ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2025 The race is shaping up to be a blockbuster encounter between the explosive batsmen and high-impact spinners who have dominated the shortest format throughout the calendar year. With major bilateral series and a busy T20I schedule, the performance India, England, Pakistan And new zealand Have created a clear top tier of contenders based on consistency, impact in big moments and elite numbers
Top 5 contenders for ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2025
- Abhishek Sharma
- Goes: 859
- Average/Strike Rate: 95/193.46
- Milestones: Recorded 1 century and 5 half-centuries in 21 innings.
- Signature Display: Played a match-winning inning of 135 runs against a top team, leading to their emergence as a T20I powerhouse as India chased down the target in a high-stakes bilateral series.
Abhishek Sharma Arguably the strongest overall case has been made for the 2025 honour, having redefined what a T20I opener can do across the calendar year. The left-handed batsman scored 859 T20I runs in 21 matches in 2025 at an average of 42.95 and a whopping strike rate of 193.46, which included one century, five fifties and a highest score of 135. No other Indian batsman has matched his combination of volume and scoring rate, and his numbers have been widely highlighted as the best by an Indian in T20 in a single year.
His powerplay aggression consistently kept India ahead in the game, hitting 85 fours and 54 sixes in those 21 T20Is along with social and analytical breakdowns – extraordinary boundary numbers at the international level. Abhishek scored 1,602 runs in all T20s (India, IPL and domestic) in 2025, the second-highest annual score by an Indian in the format after Virat Kohli in 2016, underscoring his dominance beyond the international arena.
- Phil Salt
- Goes: 434
- Average/Strike Rate: 40/175.70
- Milestones: Scored 1 century and 3 half-centuries in 11 innings.
- Signature Display: He scored an unbeaten 141* off 60 balls at the record venue, taking England to their highest T20I score and cementing their position as global T20 innovators.
England opening batsman Phil Salt has produced explosive performances in T20Is, keeping him firmly in the awards conversation despite playing fewer matches than some of his rivals. In 2025, Salt scored 434 T20I runs at an average of 43.40 and a strike rate of 175.70, with one century and three fifties and a best score of 141*, making him one of the most destructive top-order batsmen of the format. His ability to turn games around in the powerplay has been central to England’s ultra-aggressive white-ball template and has helped them reach the top bracket of the T20I batting rankings.
Salt’s success has also translated into global T20 leagues, where he has been among the top ten run-scorers in all T20 cricket in 2025 with over 1,400 runs at a strike rate above 156, further cementing his credentials as a match-winner of the year. The demand from franchises, including high-profile IPL deals, reflects the premium placed on his fearless ball-striking and consistency.
- Varun Chakraborty
- Wicket: 36
- Average / Economy / Strike Rate: 19/7.08/11.16
- Milestones: Claimed to take four wickets once and five wickets once in 18 innings.
- Signature Display: A brilliant performance of 5/24 in a crucial match, tearing apart the opposition middle order and earning the Player of the Series title in the home win over South Africa.
Varun Chakravarthy has been the exceptional T20I spinner of 2025, delivering a golden year that has rewritten many Indian and global standards. The mystery spinner finished the calendar year with 36 wickets in 20 matches (18 innings) at an average of 13.19 and an economy rate of 7.08, including a four-wicket haul and a five-wicket haul with best figures of 5/24. This figure made him India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is for 2025 and joint top among Full Member nations with Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz.
Varun’s influence was especially seen in the domestic series. South AfricaWhere he won Player of the Series honors by taking 10 wickets at 11.20 in four matches and helped India win 3-1. Statistically, his 36 wickets put him just one behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Indian record of 37 T20I wickets in a calendar year, underscoring the historic nature of his 2025 campaign.
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Wicket: 36
- Average / Economy / Strike Rate: 61 / 6.56 / 12.44
- Milestones: Recorded the feat of taking five wickets once in 24 innings.
- Signature Display: A career-best 5/19 in the pressure cooker that became a must-win game with mid-overs breakthroughs that sealed the series for Pakistan.
Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has quietly put together one of the most effective T20I bowling years by a spinner in a full-member squad. In 2025, Nawaz took 36 wickets in 26 T20Is at an extraordinary average of 13.61 and an economy rate of 6.56, including five wickets and best figures of 5/19, placing him level with Chakravarthy at the top of the calendar-year wicket charts. Many record lists now show Nawaz holding the record for taking or sharing the most T20I wickets in a year among Pakistan bowlers.
Also read: Top 5 contenders for ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2025
Beyond the ball, the social summary of Pakistan’s season highlights that Nawaz also contributed over 350 T20I runs and several match-turning cameos, making his all-round value a key factor in his award case. His ability to bowl while maintaining control in the powerplay, middle overs and death overs has made him Pakistan’s most reliable T20 performer in all conditions in 2025.
- jacob duffy
- Wicket: 35
- Average / Economy / Strike Rate: 08/7.47/12.11
- Milestones: Achieved the feat of taking four wickets 3 times in 20 innings.
- Signature Display: A lethal 4/14 in a high-voltage clash, breaking through the batting lineup to defend a modest score and take New Zealand’s series lead.
New Zealand fast bowler jacob duffy The break into the top five comes after a breakout year that has turned him into one of the most prolific T20I fast bowlers in the world. The right-handed batsman took 35 wickets in 21 T20Is in 2025 at an average of 15.08, economy rate of 7.47 and strike rate of 12.11, including three four-wicket hauls and a best performance of 4/14. That performance made him the first Kiwi bowler to take more than 30 T20I wickets in a calendar year, which was widely celebrated in New Zealand media and fan circles.
Duffy’s success has come in a variety of circumstances, including a high-impact series against Pakistan, where he took 13 wickets in five matches to surge up the ICC T20I bowling rankings. His consistent wicket-taking at the top and in the middle overs has established him as New Zealand’s new T20I leader and an outsider but genuine contender for the global award.
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