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T20I Team of the Year 2020: Who makes the XI? | Picking the T20 International Team of the Year for 2020: Which players make the XI?

Before the year started the array of focus was on the T20I format due to the scheduled World T20 in Australia which was later postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a Covid-induced pause in the otherwise relentless calendar of T20 cricket. The year marked players to attain their supremacy. It was a year that witnessed some great players who stood tall to grow in stature while some left a lasting impact with their first burst onto the scene. Here we analyzed the numbers and performances and selected the T20I XI of the Year 2020.

1. Babar Azam

Even though Pakistan’s skipper didn’t end the year as the number one batter in the world, Babar Azam still makes the T20 Team of the Year for 2020. He plays the role of the anchor at the top of the order while opening the innings and ensures that Pakistan very rarely collapses, a feature which is much needed in such a fickle format. he can accelerate if needed. In 6 innings he hit 276 runs at 55.20 at a strike rate of 144.50.

2. KL Rahul

This year was all about KL and his supremacy in the T20 format. He’s only the second batsman after Mohammad Hafeez to cross the 400 mark. Rahul made 404 runs from 11 matches with four fifties at an average of 44.89. He’s versatile enough to play at any position in the eleven also can keep the wickets.

3. Dawid Malan

The number one T20I batsman in the World averaged 53.1 at a staggering strike rate of 149 in the 19 games he has played for England in 2020. He is good value for it, having spent most of the last year dominating any bowler who has strayed into his field of vision. He ends the year third in the list of most run-getters in 2020 with 397 runs at 49.62 in 10 innings.

4. Tim Seifert

Seifert was New Zealand’s best batsman in T20I’s in 2020. With the likes of Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Colin Munro in the team, Seifert leading the charts speaks volumes about his ability as a T20 batsman. He gathered 352 runs at an impressive average of 40.28 and a healthy strike rate of 140.23. He also had a great year behind the sticks with gloves in hand.

5. Mohammad Hafeez

We’ve often heard age is just a number in sports and 2020 we saw another classic example of that as the veteran Mohammad Hafeez overpassed everyone to be the top run-scorer in T20Is in 2020. The 40-year-old mostly batted in middle to lower-middle order for Pakistan and amassed 415 runs, most this season, at an astounding average of 83. He made four fifties and scored runs at a glittering strike rate of 152.57.

6. Kieron Pollard

The West Indies skipper made 168 runs in four innings at 56 and a thundering strike rate of 204.87. Pollard also chipped in with 9 wickets and was fairly economical in 2020. The all-rounder’s selection is not a difficult choice for number 6 as a finisher and then with the ball as the sixth bowling option

7. Ashton Agar

The Australian all-rounder took 13 wickets from six matches at an average of 12.46 which also includes a five-wicket haul against South Africa in Johannesburg. His economy too was a praiseworthy one: 6.75. The left-hander can also come in handy as a batsman batting in the lower middle order.

8. Adil Rashid

Rashid edges out the other two leg spinners- Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa to make the final cut in the XI courtesy of his impressive returns throughout the year. Rashid picked 12 wickets from 11 innings at a fairly decent economy rate of 7.52 in 2020.

9. Tim Southee

After a shaky start to the year in this format, Southee made a very good comeback the once COVID scare was over and cricket was played in a biosecure environment. He got his shape back, swung the ball both ways to grab 12 wickets in 9 innings. His ability to pick wickets upfront in the powerplay and then to bowl a few in the back end holds his spot in the eleven.

10. Lungi Ngidi

Lungi Ngidi easily walks into the XI based on the sheer number of wickets he has taken in the year – the South African seamer has bagged 17 wickets in just 9 matches at an unbelievable strike rate of 11.7 in 2020 He was a touch expensive conceding runs at 10.47 in his 9 matches but compensated by picking wickets.

11. Haris Rauf

The right-arm fast Pakistan bowler sits second on the ladder with 16 wickets from 11 matches at a good economy of 8.65. He’s a wicket-taking option in the middle and slog overs with his yorkers and hard length balls. He was the stand out of all Pakistan bowlers due to his quintessential quality of picking wickets.

Notable mentions:

Jos Buttler:

The Englishman would’ve easily walked into any T20 eleven as he amassed 291 runs from 8 games at a strike-rate of over 150. Buttler has done well in T20 format mostly when he has opened the innings and that’s why it was difficult to vacant a spot for him in the eleven as KL and Babar were better than him this year. Also, the fact that Buttler is a wicket-keeper and the team already has two wicket keepers, so Buttler was unlucky to miss out on selection.

Adam Zampa

Zampa was the most impressive leggie in the limited-overs cricket last year- ended the year as the highest wicket-taker in ODIs and in T20I’s too he bagged 11 wickets from 9, only thing was the economy rate which separated him and Adil Rashid for a place in the team.

Written by Vaibhav Tripathi. Follow Vaibhav on Twitter today.