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As the year preceding a 50-over World Cup year, 2022 was hugely significant for Team India in the ODI format.
The Men in Blue played 24 ODIs in the calendar year, winning 14 and losing eight as two contests ended without a result. India maintained a scoring rate of 5.77 over the course of these matches, with a highest score of 409 and a lowest of 146.
Several Indian players had breakthrough years in the ODI format, while other experienced professionals returned with miserable numbers. Injuries were also a major cause for concern for Rohit Sharma and Co., with a few high-profile players missing large swathes of the year.
Here is India's best ODI XI from 2022.
Openers: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c)
Shikhar Dhawan was India's second-highest run-scorer in ODIs in 2022, but he doesn't make the cut. With an average of 34.4 and a strike rate of 74.21 (the lowest among the top 16 run-getters), the veteran batter endured a miserable year.
Opening the batting in this XI are Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. While captain Rohit amassed 249 runs in the eight matches he played at an average of 41.5 and a strike rate of 114.22, Gill was India's third-highest run-getter with 688 runs at an average of 70.88 and a strike rate of 102.57.
Middle order: Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson
Ishan Kishan hammered a record-breaking double hundred while opening the batting to sneak into India's top five run-getters in 2022. He averaged 59.57 at a strike rate of 109.73, with two fifties to go with his double ton.
Virat Kohli, India's first-choice No. 3, had a disappointing year. The ODI batting great averaged only 27.45 and struck at 87.03, with two fifties and one hundred in 11 innings. He was far from his best and doesn't find a place in this XI despite being the sixth-highest run-scorer for the Men in Blue in 2022.
There can be little argument over the inclusion of Shreyas Iyer, who plundered 724 runs at an average of 55.69 and a strike rate of 91.52 to be perched atop the run-scoring charts. The right-handed batter has all but solidified his place in India's ODI playing XI.
Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson round off the middle order. While Pant recorded 336 runs at an average of 37.33 and a strike rate of 96.55, Samson excelled in an unfamiliar role to return with an average of 71 and a strike rate of 105.57 over 10 matches.
Suryakumar Yadav (26 @ 92.52, one fifty in 13 matches) and KL Rahul (27.88 @ 80.19, two fifties in 10 matches) are understandably left out. Deepak Hooda, meanwhile, produced similar numbers as well.
All-rounders: Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur
India's premier white-ball all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja played only three ODIs apiece in 2022, leading to their exclusion. Deepak Chahar played eight matches but was underwhelming with the ball, while Axar Patel had a decent year but missed out due to the combination of this XI.
Washington Sundar played 11 ODIs for India in 2022, scoring 212 runs at an average of 35.33 and a strike rate of 86.88. Only specialist batters tallied more runs than the youngster, who also chipped in with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 4.4.
Shardul Thakur is the sole pace-bowling all-rounder in this XI. He had a lukewarm year with the bat, scoring 163 runs, but picked up as many as 22 wickets to be placed second on the charts.
Bowlers: Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal
Apart from Thakur, the other top wicket-takers for India in 2022 make their way into this XI.
Mohammed Siraj led the way with 24 wickets at an economy rate of 4.62, closely followed by Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Prasidh Krishna. While Chahal scalped 21 wickets in 14 matches, Prasidh picked up 19 in 11.
Jasprit Bumrah managed 13 victims in just five games, but the others in this bowling lineup have larger sample sizes of at least 10 matches each. Kuldeep Yadav and Umran Malik were decent, but sample sizes once again worked against them.
