At the age of 38, veteran Indian batter Murali Vijay announced the end of his international playing days. Tamil Nadu stalwart announced his decision via a statement over Twitter on January 30. Vijay, was once India's go-to Test opener, had lost favour after a succession of subpar performances in the 2018 session. Vijay was dropped by the Indian team management during the second Test match in Australia after he only managed to record one Test century against Afghanistan in Bangalore. He was one of the most elegant batters in the opening positions. In 61 Tests, he amassed 12 Test hundreds and 15 half-centuries. He completed 3,982 runs, averaging 38.28. While playing with Chennai Super Kings, the Tamil Nadu player also made an impact on the Indian Premier League. The IPL's top batsman earned 2,619 runs at a strike rate of 121.87 from 106 games while scoring two hundreds.
Surya is men’s T20 cricketer of the year
Swashbuckling Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav was named the ICC Men’s T20 Cricketer of the Year for his ridiculously good run in the shortest format of the game. Surya had a stellar 2022, breaking an array of records and setting a benchmark in the format. 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. Popularly known as ‘SKY’, the 32-year-old 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, scoring 1,164 runs at a strike-rate of 187. 43. 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.
Emerging player award for young 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. Renuka 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 India 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.
Top ICC awards for Pak’s Azam
It was double delight for Pakistan skipper Babar Azam as he was picked for both the ‘ODI Cricketer of the Year’ and the ‘Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of 2022'. A year after he won the ‘ODI Cricketer of the Year’ in 2021, the charismatic batter continued to dominate world cricket and was the only player to breach the 2,000-run mark in 2022 across all formats. Babar went past that milestone in style, amassing 2,598 runs at an imposing average of 54. 12. The Pakistani cricketer’s eight hundreds and 17 fifties during the calendar year was the best of his career so far.
