India's T20 beast Suryakumar Yadav has been named the T20I player of the year for the second time in a row. The swashbuckling 360-degree star pipped the other nominees Sikandar Raza, Alpesh Ramjani and Mark Chapman to take the honour.
SKY was at his best in 2023 too as the Indian star racked up 733 runs in 17 innings at an average of 48.86 and a strike rate of 155.95. He was the third-highest run-scorer in the format in 2023, staying behind UAE's Muhammad Waseem and Uganda's Roger Mukasa. The UAE star smoked 863 runs in 23 matches, while the Uganda player hit 738 runs in 31 games in the year.
SKY had another year to remember. In a year where ODI cricket was the prime focus, he kept churning out runs. He smashed two centuries and five fifties in the 17 games that he was part of. SKY's biggest highlight of the year was his 51-ball 112* knock against Sri Lanka at the start of the year. He smashed a century in a mere 45 balls, becoming the second-fastest centurion for India in the format.
Bas de Leede, Queentor Abel crowned Associate players of 2023
Netherlands' Bas de Leede and Kenya's Queentor Abel were named the Cricketers of the Year in the Men's and Women's categories, respectively. De Leede is the second Dutch player to win the honour joining fellow countryman and two-time winner Ryan ten Doeschate. Notably, Abel is second from her country to win the honour, joining Thomas Odoyo as the only other Men's or Women's Associate to win the award.
De Leede took 31 ODI wickets at an economy of 6.51 and scored 424 runs at 28.26 with a century and a half-ton. His memorable outing was scoring a century and picking up a fifer in a World Cup 2023 qualifier match against Scotland.
Abel was in some brilliant form too. She picked 30 T20I wickets at a stingy economy of 3.81. She also made 476 runs in the format at 34 average. Her best performance came in the Women's T20 World Cup Africa Regional Division Two Qualifier when she scored 71 from 46 balls and ended the bowling with figures of 4/7.
