Suryakumar Yadav celebrates a century. (Courtesy: ICC/X)

Suryakumar Yadav on Wednesday was named the ICC Men”s T20I Cricketer Of The Year for the second time in a row. The T20 specialist who was at the top of the T20 ranking for most of 2023, with an average of nearly 50 and a strike rate of more than 150, delivered several match-winning performances in the calendar year.

Yadav defeated Sikandar Raza, Alpesh Ramjani, and Mark Chapman to take home the top honor. In a prolific year, he amassed 733 runs after falling on the score of seven against Sri Lanka to start 2023. He quickly returned to his usual best by notching up scores of 51 (36) and 112* (51) in the next two matches.

The top-order Indian batter was consistent with scores of 20s and 40s before hitting 83 (44) against the West Indies to prove his class. He ended the series against the West Indies with a quick-fire 61 off 45 deliveries in Florida.

Despite taking the burden of captaincy, Yadav flourished with the bat in 2023. He made half-centuries against Australia (80 off 42 balls) and South Africa (56 from 36 balls) before hitting a century against the Proteas off 56 deliveries in their final T20 of the year in Johannesburg.

Yadav remains one of the most delightful T20 batter to watch with his range of shots, inside-out drives and clever play behind the wicket. His knock of 112 off 51 against Sri Lanka in January, included nine sixes and seven boundaries, equating to a boundary in every three deliveries.