The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the 2024 men’s T20I team of the year. Four Indians have made it to the elite squad as T20 World Cup 2024 winning captain Rohit Sharma has been named alongside Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
Notably, the Indian skipper had a terrific season with the bat, scoring 378 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 160.16. He led the team by example and also showcased his leadership skill on the global stage as India broke the 11-year ICC trophy curse by lifting the prestigious T20 World Cup title on June 29, 2024.
Travis Head, who has given a lot of pain to Rohit lately, has been named as his opening partner in the T20I squad. Notably, the southpaw made 539 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 178.47. He was ruthless in his approach and is currently the number-one ranked ICC men’s T20I batter. Meanwhile, Phil Salt, Babar Azam and Nicholas Pooran have been named number three, four and five respectively.
Salt amassed 467 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 164.43, while Babar made 738 runs in 24 matches. The former Pakistan captain faced plenty of flak for his strike rate in the shortest format but that didn’t hamper his spit in the T20I team of the year. Meanwhile, Pooran was spectacular all year round, scoring 464 runs in 21 matches at a strike rate of 142.33.
Sikandar Raza and Pandya have been given the role of finishers. The Zimbabwe international made 573 runs in 24 matches and also picked up 24 wickets. Pandya, on the other hand, scored 352 runs in 17 matches and had 16 scalps to his name in 2024.
Rashid Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga have been named the two spinners in the squad. They picked up 31 and 38 wickets in 14 and 20 matches respectively. The Indian duo of Bumrah and Arshdeep have been named at number 10 and 11. The star India pacer, Bumrah, was phenomenal in the T20 World Cup 2024. In total, he picked up 15 wickets in eight T20Is in 2024 while Arshdeep had 36 scalps in 18 games.
ICC Mens’ T20I Team of the Year - Rohit Sharma (c), Travis Head, Phil Salt, Babar Azam, Nicholas Pooran, Sikandar Raza, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh