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The Indian team saw a lot of success in the shortest format of the game this year, thanks to the consistent performances from the Indian cricketers. They began the year with a bang when they clinched the three-match T20I series 2-1 against South Africa away from home.
They then traveled to the United Kingdom to beat Ireland in the two-match series and England in the three-match series. The Indian team also won the T20I tournament (Nidahas Trophy) featuring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Later, they defeated West Indies in the three-match T20I series 3-0 before leveling the T20I series against Australia. The Men in Blue were consistent throughout the year as they won 14 out of 20 matches in 2018.
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During the course of the year, there were six players (Shardul Thakur, Vijay Shankar, Siddarth Kaul, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, and Krunal Pandya) who made their T20I debuts for India.
On that note, we will take a look at how the Indian players have performed in T20Is in 2018.
Note: Players who have played six or more games have been taken into consideration.
Rishabh Pant - 5/10
Even though he is a good hitter of the ball, Rishabh Pant could not deliver in the T20 Internationals. He did not play more games due to the presence of experienced players like MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik in the squad.
But, the left-hander failed to score when the opportunities came beggind. Barring his only fifty against West Indies, he struggled a lot in 2018. He ended the year with 114 runs from 7 innings at a forgettable average of 16.29 and a strike-rate of 118.75.
MS Dhoni - 5.5/10
The former Indian skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had a forgettable year. Dhoni, who has been in poor form in the limited-overs format, could only score a fifty in the shortest version of the game this year.
In total, he scored 123 runs in 5 innings at an average of 41 and a massive strike-rate of 155. He was later dropped from the T20I team for the series against Australia following his poor form.
Shardul Thakur - 6/10
The right-hand pacer from Mumbai, Shardul Thakur, who came into limelight when he wore the No. 10 jersey, made his T20 International debut against South Africa in 2018. Even though he was not successful in the South Africa tour, he played an important role in the Nidahas T20 Trophy which was held in Sri Lanka.
In 2018, he played 7 matches and scalped 8 wickets with the best bowling figures of 4 for 27 at a decent average of about 30 and an economy of 8.8
Jasprit Bumrah - 6/10
Jasprit Bumrah, who is currently the best bowler in all formats of the game, did not have a great year in the T20 format. He was rested for the Nidahas Trophy and ruled out of the T20I series against England due to the thumb injury.
Bumrah picked up just 8 wickets from 8 games at an average of 27 and conceded runs at an economy rate of less than 7.
Virat Kohli - 6/10
The Indian skipper Virat Kohli is arguably the only batsman who could deliver his best in all three formats of the game. But, he was not consistent in the T20I format in 2018. Kohli, who was the leading run-scorers in T20Is in 2016, scored only one fifty this year.
In 2018, the Delhi-born cricketer scored 211 runs in 10 games at an average of 30.14 and a strike-rate of 121.97. He smashed his only T20I fifty of the year against Australia in November.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 6/10
Bhuvneshwar Kumar began the year with a positive note when he picked up a fifer against South Africa at the New Wanderers Stadium. But, he failed to continue the same performance in the following games and went wicketless on six occasions in 2018.
He picked up 12 wickets from 11 games this year at an average of 22.17 and an economy rate of 6.54.
Suresh Raina - 6.5/10
Suresh Raina made a comeback to the Indian team during the tour of South Africa in 2018. He played a couple of crucial knocks and cemented his place in the squad then. He replicated the same form and scored decent runs in the Nidahas Trophy and against Ireland and England as well.
But, the unlucky cricketer was dropped from the squad for the T20I series against Australia which was played in November. He ended the year with 298 runs in 11 innings at a decent average of about 30 and a strike-rate of 143.96.
Hardik Pandya - 7/10
Hardik Pandya has become an important member of the Indian team across all formats. However, he could not take part in half of India's fixtures thus year due to an injury.
Even though he did not get the desired results at the start of the year, he finished the year with a good sign when he scored an unbeaten 33 with the bat and picked up 4 wickets with the ball against England.
