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As 2024 comes to an end, here’s our T20I Team of the year that saw India win their second ever T20 World Cup trophy.
(From left) Travis Head, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah (Agencies)
2024 served up a high dose of cricket’s high-octane action in the shortest format. The year saw India’s wait for an ICC title end with the Men in Blue getting their hands on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup when they beat South Africa in a memorable final in Barbados.
India were quite dominant in T20Is during the year. They won the T20 World Cup unbeaten and also ended the year with 22 wins from 26 matches while losing just two. The side, led by Rohit Sharma and then Suryakumar Yadav, certainly played a vital role in their dominance. With the world cup dream fulfilled, stars like Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja called time on their T20I careers.
As the year comes to an end, let us look at CricketNext’s T20I Team of the Year 2024:
Rohit Sharma (India) – Captain
| Batting Numbers | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | HS | 50s | 100s |
| 11 | 11 | 378 | 42 | 160.16 | 121* | 3 | 1 |
No surprise that Rohit is the captain. In the lead up to the World Cup, he played in just three T20Is. At the big stage, he led by example with the bat and finished as the second-highest run-scorer of the competition.
His best knock came at a time when the team needed it the most. The Super-Eights clash against Australia was the chance to get back against the mighty Aussies for that ODI World Cup final heartbreak. Rohit, with a swashbuckling 92 in runs, helped India to a 200-plus total. He gave Mitchell Starc a thrashing for the ages by scoring 29 runs in an over during the powerplay. Similar was his approach against the likes of Pat Cummins, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa, as he gave the side the platform to get them the win.
As a leader, Rohit showed his class by taking risks and laying the platform for his team to build on.
Travis Head (Australia)
| Batting Numbers | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | HS | 50s | 100s |
| 15 | 15 | 539 | 38.5 | 178.5 | 80 | 4 | 2 |
Yet another memorable year for Australia’s gun-batter. Head continued to take bowlers down for fun as he wreaked havoc at the top of the order. Head has the knack of finding top form just the right time, especially when the stakes are high. His best knocks of the year came during the Super Eight when he smashed 76 against India and 80 against Scotland.
Despite juggling all three formats, Head seems to have found the right balance and is thriving at the top of the order for the Aussie T20I squad, becoming one of the most destructive batters of this generation.
Suryakumar Yadav (India)
| Batting Numbers | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | HS | 50s | 100s |
| 18 | 17 | 429 | 26.81 | 151.59 | 75 | 4 | 0 |
Arguably the best batter in the shortest format currently, it comes as no surprise that Suryakumar finds his way into this eleven. Although he didn’t set the world cup on fire given his lofty standards, Surya still played his fair share of impactful knocks which played a crucial role in India’s title-winning run.
Slotting in at the number three or four spot, he has been a big threat for the oppositions with his ridiculous abilities to cover all parts of the ground.
Surya’s best show, a 28-ball 53, came against Afghanistan which helped them set a decent target. His knock came at a time when the top order failed to get going. He built partnerships with the middle-order to turn the tides in India’s favour.
Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)
| Batting Numbers | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | HS | 50s | 100s |
| 21 | 20 | 464 | 25.8 | 142.33 | 98 | 2 | 0 |
The West Indies wicketkeeper-batter was in some fine form throughout 2024. In the 21 games he played, he has been scoring at a rapid pace and has taken his boundary-hitting game to a new level.
Pooran would be an ideal option at the number three position from where he can be expected to continue attacking the bowlers in the powerplay or even give the run-rate a boost when needed.
He finished the T20 World Cup as the non-opening batter with the most runs in the tournament, showcasing just how lethal he has been. His best knock has to be the unbeaten 65 against the runners-up South Africa at Tarouba that helped West Indies complete the chase with relative ease.
Marcus Stoinis (Australia)
| Batting | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | HS | 50s | 100s |
| 17 | 14 | 330 | 36.66 | 156.39 | 67* | 3 | 0 | |
| Bowling | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Econ | Runs | S/R |
| 17 | 15 | 40.4 | 21 | 17 | 8.77 | 357 | 11.6 |
The Australian allrounder was arguably in his best form, particularly during the T20 showpiece event where he had some fine performances with bat and ball and was their key player during the campaign.
Stoinis was able to balance the responsibilities with both bat and ball and looked to be in good nick, making good use of the conditions. Stoinis showed his all-round prowess against Oman in Bridgetown where he smashed an unbeaten 67 and picked up 3 wickets for 19 runs from three overs to give the side a commanding win.
