Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2018: T20I Batsman of the Year

The year 2018 has been a very significant one for the cricket fraternity as they got to witness the most thrilling and breath-taking matches played across the year. T20 cricket is no other exception as it has brought a new face-lift to cricket. This fast-paced format requires the players to be agile and show presence of mind.

It has been branded as a batsmen's game as most of the bowlers are hammered away for runs. The batsmen have completely dominated this format of the game and have chased down targets of 200+ with ease.

This year's highest score in T20Is was recorded by Aaron Finch's knock of 172 against Zimbabwe. It was followed by Rohit Sharma's 111* against West Indies. In these knocks, the batsmen swayed the match away from the bowlers.

In this segment, we take a look at the top three T20I batsmen of 2018.

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#3 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma can be credited for India's success at major tournaments this year. He has gelled well along with fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan and has successfully guided India in most of the chases.

He has perfectly executed the role of a captain in the absence of Virat Kohli and has impressed one and all with his batting exploits. His form in T20Is has been exemplary this year as he scored 590 runs from 18 innings at an average of 36.87 and a strike-rate of 147.50. Added to that, he has also scored 2 hundreds and 3 half-centuries.

However, his performances might not be enough to bag him the T20 batsman of the Year Award as his average is very low when compared to the other top run-getters in T20Is this year.

Matches: 19, Runs: 590, Average: 36.87, Strike-rate: 147.50, Highest score: 111*

#2 Babar Azam

Babar Azam

Babar Azam, the stylish right-handed batsman from Pakistan, has capitalised on his strengths and emerged as one of the leading run-scorers in T20Is. Currently, he holds the world record of being the fastest batsman to score 1000 runs in T20I cricket.

Cricket pundits have also proclaimed Babar as the reason behind Pakistan's first position in ICC T20I Team Rankings. He has always stood above the rest and has delivered several match-winning performances for Pakistan.

In 2018, he scored massive 563 runs from just 12 matches at a jaw-dropping average of 62.55 and a strike-rate of 126.51. However, the number one T20I batsman might not fetch this particular award due to his low strike-rate. Though he has an impressive average, Babar is a slow-starter and takes time to settle at the crease.

Matches: 12, Runs: 563, Average: 62.55, Strike-rate: 126.51, Highest score: 97*

#1 Shikhar Dhawan - Sportskeeda's T20I Batsman of the Year

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan deserves the T20I batsman of the Year Award due to his combination of consistency and rapid scoring. Dhawan has been racking up solid performances for a long time around and has got the Indian team off to flier starts.

His attacking approach from the start of the innings has paid rich dividends for the team. Though India has quite a few stellar T20 batsmen such as the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Dhawan outclassed them all with his splendid stroke-play and aggressive intent.

In 2018, Dhawan scored 689 runs from just 17 innings at an average of 40.52 and a massive strike-rate of 147.22. He compiled six half-centuries to his name with a high-score of 92.

Matches: 18, Runs: 689, Average: 40.52, Strike-rate: 147.22, Highest score: 92