ICC sidelines team India as they announce ICC Women's T20I Team of the Year 2023

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Monday (January 22), announced the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year for 2023. The governing body of the game has named a star-studded team, picking players who excelled in batting and bowling last year and contributed significantly to their teams’ success in the shortest format of the game.

Australia have the most number of players in the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year – 2023 while England have two. Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, New Zealand, and West Indies have one player each in the prestigious team. Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu has been appointed as the captain of the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year.

The Sri Lanka star enjoyed a stunning 2023 in T20Is. She began the year with a Player of the Match performance in Cape Town in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, smashing 68 off 50 balls to help her side stun hosts South Africa by 3 runs. She ended the year with a record 470 runs at a strike rate of more than 130. She also starred with the bat in her team’s historic win in the T20I series against England in England.

ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year:

From Australia, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner, and Megan Schutt made it to the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year. Mooney starred with the bat in Australia’s T20 World Cup triumph, scoring unbeaten half-centuries in the semifinal and the final.

While Perry struggled in 2023, she managed to end the year on a high by registering scores of 51*, 34, 70, and 40 in the bilateral series against England and West Indies. On the other hand, Gardner was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup as she finished the year with 235 runs and 17 wickets. Schutt claimed 21 wickets in 2023 including a five-wicket haul against Pakistan.

From England, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone made it to the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year. Nat Sciver-Brunt scored 364 runs in 2023 while Ecclestone picked up 23 wickets. Deepti Sharma is the only Indian player in the team.

She cut for taking 21 wickets with her off-spin in 2023. Sharma also scored more than 100 runs in 2023. The other three players in the team are New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr, South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, and West Indies’ Hayley Matthews.

ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year 2023: Chamari Athapaththu (C, Sri Lanka), Beth Mooney (Australia), Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Ash Gardner (Australia), Deepti Sharma (India), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Megan Schutt (Australia).