Hardik Pandya (India)
| Batting Numbers | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | HS | 50s | 100s |
| 17 | 14 | 352 | 44 | 150.42 | 50* | 1 | 0 | |
| Bowling Numbers | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Econ | Runs | S/R |
| 17 | 16 | 51 | 16 | 26.25 | 8.23 | 420 | 19.1 |
An outstanding year for Pandya who became the first Indian to take the top spot in the ICC’s rankings for T20I allrounders. His presence certainly made the difference which helped push India claim a second T20 world title.
It’s hard to forget that all-important final over against South Africa where he defended 16 runs to secure the silverware.
Pandya’s abilities with the bat and ball are indispensable for any side and his presence makes his team even more lethal across all departments.
From an allrounder’s perspective, his best performance of 2024 has to be against Bangladesh in North Sound where he scored a fantastic fifty to see through India’s batting innings and struck with the ball to give India an early breakthrough in the fourth over.
Andre Russell (West Indies)
| Batting Numbers | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | HS | 50s | 100s |
| 11 | 10 | 217 | 31 | 195.49 | 71 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bowling Numbers | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Econ | Runs | S/R |
| 11 | 10 | 31.1 | 14 | 20 | 8.98 | 280 | 13.3 |
To give the side that finishing touch with the bat and ball, Russell is the perfect fit at number seven. His ability to use his power can be an absolute menace. Russell the all-rounder was in fine touch.
The 71 against Australia in Perth during their white-ball series before the T20 World Cup has to be his top performance of the year. While Russell can be a tad expensive with the ball, he has the ability to take wickets. His best bowling performance was against the USA at the world cup where he finished with figures of 3/31.
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
| Bowling Numbers | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Econ | Runs | S/R |
| 14 | 14 | 53 | 31 | 9.58 | 5.6 | 297 | 10.2 |
It has been yet another memorable year for the Afghanistan T20I skipper. A historic one to say the least as the national team managed to make it to their first World Cup semi-final. He expertly handled the responsibility as captain and as his team’s strike bowler. He took 31 wickets duing the year at a frugal economy of 5.6 runs per over.
As a bowler, he continues to be an unstoppable force where batters are still struggling to get a read on his many variations. Coming in as the first-choice wicket-taking spinner, it comes as no surprise that Rashid finds his way into this eleven.
His best show with the ball was against Bangladesh where he picked up a four-wicket haul to give the side a historic win.
With the bat, Rashid might not get many chances but on his day, he can thrash the best quality bowlers for boundaries all around the park.
Jasprit Bumrah (India)
| Bowling Numbers | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Econ | Runs | S/R |
| 8 | 8 | 29.4 | 15 | 8.26 | 4.17 | 124 | 11.8 |
Irrespective of the format, Bumrah continues to deliver consistently. Batters may have even attempted to play out his overs and target the rest, but even then, the Indian pace spearhead finds a way to get wickets at crucial points.
It comes as no surprise that Bumrah makes the cut after having an economy of 4.17 with 15 wickets in the T20 World Cup which is a remarkable return for a fast bowler. Even in the final against South Africa, he finished his four overs giving away just 18 runs while taking wickets with the new and old ball.
His best performance came against Afghanistan where he picked up three wickets while giving away just seven runs at Bridgetown.
Arshdeep Singh (India)
| Bowling Numbers | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Econ | Runs | S/R |
| 18 | 18 | 64.5 | 36 | 13.5 | 7.49 | 486 | 10.8 |
During a time when many wondered if there would be a long-term option to accompany Bumrah as another fast-bowling option, Arshdeep has quietly made his mark in the Indian T20I setup. He had a tremendous performance with the ball with 17 wickets, finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Arshdeep’s performance against the USA stands out with figures of 4/9 from four overs. He gave India the perfect start by taking two wickets in his very first over in addition to the two more he took later on.
It is safe to say that Arshdeep is a shoo-in considering his performances and the variety his left-arm pace would provide. Like Bumrah, he can be used in all three phases of an innings.
Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan)
| Bowling Numbers | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Econ | Runs | S/R |
| 17 | 17 | 55 | 24 | 16.5 | 7.21 | 397 | 13.7 |
It has been a standout year for the left-arm pacer from Baghlan (Afghanistan). His prowess with the new ball is as good as it gets with the ability to swing the ball both ways.
He had an outstanding tournament in the USA and West Indies where he finished as the highest wicket-taker. He played a leading role in Afghanistan’s historic run at the T20I showpiece.
Farooqi’s best performance of the year has to be the four-fer against New Zealand as they were skittled for 75. He took three wickets within the powerplay to give Afghanistan a perfect start.
CricketNext’s T20I XI Of 2024: Rohit Sharma (captain), Travis Head, Suryakumar Yadav, Nicholas Pooran (wicketkeeper), Marcus Stoinis, Hardik Pandya, Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
