In 2024, four players from last year’s T20I Team of the Year have retained their spots, including Zimbabwe’s all-rounder Sikandar Raza. Consistently excelling for Zimbabwe in T20 cricket, Raza has now made it to the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year for the second consecutive year.
India, the T20 World Cup champions of 2024, dominate the team with four players, while Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe have one representative each.
Raza joins the likes of England’s Phil Salt, West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, and India’s Arshdeep Singh, who also featured in last year’s team.
Raza had a stellar year, playing 24 T20Is for Zimbabwe, scoring 573 runs at an average of 28.65, including his career-best 133 against Gambia in the Africa sub-regional qualifiers for the next T20 World Cup. As a bowler, Raza took 24 wickets, with a best of 5/18 against Rwanda. His performances have earned him a spot among the nominees for the ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Year for the third year running.
The team is captained by India’s Rohit Sharma, who led India to their second T20 World Cup victory before retiring from international T20Is. In 11 matches last year, Rohit scored 378 runs at an average of 42 and a strike rate of 160.16, including a century and three fifties—all in the T20 World Cup.
Rohit’s opening partner in the XI is Australia’s explosive batter Travis Head, who scored 539 runs in 15 T20Is at an average of 38.50 and a strike rate of 178.47. Head also shone in the T20 World Cup, scoring 255 runs at an average of 158.38.
England’s Phil Salt, another aggressive batter, played 17 T20Is last year, scoring 467 runs with one century and two fifties, maintaining an average of 38.91 and a strike rate of 164.43.
Pakistan’s Babar Azam, who scored the most runs for Pakistan in 2024, amassed 738 runs in 24 matches with six fifties, averaging 33.54 and striking at 133.21.
West Indies’ wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran played 21 matches, scoring 464 runs with two fifties, while India’s Hardik Pandya contributed 352 runs and claimed 16 wickets in 17 matches as a pace-bowling all-rounder.
Afghanistan’s star leg-spinner Rashid Khan bagged 31 wickets in 14 matches, with four 4-wicket hauls at an average of 9.58. Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga also impressed with 38 wickets in 20 matches and contributed 179 runs with the bat.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh complete the bowling attack. Bumrah played only eight T20Is last year, all in the T20 World Cup, taking 15 wickets and playing a pivotal role in India’s title win. Arshdeep had another outstanding year, taking 36 wickets in 18 T20Is at an average of 13.50. His 4/9 against the USA in the T20 World Cup was his career-best performance.
The ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year:
Rohit Sharma (Captain, India), Travis Head (Australia), Phil Salt (England), Babar Azam (Pakistan), Nicholas Pooran (Wicketkeeper, West Indies), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Hardik Pandya (India), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Jasprit Bumrah (India), Arshdeep Singh (India).
