LONDON: Pakistan’s top-ranked T20I batter Mohammad Rizwan, dynamic all-rounder Shadab Khan and speedster Haris Rauf have been named in Wisden’s men’s T20I team of the year 2022.
Wisden – a renowned cricket publication – picked a combined world team in the men’s T20Is featuring players who enjoyed a scintillating year in the shortest format.
Consequently, Pakistan’s opening batter Rizwan, alongside Shadab and Rauf was featured in the team of the year as they all had a decent year in the T20Is.
Apart from Rizwan, Shadab and Rauf, the combined XI features Jos Buttler (England), Suryakumar Yadav (India), Glenn Phillips (New Zealand), David Miller (South Africa), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Sam Curran (England), Adil Rashid (England) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India).
The second-ranked T20I batter had another remarkable year with the bat in T20Is as he accumulated 996 runs in 25 matches at an astounding average of 45.26 and was picked as the opener alongside England’s Buttler.
The right-handed batter had five scores of more than 70 in 2022 including a crucial knock against New Zealand in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
“With five scores of over 70 and an important half-century against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final, Rizwan has had another uber-consistent year in T20Is,” said Wisden in a statement.
“While he strikes at a lesser rate than many of his competitors, the incredible frequency with which he contributes wins him the slot alongside Buttler,” the statement added.
Young all-rounder Shadab, on the other hand, stood up for his team at crucial moments and delivered some match-defining performances with both bat and ball.
His best batting performance was against South Africa in the T20 World Cup where he blasted a 20-ball half-century in a must-win while his best bowling display came against Hong Kong when he returned with astonishing bowling figures of 4/8 in Asia Cup 2022.
In 2022, the all-rounder scored 201 runs in 20 T20Is and took 25 wickets at 20.56 with a brilliant economy rate of just 6.79.
Meanwhile, Haris delivered several match-winning performances for the team over the year and established himself as a death bowling specialist; finishing 2022 as the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in T20Is.
The right-arm pacer took 31 wickets in 23 matches at 20.74 and made eight scalps each in the home T20I series against England and T20 World Cup 2022.
“He [Haris] impressed against England on their tour of Pakistan, taking eight wickets in the six matches he played, before taking another eight wickets in the T20 World Cup, excelling at the death,” wrote Wisden.
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