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THE ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2025 The race is turning into a blockbuster fight between explosive hitters and high-impact spinners who have dominated the shortest format throughout the calendar year. With big bilateral series and a busy T20I schedule, performances of India, England, Pakistan And New Zealand have produced a group of top contenders, built on consistency, big-moment impact and elite numbers.
Top 5 Contenders for ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2025
- Abhishek Sharma
- Works: 859
- Average/strike rate: 95 / 193.46
- Milestones: Recorded 1 century and 5 half-centuries in 21 innings.
- Iconic performances: Made a match-winning 135 against a top team, anchoring India’s chase in a high-stakes bilateral series, marking their emergence as a T20I powerhouse.
Abhishek Sharma has built arguably the strongest overall case for the 2025 honor, redefining what a T20I opener can do over a full calendar year. The left-hander smashed 859 T20I runs in 2025 from 21 matches at an average of 42.95 and a staggering strike rate of 193.46, including a century, five fifties and a highest score of 135. No other Indian batter has matched his combination of volume and score rate, and his total is widely highlighted as among the best ever by an Indian in T20s in a single year.
His aggressiveness in the powerplay has consistently put India ahead of the game, with social and analytical breakdowns scoring 85 fours and 54 sixes in those 21 T20Is – extraordinary boundary figures at the international level. Abhishek has also accumulated 1,602 runs across all T20s in 2025 (India, IPL and domestic), the second-best annual tally by an Indian in this format after Virat Kohli’s in 2016, underlining his dominance beyond just the international arena.
- Phil Salt
- Works: 434
- Average/strike rate: 40 / 175.70
- Milestones: Smashed 1 century and 3 half-centuries in 11 innings.
- Iconic performances: Unbeaten 141* off 60 balls in a record venue, propelling England to their highest T20I total and cementing their status as a global T20 player.
England opener Phil Salt has produced a blistering T20I year that keeps him firmly in the awards conversation despite playing fewer matches than some 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 of 141*, figures which place him among the most destructive top-order hitters in the format. His ability to turn games on their head in the powerplay has been at the heart of England’s ultra-aggressive white-ball model and helped them move into the upper tier of the T20I batting rankings.
Salt’s success also translated into the global T20 leagues, where he remained among the top ten run-getters in all of T20 cricket in 2025 with over 1,400 runs at a strike rate above 156, further cementing his credentials as a match-winner for a year. The franchise demand, including a high-profile IPL deal, reflects the importance placed on his fearless ball-striking and consistency.
- Varun Chakraborty
- Counters: 36
- Average / Economy / Strike rate: 19 / 7.08 / 11.16
- Milestones: Claimed 1 four-wicket haul and 1 five-for in 18 innings.
- Iconic performances: Dazzling 5/24 in a decisive match, dismantling the opposition middle order and winning Player of the Series in a home triumph over South Africa.
Varun Chakravarthy was the most notable T20I spin-off of 2025, delivering a golden year that rewrote several Indian and global benchmarks. 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 both a four-wicket haul and a five-for with best figures of 5/24. This total made him India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is for 2025 and first overall among full member countries alongside Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz.
Varun’s impact was particularly pronounced during the home series against South Africawhere he took 10 wickets in four matches at 11:20 to secure player of the series honors and help India seal a 3–1 victory. Statistically, his 36 wickets also placed him just one behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Indian record of 37 T20I wickets in a calendar year, further underlining the historic nature of his 2025 campaign.
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Counters: 36
- Average / Economy / Strike rate: 61 / 6.56 / 12.44
- Milestones: Recorded 1 five-wicket haul in 24 innings.
- Iconic performances: Career-best 5/19 in a pressure cooker, turning a must-win match with intermediate breakthroughs that sealed a series for Pakistan.
Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has quietly pieced together one of the most effective years of T20I bowling ever by a spinner for a full member team. In 2025, Nawaz has claimed 36 wickets from 26 T20Is at an outstanding average of 13.61 and an economy rate of 6.56, with a haul of five wickets and best figures of 5/19, figures that put him level with Chakravarthy at the top of the calendar year wicket chart. Several record lists now show that Nawaz holds or shares the mark for most T20I wickets in a year among Pakistani bowlers.
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Beyond the ball, social summaries of Pakistan’s season highlight that Nawaz also contributed over 350 T20I runs and several match-defining cameos, making his overall value a key factor in his awards case. His ability to play powerplay, middle over and at the death while maintaining control has made him Pakistan’s most reliable T20 performer in all conditions in 2025.
- Jacob Duffy
- Counters: 35
- Average / Economy / Strike rate: 08 / 7.47 / 12.11
- Milestones: Got 3 four-wicket hauls in 20 innings.
- Iconic performances: Lethal 4/14 in a high-voltage clash, tearing apart the batting line-up to defend a modest total and spark New Zealand’s series build-up.
New Zealand seamer Jacob Duffy completes the top five after a stellar year that transformed him into one of the most prolific T20I quicks in the world. The right-armer picked up 35 wickets from 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 of 4/14. This performance made him the first Kiwi bowler to take more than 30 T20I wickets in a calendar year, a milestone widely celebrated in New Zealand media and fan circles.
Duffy’s success came against various conditions, including a high-impact series against Pakistan where he took 13 wickets in five matches to climb the ICC T20I bowling rankings. His sustained wicket-taking at the top and middle has positioned him as New Zealand’s new T20I spearhead and an outside but genuine contender for the world prize.
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