ICC has named Pakistan’s Haris Rauf and Mohammad Rizwan to its Men’s T20I Team of The Year after another prolific season for the green shirts in the shortest format of the game.
With Rizwan and Rauf at the helm, Pakistan made the finals of the 2022 Asia Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, falling agonisingly close in both contests.
Rizwan further cemented his case as one of the best opening T20 batters scoring 996 runs in the calendar year, second only to India’s Suryakumar Yadav. His performance last year also saw him dethrone Babar Azam as the format’s top-ranked batter.
The 30-year-old was also the joint-highest scorer for Pakistan at the T20 World Cup with 175 runs to make the list for a second consecutive year.
Meanwhile, Haris Rauf enjoyed his own breakthrough year with the national team, leading the side in the absence of Shaheen Afridi who missed the majority of 2022 through his knee injury.
Rauf shouldered Pakistan’s fierce bowling attack picking up 31 wickets in the calendar year, more than any other bowler for the green shirts. With Shaheen back, the two are expected to continue leading the line for years to come.
Joining Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf in the ICC T20I Men’s Team of the Year are World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Sikandar Raza, Hardik Pandya, Sam Curran, Wanindu Hasaranga and Josh Little.
