DUBAI: Swashbuckling India middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who had an outstanding run in the shortest format in year 2022, was on Wednesday named the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year by the sports' global governing body.
Surya had a phenomenal run last year where he broke a plethora of records in the T20Is.
Popularly known as 'SKY', the 32-year-old amassed 1164 runs in 31 T20I matches at an average of 46.56 and a strike-rate of 187.43 last year.
He beat the likes of Sam Curran, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Zimbabwe's batting all-rounder Sikandar Raza for the top honour.
However, India vice-captain and last year's Cricketer of the Year Smriti Mandhana lost out to Australia's Tahlia McGrath in the women's category.
In 2022, Surya became just the second batter to make more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year in T20Is and ended the year as the highest run-getter.
Surya hit a stunning 68 sixes during the year, easily the most recorded by anyone in a year in the format's history.
The Indian was the key batter for his team through the year, smashing two hundreds and nine half-centuries.
Surya was at his stupendous best during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, recording three fifties in six innings and averaging nearly 60. Notably, his strike-rate was yet again right up there at 189.68.
Having already recorded a ton earlier in the year, Suryakumar continued his brilliant year after the multi-nation tournament, making his second hundred in T20Is in the bilateral series in New Zealand.
Surya also became the top-ranked T20 player, achieving a career-high 890 rating points.
Emerging player award for Renuka Singh
India's fast bowling star Renuka Singh clinched the ICC Emerging Women's Cricketer of the Year award with her magnificent displays of seam and swing bowling in 2022, International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday.
Renuka Singh bagged 18 ODI wickets at 14.88, economy 4.62 while the pacer scalped 22 T20I wickets at 23.95, economy 6.50.
Renuka beat Australia's Darcie Brown, England's Alice Capsey and compatriot Yastika Bhatia to become the recipient of ICC Emerging Women's Cricketer of the Year 2022.
The 26-year-old has generated a lot of noise as a result of her meteoric rise during a hectic year for the Indian team. In just 29 matches across the two white-ball forms in 2022, the right-armer claimed 40 wickets for her nation, stepping into the shoes of the legendary Jhulan Goswami.
Renuka was very effective in the ODI game, taking 18 wickets at just 14.88 per game, eight of which came in two matches against England and seven in India's series versus Sri Lanka.
