Dubai, Jan 25: India’s leading wicket-taker of 2024, Arshdeep Singh, has been named the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards on Saturday.

The left-arm pacer starred as India ended their wait for a major ICC trophy win with victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean and USA back in June, and has gone on to cement his reputation as one of the leading powerplay and death bowlers in the game.

The 25-year-old has long been tipped for the top, and India put a great deal of faith in his ability since making his full international debut in 2022.

And 2024 was the year when Arshdeep fully 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 an average of just 15.31 and, despite predominantly bowling in the powerplay and death overs, finished the year with an economy rate of 7.49. He was a constant wicket-taking threat, taking his wickets at a strike rate of 10.80.

Arshdeep had a number of impressive displays in the year, not least when he ripped through the USA in New York during the T20 World Cup group stage, bagging remarkable returns of 4/9 in his four overs.

But Arshdeep’s most significant performance of the year came on the biggest stage of all, as he played a huge part in helping India successfully defend their total of 176 in the World Cup final in Barbados.

As part of a pace trio with Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya that effectively won the game for India, Arshdeep’s terrific figures of 2/20 from four overs only tell part of the story.

Excellent with the new ball up top, Arshdeep struck in the powerplay to have the dangerous South African skipper Aiden Markram caught behind in just the third over. And when India were in need of a wicket in the middle overs it was Arshdeep that provided the breakthrough, dismissing a set Quinton de Kock when the Proteas looked to be in control of the chase.

India’s collective effort at the death was astonishing as South Africa pulled up seven runs short of their target, and Arshdeep played a huge role in that, returning to the attack to bowl the penultimate over with South Africa requiring 20 from 12 deliveries.

Arshdeep delivered a near-perfect death over under the greatest pressure, conceding just four runs to leave Hardik Pandya with 16 runs to defend in the final over, a job that he spectacularly did.

Brilliance in the powerplay, a wicket in the middle overs, and economical excellence at the death – Arshdeep stepped up when it mattered most.

Earlier in the day, Arshdeep was also named in the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year led by Rohit Sharma and also featuring Pandya and Bumrah as other Indian players.

(IANS)

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