ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022: Top five batters to watch out in World T20 2022. Mohammad Rizwan no. 1 T20I batter while Suryakumar Yadav carries highest strike rate (176.81).
The International Cricket Council's (ICC) top-level global event, the World T20 2022 will be played just after one year post the 2021 edition due to Covid-19, and this time the tournament will be played in Australia.
While the 2021 edition of T20 World Cup provided a number of twists and turns, we expect this edition to be the same. The 2022 T20 World Cup will highlight the talents of several international players the world is looking forward to. So, here we bring you the top 5 batters to watch out for in the T20 World Cup in Australia during October.
Suryakumar Yadav (Runs 1045, SR 176.81, Ave 38.70)
India's Suryakumar Yadav is one of five batters to watch out for in the T20 World Cup 2022 to be played in Australia. This year, the 32 year-old India middle-order batter has scored the most runs in T20 Internationals. In 23 T20Is this year, the star Indian batter has scored 801 runs at an average of 40.05 and a strike rate of 184.56. Surya crossed the 1000 run mark in T20Is in the Guwahati T20I against South Africa on October 2, where he scored a whirlwind 61 (22) playing a major role in elevating India’s total beyond 200. He has the best strike rate (176.81) for batters with at least 1000 runs in T20I cricket.
In the first T20I against South Africa, which took place on September 28 in Thiruvananthapuram, he scored 50 runs off 33 balls to win the match. Surya also scored 69 runs off 36 balls for India in the third T20I of a three-match series against Australia last month. Throughout his innings, he hit five fours and two sixes.
Surya is currently the number two T20I batter in the world and holds the record for most sixes in a calendar year in T20Is.
Read More: Ind vs SA, 2nd T20I, 2022-23: Surya's whirlwind 61* helps India win 1st home T20I series against SA
Mohammad Rizwan (Runs 2259, SR 128.57, Ave 52.53)
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been a tremendously productive duo for Pakistan over the last two years, scoring over sixty per cent of Pakistan's runs in all T20I since the commencement of the T20 World Cup last year. Moreover, Rizwan has been an absolute treat to watch. While Babar failed quite a few times in Asia Cup 2022, in contrast, Rizwan continued his form since last year’s world cup and has been scoring fiercely.
Rizwan scored the most runs in Asia Cup 2022 among all batters racing past Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. He scored 281 runs in 6 games but the cause for worry was his ordinary strike rate of 117.57.
Rizwan played 22 powerplay deliveries in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka while striking at 72.72. In the current age of T20 cricket where power-hitting is something all teams try to inculcate in their strategy, Rizwan needs to buck up and even though he did raise his game in the 7-match T20I series at home against England where he was the top run-scorer with 316 runs in 6 games at a strike rate of 138.59, he still lags behind number 2 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav who has struck at 184.56 this year in T20Is.
Rizwan will be Pakistan's talisman in the T20 World Cup, much like Virat Kohli for India. His consistent performances can inspire the rest of his team to perform well. Pakistan's chances of winning a second T20 World Cup trophy are realistic, based on the team's performance in the 2021 edition where they reached the semi-final and had an unbeaten run in the group stage.
Read More: ICC World T20 2022: Shaheen’s return boosts Pakistan’s attack; top order’s strike rate still a worry
Nicholas Pooran (Runs 1398, SR 130.77, Ave 27.41)
Like his idols, Nicholas Pooran has ambitious goals for West Indies cricket. Nicholas has advanced through the West Indies cricket youth system, attracting much attention along the way. As an aggressive hitter by inclination, the Windies batter has proved himself by playing franchise cricket all over the globe. Nicholas Pooran has also been a vital member of the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Pooran’s form and his experience playing the Big Bash in Australia will definitely help him in the 2022 T20 World Cup for West Indies.
Nicholas Pooran has scored 1398 runs in 67 T20Is at a strike rate of 130.77 and has an aggregate of 4913 runs from 251 T20s at a strike rate of 141.83.
Jos Buttler (Runs 2227, SR 142.57, Ave 32.75)
Hard-hitting English batter Jos Buttler is one of the cleanest strikers in the game currently. Buttler was in absolute red hot form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, where he scored 863 runs from 17 games at a strike rate of 149.05 including four centuries and as many as fifties.
Jos Buttler would keep wickets for England in addition to being their skipper in the World T20 2022, assuming he is absolutely healthy. Even with a calf injury, he travelled to Pakistan recently, but was unable to participate in the seven-match T20I series. England won the series 4-3 after defeating Pakistan by 67 runs in the last T20I in Lahore. Jos Buttler has scored only 87 runs from 6 T20Is played in 2022 at an average of 14.50. However his overall figures are completely different. Buttler has 2227 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 142.57 and average of 32.75.
Aiden Markram (Runs 780, SR 151.16, Ave 41.05)
Despite the lack of top-order hitters in South Africa's T20I squad, Aiden Markram is optimistic that he will be one of the top scorers for the Proteas in this year’s T20 World Cup and one would expect him to be that sort of an achiever.
Aiden Markram is fourth in ICC's T20I batter rankings, with a T20I batting average of 41.05, a strike rate of 151.16, and contributes with his useful offbreaks. However, he has only played in one of South Africa's eight T20Is this year; Markram is currently in the Proteas squad for the T20I series against India but has failed to deliver in the first two T20Is but the kind of balance he brings to the Proteas squad is unmatchable and he is definitely someone to watch out for in ICC World T20 2022.
The ICC World Cup commences on October 16 with the first game to be held between Sri Lanka and Namibia at the GMHBA Stadium in Geelong.