The ICC T20 World Cup 2022 got underway on Sunday with Sri Lanka taking on Namibia in the first match of the preliminary qualifying round. The Super 12 round will begin on October 22 and the final is slated for November 13. This is the second of the back-to-back T20 World Cups with the previous one completing less than 12 months ago in the UAE.
While the time elapsed between the two tournaments isn’t too big, there have been some changes in the rankings of players in the shortest format.
In this article, we pick the best T20I XI of the world based on the ICC rankings.
Openers: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam
There is no argument about who should be the openers of this team: Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, ranked first and third respectively in ICC men’s T20I batsman ranking.
Since the end of last year’s ICC T20 World Cup (stats from November 15, 2021). Rizwan is the leading T20I run-scorer with 1114 runs at an average of 53 with 11 fifties to his name and Babar is third with 724 runs in this period at 32 with 5 fifties and a century.
Middle-order: Devon Conway, Suryakumar Yadav, Aiden Markram
Ranked 5th, New Zealand batter Devon Conway has been in excellent touch since last year’s tournament in the UAE. In 8 innings, the left-hander averages 56 and has scored at a strike rate of 126 with a couple of fifties. Conway has remained a bank for New Zealand in the last couple of years.
Perhaps the most in-form T20 batsman in the world, Suryakumar Yadav has been in stunning form: not only he’s scoring runs, but he’s doing it at a rapid pace: he’s the second-leading run-scorer since last year’s T20 WC with 864 runs at 37 and his strike rate has been 180! He’s hit 7 fifties and 1 century in this period. SKY is ranked second in ICC T20I men’s batsman ranking.
Since last year, Aiden Markram has emerged as a solid middle-order batter, adept in finishing games and hence he slots in at number 5 in this line-up. Markram has played in just 5 T20I innings this year, wherein he’s averaged 48 and scored at a strike rate of 165, hitting a couple of fifties. Markram, who also bowls part-time off-spin, is ranked 4th by ICC.
All-rounders: Mohammad Nabi, Shakib Al Hasan, Wanindu Hasaranga,
Despite his lacklustre form, Mohammad Nabi has held onto the number 1 all-rounder’s spot in T20Is. In 15 T20Is, Nabi, the Afghanistan skipper, has managed a batting average of 13 and picked up 10 wickets at 28.
Ranked second in all-rounders, Shakib Al Hasan, who was reinstated as Bangladesh’s T20I captain earlier this year, has done well with the bat this year, averaging 33 in 10 matches but has only picked up 5 wickets.
Wanindu Hasaranga, who was the leading wicket-taker in last year’s T20 World Cup, has continued on his good form: since the tournament last year, Hasaranga has snapped up 20 wickets including a four-wicket haul in 12 T20Is at an admirable average of 18. Hasaranga is ranked 4th among all-rounders and third in bowler’s rankings in T20Is.
Spinner: Rashid Khan
One of the best T20 bowlers in the world, Rashid Khan is ranked second in T20I bowlers rankings. But, Rashid has had an ordinary year so far: in 15 T20Is this year, the Afghanistan leg-spinner has taken 15 wickets while keeping a tight economy of 6.4.
Pacers: Josh Hazlewood, Reece Topley
Australian lanky seamer Jos Hazlewood, who played a crucial role in Australia winning their maiden T20 world title last year, has climbed to the number 1 T20I bowler spot and has held on to it. In 13 T20Is this year, Hazlewood has snared 21 wickets at an average of only 16.
Reece Topley sneaks into this XI as the only second seamer because all the other 9 bowlers in the top ten after Hazlewood are spinners! Topley has done well to get into England’s squad for the T20 WC: in 2022, the left-arm swing-reputed pacer has taken 17 wickets in 16 T20Is.
