Dubai: Swashbuckling Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav was Wednesday named the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year for his ridiculously good run in the shortest format of the game.
Surya had a stellar 2022, breaking an array of records and setting a benchmark in the format.
He beat the likes of Sam Curran, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Zimbabwe’s batting all-rounder Sikandar Raza for the top honour.
However, India vice-captain and last year’s Cricketer of the Year Smriti Mandhana lost out to Australia’s Tahlia McGrath in the women’s category.
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Popularly known as ‘SKY’, the 32-year-old became just the second batter to make more than 1000 runs in a calendar year in T20Is and ended the year as the highest run-getter, scoring 1164 runs at a strike-rate of 187.43.
Surya hit a stunning 68 sixes during the year, easily the most recorded by anyone in a year in the format’s history.
The Indian was the key batter for his team throughout the year, smashing two hundreds and nine half-centuries.
Surya was at his stupendous best during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, recording three fifties in six innings and averaging nearly 60. Notably, his strike-rate was yet again right up there at 189.68.
Having already recorded a ton earlier in the year, Suryakumar continued his brilliant year after the multi-nation tournament, making his second hundred in T20Is in the bilateral series in New Zealand.
Surya also became the top-ranked T20 player, achieving a career-high 890 rating points.
PTI
