Suryakumar & Smriti Mandhana nominated for ICC T20 Cricketer of Year!

Star batters Suryakumar Yadav and Smriti Mandhana have been nominated for the men’s and women’s T20 Cricketer of the Year awards.

This is following their extraordinary batting exploits in 2022.

Along with Suryakumar, the other candidates are England all-rounder Sam Curran, Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.

In the women’s category, Pakistani bowling all-rounder Nida Dar, New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Australian Tahlia Mcgrath will compete with Smriti.

Suryakumar had an unbelievable 2022 as far as T20Is go.

He became just the second batter to score more than 1000 runs in a year in T20Is.

He ended the year as the highest run-getter, scoring 1164 runs at a strike-rate of 187.43.

His tally of 68 sixes in the calendar year in T20s is the highest anyone has recorded in the format in a year.

Suryakumar’s incredible consistency resulted in an average of about 45, which is out-of-the-world.

With two hundreds and nine half-centuries in the year, Yadav sparkled throughout the year.

In the T20 World Cup in Australia, he recorded three fifties in six innings.

He averaged nearly 60 in the tournament at a strike-rate of 189.68!

He continued his stellar year after the tournament too, recording his second hundred in T20s in the year versus New Zealand.

As a result, he achieved a career-high 890 rating points.

Last year’s ICC women’s T20 Cricketer of the Year, Mandhana was once again a picture of consistency in the shortest format.

She smashed the quickest fifty by an Indian woman (off just 23 balls).

She reached the 2500-run mark in T20s and played well in the Commonwealth Games, the T20 Asia Cup and the five-match home series against Australia.

Mandhana’s most exciting innings of 2022 was against Australia at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.

In front of over 46,000 spectators – the highest turnout for a women’s cricket match in India – Mandhana smashed a 49-ball 79 while chasing Australia’s 187.

She was India’s top-scorer in the match and helped tie the match, resulting in a super over.

In the super over, Mandhana scored 13 off the last three balls (4, 6, 3) as India made 20 for 1 wicket.