In 2018, the Baroda all-rounder, who played 8 T20Is, managed to score 117 runs and took10 wickets.
Manish Pandey - 7/10
Manish Pandey, who played a couple of responsible knocks, had a decent year. When others failed to score, he smashed much-needed unbeaten 79 against South Africa to post a good total of 188 on the board.
However, he could not get an opportunity to play in the presence of Suresh Raina and KL Rahul in the team. In 2018, he scored 299 runs from 11 innings at an average of 74.75 and a decent strike-rate of 121.05.
Krunal Pandya - 7.5/10
Krunal Pandya, the Mumbai Indians all-rounder, who made his international debut for India in T20Is this year, had a great year. During his debut game against West Indies, he picked a wicket and scored an unbeaten 21 runs while chasing.
In total, he scored 23 runs from 2 innings at a strike-rate of 176.92 and picked up 6 wickets from 6 innings at an average of 32 and an economy of about 8.
Washington Sundar - 7.5/10
Sundar took the responsibility when the regular spinners were rested for the Nidahas Trophy. He provided the early breakthroughs to his skipper Rohit Sharma during the tournament. He ended the tournament with 8 wickets from 6 games.
He also played a game against West Indies and picked up a solitary wicket. Sundar featured in 6 games this year and impressed everyone by picking 9 wickets at an outstanding average of 16.33 and an economy of 6.33.
Dinesh Karthik - 7.5/10
Dinesh Karthik has been brilliant with the bat in 2018. He was the main reason behind India's victory at the Nidahas T20 Trophy which was held in Sri Lanka. When India needed more than 30 in the last two overs, he hit a couple of big shots before hitting the winning six off the last ball.
He continued the same performance and managed decent knocks against West Indies and Australia. The Tamil Nadu cricketer played 11 innings and scored 181 runs at an average of 60.33 and a stupendous strike-rate of 152.10.
KL Rahul - 8/10
Even though he has failed with the bat in both the Tests and ODIs, he has been impressive in the T20Is. He could not feature in the playing eleven against South Africa in the presence of regular openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.
But, he did not fail to perform when he got the opportunities. He smashed a fifty against Ireland and a century against England to cement his place in the squad as their number four batsman. In 2018, he managed to score 324 runs in 11 innings at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of about 140.
Yuzvendra Chahal - 8.5/10
Yuzvendra Chahal has been one of India's most important members in the limited-overs format. He could be an asset to any cricket team. Even though he did not get the much-needed start in 2018, he was one of the main weapons of the Indian team during the Nidahas Trophy.
He then went on to break a couple of records in T20Is. Chahal ended the year as India's second leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 18 wickets from 13 games at an average of about 25 and an economy of 8.
Kuldeep Yadav - 9/10
Kuldeep Yadav was in great touch with the ball in 2018. He picked 12 wickets from four innings during the tour of the United Kingdom. He bagged his first fifer and was instrumental in India's series win over England.
The Chinaman bowler, who is the leading wicket-taker in T20Is this year, has taken 21 wickets from just 9 games at an average of 9.81 and an economy of less than 6.
Rohit Sharma - 9.5/10
The Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma has been in great form in the limited-overs format. He scored a lot of runs in both the One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals.
Rohit, who is the only batsman to score two T20I centuries in 2018, shattered a number of records in this format. He scored 89 and 97 against Bangladesh and Ireland respectively before smashing the two centuries against England and West Indies.
He ended the year with 590 runs in 18 innings at an average of 36.88 and a massive strike-rate of about 150.
Shikhar Dhawan - 10/10
Shikhar Dhawan has been tremendous with the bat throughout the year. He played 18 games and plundered 690 runs at a glorious average of 40.59 and a monstrous strike-rate of 147.44, including six fifties with a best knock of 92.
His knock of 72 of 39 deliveries against South Africa was one of his finest knocks seen this year as he destroyed the mighty bowling line-up in their den. The Delhi-born cricketer is the leading run-scorer this year in T20Is.
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