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The year 2023 is drawing to a close and it’s a good time to look back at some of the finest performances from cricketers across the globe. Apart from international cricket, the plethora of franchise T20 leagues continued to flourish this year as well.
If we look at international cricket first, Australia played eight T20Is, winning four and losing as many. India featured in 23 matches, winning 15 and losing seven; one game was washed out. New Zealand had a mixed year in the shortest format, winning 10 and losing eight. The story was similar for Pakistan as they won four and lost six. South Africa had a poor year, winning two and losing eight games.
2023 also saw some intriguing action in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registering a last-ball win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final. Lahore Qalandars also won the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 with a thrilling one-run victory over Multan Sultans in the final.
On that note, we try and pick an XI of players from across the globe who impressed in the T20 format this year.
Openers: Shubman Gill and Phil Salt (wk)
There was tough competition between Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad for one of the opening slots. Gill, eventually, won the contest based on an exceptional first half.
The 24-year-old played 30 T20 matches in 2023, scoring 1202 runs at an average of 44.51 and a strike rate of 154.30 with four hundreds and five fifties. Three of his tons came in the IPL, while one was scored for India.
England’s aggressive keeper-batter Phil Salt would partner Gill in the T20 team of the year. Salt was the third-leading run-getter in the format in 2023, smashing 1319 runs at a strike rate of 161.24 with two hundreds and six fifties. He clobbered 109* off 56 and 119 off 57 in consecutive T20Is against West Indies.
Middle order: Faf du Plessis, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Heinrich Klaasen, and Rinku Singh
He may be 39, but former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis continues to pile on the runs in various T20 leagues. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain played 31 T20 games in 2023, scoring 1251 runs at an average of 46.33 and a strike rate of 149.46 with one hundred and 11 fifties.
Swashbuckling India batter Suryakumar Yadav will lead the T20 team of 2023. He is the second-leading run-getter in the format this year, having smacked 1,338 runs in 34 matches at an average of 46.13 and a strike rate of 166.41 with three hundreds and 10 fifties. Two of his tons came for India, while he also smacked a brilliant hundred for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2023.
Heinrich Klaasen and Rinku Singh would be the finishers in the T20 team of 2023. Both played some spectacular knocks in the format in the year, bringing their big-hitting skills to the fore.
Klaasen clubbed 1,035 runs in 34 matches at an average of 41.40 and a strike rate of 172.21 with two tons and six half-centuries. In a watershed year, Rinku slammed 992 runs in 33 matches, averaging 66.13 at a strike rate of 162.09 with eight half-centuries.
All-rounder: Daniel Sams
Australia’s Daniel Sams, who played in multiple T20 tournaments, finds a place as the all-rounder in the team of the team. The 31-year-old grabbed 54 scalps in 34 matches at an average of 20.05 and a strike rate of 13.40 with three four-fers and one five-wicket haul.
He also contributed 661 runs with the willow at a strike rate of 159.27 with two half-centuries.
Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Shaheen Afridi, Rashid Khan, and Matt Henry
Indian leggie Yuzvendra Chahal is no longer a certainty in Men in Blue’s white-ball squads. But when it comes to T20 events, he remains a big threat with the ball. Chahal featured in 30 matches in the format in 2023, claiming 41 scalps at an average of 19.95 with as many as four four-wicket hauls.
Pakistan and Lahore Qalandars pacer Shaheen Afridi picked up a rich haul of 53 wickets in 37 matches at an impressive average of 21.56 with three four-wicket hauls and one five-fer.
It is difficult to keep seasoned leggie Rashid Khan out of any dream T20 XI. He makes the cut after another fantastic year. In 48 matches, he picked up 65 wickets at an average of 20.64 and a brilliant economy rate of 7.10.
Kiwi pacer Matt Henry also produced excellent T20 figures in 2023. The 32-year-old played 23 matches in the format in which he claimed 42 scalps at a superb average of 14.54 and an impressive economy rate of 7.43.
