ICC declared the winner of Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year and it is undoubtedly India's 360 batter Suryakumar Yadav. Ever since Surya started representing India, he has been constantly making headlines with his extraordinary batting. The Mumbai-based batter scored 1164 runs in 31 matches at an average of 46.56 and a strike rate of 187.43
He also became only the second batter to get more than 1000 runs in a calendar year. Yadav smashed a total of 68 sixes during the year, the most number of sixes recorded by anyone in a year in the format's history. The middle-order batter played the key role for his team and smashed two hundreds and nine half-centuries. During the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Yadav was at his best when he scored three fifties in six innings at an outstanding strike rate of 189.68.
India's Mr 360 continued his brilliant run and scored his second T20I century in the bilateral series in New Zealand. Surya played a blinder of an inning in the third T20I against Sri Lanka where he smashed a 51-ball unbeaten 112 and helped India reach 228 for five. Surya took just 19 balls to reach 100 runs after reaching fifty in 26 balls.
Earlier, while talking to ABP News, former India legend Kapil Dev said, “Sometimes I am at loss of words on how to describe his knock. When we see Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli, we feel that someday there will be a player who will compel us to think he is also part of that list. There is indeed a lot of talent in India. And the kind of cricket he plays, that lap shot the one over fine leg, then that leaves the bowler frightened because he can stand and hit a six over mid-on and mid-wicket. That is what makes it difficult for the bowlers because he is able to pick the line and length consistently. I have seen great batters like De Villiers, Vivian Richards, Sachin, Virat, and Ricky Ponting, but very few can hit the ball as cleanly as him. Hats off to Suryakumar Yadav. These kind of players come only once in a century”.