3 Indian players who can win the ICC Women's T20I cricketer of the year in 2023

The success of Indian women's cricket reached new heights on January 29th with the team winning the U19 Women's T20 World Cup. With one eye on the T20 World Cup for the senior side next month, Harmanpreet Kaur's side will be gearing up to fight for the ultimate prize.

While that is the ultimate goal, there will be a few individual awards lined up for next year. The ICC Women's T20I Team of the Year for 2022 included four Indian players: Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, and Renuka Singh Thakur.

Australian all-rounder Tahlia McGrath won the award for T20I cricketer of the year in 2022 for her impressive performances throughout the tournament. Here, we take a look at three Indian players who could win the award in 2023.

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#1 Deepti Sharma

Deepti Sharma is India's ace all-rounder in all three formats and always manages to make things happen for the team. Usually a reliable option with the ball in all phases of the game, she has 92 wickets in 85 matches at an economy rate of 6.14.

She has only improved on those numbers in the last few months. Since October 2022, the all-rounder has taken 24 wickets in 16 matches at an economy rate of 5.89.

Her performances with the bat have also gone up a notch in recent times. Deepti Sharma has 898 runs in 85 T20I matches at a strike rate of 106.39. However, since October, she has scored 255 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 148.25.

The 25-year-old is constantly improving her game in every department and could be in the running to ace some individual awards this year.

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#2 Smriti Mandhana

The elegant left-handed batter from Sangali needs no introduction. Smriti Mandhana is one of the best batters in the world right now, and she's only getting better every time she walks out to bat.

With 2646 runs in 110 matches at a strike rate of 123.64, Mandhana is a vital cog for the Indian side at the top of the order.

Despite some questions about her strike rate in the shortest format, the Indian vice-captain still managed to churn out match-winning performances more often than not.

However, she seems to have found a new gear in recent times, taking the aggressive route more often to put the bowlers under pressure.

A slight but noticeable improvement in her strike rate suggests the same. Mandhana is one player who might just be in contention for most individual awards this year, regardless of the format, if she finds her groove.

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#3 Richa Ghosh

The wicketkeeper-batter from Siliguri is one of the brightest prospects in women's cricket in the country.

Already a part of the Indian senior side, Richa Ghosh sealed a piece of history alongside Shafali Verma, with the pair being a part of India's success at the U19 Women's T20 World Cup.

The two are expected to join the Indian senior side for the upcoming T20 World Cup in February and will play a key role in their team's success. With 427 runs in 30 matches at a strike rate of 134.27, Richa has the potential to be one of the most destructive batters in the world.

In the last 13 T20 matches for India, she has scored 187 runs at a strike rate of 164.03. She's shown glimpses of her (scary) potential and could take the world by storm if she keeps this good run going.