Dubai, Jan 25: Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who starred in India’s T20 World Cup triumph last year, was on Saturday named ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2024, cementing his reputation as one of the leading short format bowlers in the game.
The 25-year-old took 36 wickets in 18 matches in 2024.
He was also named in the ICC T20I Team of the Year 2024 earlier in the day, along side Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
Rohit Sharma has been named captain of the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year while Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh also joined their skipper in the star-studded side.
Under Rohit’s leadership, India lifted the T20 World Cup title in Barbados last year after which he announced his retirement from the format. The Indian pace trio was also part of the winning squad.
The experienced opener showcased his batting mastery, amassing 378 runs in 11 matches at an impressive average of 42.00, and vitally at a strike rate of over 160. Rohit had a standout T20 World Cup, making three half-centuries, including an explosive 92 against Australia in the Super Eight stage.
Pandya reaffirmed his status as the best all-rounder in the shortest format with a stellar 2024, putting him back atop the ICC Men’s T20I all-rounder rankings.
India’s pace spearhead Bumrah’s return to T20I cricket in 2024 was nothing short of spectacular, as the right-arm speedster’s precise yorkers and death-over mastery were pivotal in India’s title-winning campaign.
On the other hand, Arshdeep was India’s most prolific bowler in 2024, finishing the year with 36 wickets in 18 matches at an impressive average of 13.50, and ranking him as the eighth-best T20I bowler in the world.
The other members of the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year include Australia’s Travis Head, England’s Phil Salt, Pakistan’s Babar Azam, West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, Zimbawe’s Sikandar Raza, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga. (IANS)
