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Arshdeep Singh, India’s leading wicket-taker in 2024, has been named the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards on Saturday.
The left-arm pacer shone as India won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean and the United States in June, ending their wait for a major ICC title, and has since cemented his position as one of the game’s premier powerplay and death bowlers.
The 25-year-old has long been regarded as a quality prospect, and India has placed a high value on his abilities since his full international debut in 2022. And 2024 was the year when Arshdeep completely established himself as a world-class bowler in T20 International cricket, taking bucket-loads of wickets with the new ball and proving to be consistently economical at the death on a variety of surfaces.
Arshdeep was the leading Indian wicket-taker in T20Is in the year, bagging 36 wickets in just 18 games. He played a huge part in steering India to the title at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and stepped up as leader of the attack as the selectors built a new era for the T20 squad following the triumph in the Caribbean.
Only four players in the world took more T20I wickets than Arshdeep in the calendar year – Saudi Arabia’s Usman Najeeb (38), Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga (38), UAE’s Junaid Siddique (40) and Hong Kong’s Ehsan Khan (46) – with all four playing more matches. Of those bowlers, only Hasaranga featured for a full-member nation.
Arshdeep took his wickets at a low average of 15.31 and concluded the year with an economy rate of 7.49 despite bowling primarily in the powerplay and death overs. He was a consistent wicket-taker, with a strike rate of 10.80.
Arshdeep had a couple of outstanding performances this year, most notably when he ripped through the USA in New York during the T20 World Cup group stage, scoring 4/9 in four overs.
But Arshdeep’s most crucial performance of the year came on the greatest platform of all: the World Cup final in Barbados, where he played a key role in India successfully defending their 176 total.
Arshdeep’s fantastic numbers of 2/20 from four overs, as part of a speed trio that practically won the game for India alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, only tell part of the story.
Arshdeep was excellent with the new ball up top, striking in the powerplay to catch the dangerous South African skipper Aiden Markram in only his third over. And when India needed a wicket in the middle overs, Arshdeep came through, removing a set Quinton de Kock just as the Proteas appeared to be in control of the chase.
India’s combined effort at the end was astounding as South Africa fell seven runs short of their objective, and Arshdeep played a key role in that, returning to the attack to bowl the penultimate over with South Africa requiring 20 from 12 deliveries.
Arshdeep bowled a near-perfect death over under immense pressure, giving only four runs and leaving Hardik Pandya with 16 runs to defend in the final over, which he accomplished superbly.
Arshdeep excelled in the powerplay, took a wicket in the middle overs, and was economical at the death.
Earlier in the day, Arshdeep was nominated to the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year, which also included Indian players Pandya and Bumrah.
Source: IANS
