewarded for all the hard work and this award also acknowledges the immense motivation and guidance received from family, teammates, coaches and Emirates Cricket. I will cherish this moment forever and I would like to thank each and every one who made this possible. I will keep giving my best to the game.”
Announcements will conclude on Thursday 26 January where the Umpire of the Year, the ODI Cricketers of the Year and the Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year will be revealed
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