The ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2025 race is shaping into a blockbuster tussle between explosive batters and high-impact spinners who dominated the shortest format across the calendar year. With major bilateral series and a packed T20I schedule, performances from India, England, Pakistan and New Zealand have produced a clear top tier of contenders built on consistency, impact in big moments and elite numbers.
Top 5 contenders for ICC Men’s T20I cricketer of the Year 2025
- Abhishek Sharma
- Runs: 859
- Average / Strike Rate: 95 / 193.46
- Milestones: Recorded 1 century and 5 half-centuries in 21 innings.
- Signature Performance: Blasted a match-winning 135 against a top side, anchoring India’s chase in a high-stakes bilateral series, marking his emergence as a T20I powerhouse.
Abhishek Sharma has arguably built the strongest overall case for the 2025 honour, 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 one century, five fifties and a highest score of 135. No other Indian batter matched his combination of volume and scoring rate, and his tally is widely highlighted as among the best ever by an Indian in T20s in a single year.
His powerplay aggression consistently put India ahead of the game, with social and analytical breakdowns noting 85 fours and 54 sixes in those 21 T20Is – extraordinary boundary numbers at international level. Abhishek also piled on 1,602 runs across all T20s in 2025 (India, IPL and domestic), the second-best annual tally by an Indian in the format after Virat Kohli’s 2016 haul, underlining his dominance beyond just the international arena.
- Phil Salt
- Runs: 434
- Average / Strike Rate: 40 / 175.70
- Milestones: Smashed 1 century and 3 half-centuries in 11 innings.
- Signature Performance: Unbeaten 141* off 60 balls at a record venue, propelling England to their highest T20I total and cementing his status as a global T20 enforcer.
England opener Phil Salt has produced a blistering T20I year that keeps him firmly in the awards conversation despite playing fewer games than some rivals. In 2025, Salt scored 434 T20I runs at an average of 43.40 and a strike rate of 175.70, with a century and three fifties and a best of 141*, numbers that place him among the format’s most destructive top-order batters. His ability to flip games in the powerplay has been central to England’s ultra-aggressive white-ball template and helped push him into the top bracket of T20I batting rankings.
Salt’s success has also translated across global T20 leagues, where he has remained among the top ten run-getters in all T20 cricket in 2025 with over 1,400 runs at a strike rate above 156, further strengthening his credentials as a year-long match-winner. Franchise demand, including a high-profile IPL deal, reflects the premium placed on his fearless ball-striking and consistency.
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Wickets: 36
- Average / Economy / Strike Rate: 19 / 7.08 / 11.16
- Milestones: Claimed 1 four-wicket haul and 1 five-for in 18 innings.
- Signature Performance: Dazzling 5/24 in a decisive match, dismantling the opposition middle order and earning Player of the Series in a home triumph over South Africa.
Varun Chakravarthy has been the standout T20I spinner of 2025, delivering a golden year that has rewritten several Indian and global benchmarks. The mystery spinner finished the calendar year with 36 wickets from 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. That tally made him India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is for 2025 and joint-top overall among full-member nations alongside Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz.
Varun’s impact was especially pronounced in the home series against South Africa, where he took 10 wickets in four matches at 11.20 to secure Player of the Series honours and help India seal a 3–1 win. 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
- Wickets: 36
- Average / Economy / Strike Rate: 61 / 6.56 / 12.44
- Milestones: Registered 1 five-wicket haul in 24 innings.
- Signature Performance: Career-best 5/19 in a pressure cooker, turning a must-win game with middle-over breakthroughs that sealed a series for Pakistan.
Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has quietly pieced together one of the most effective T20I bowling years ever by a spinner from a full-member side. In 2025, Nawaz claimed 36 wickets from 26 T20Is at an exceptional average of 13.61 and an economy rate of 6.56, with a five-wicket haul and best figures of 5/19, numbers that put him level with Chakravarthy at the top of the calendar-year wickets chart. Several records lists now show Nawaz as holding or sharing the mark for most T20I wickets in a year among Pakistan bowlers.
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Beyond the ball, social summaries of Pakistan’s season highlight that Nawaz also contributed over 350 T20I runs and multiple match-turning cameos, making his all-round value a key factor in his awards case. His ability to bowl in the powerplay, middle overs and at the death while maintaining control has made him Pakistan’s most reliable T20 performer across conditions in 2025.
- Jacob Duffy
- Wickets: 35
- Average / Economy / Strike Rate: 08 / 7.47 / 12.11
- Milestones: Secured 3 four-wicket hauls in 20 innings.
- Signature Performance: Lethal 4/14 in a high-voltage clash, ripping through the batting lineup to defend a modest total and spark New Zealand’s series surge.
New Zealand seamer Jacob Duffy completes the top five after a breakout year that has 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, an economy rate of 7.47 and a strike rate of 12.11, including three four-wicket hauls and a best of 4/14. That performance made him the first Kiwi bowler to take 30-plus T20I wickets in a calendar year, a landmark widely celebrated in New Zealand media and fan circles.
Duffy’s success has come across diverse conditions, including a high-impact series against Pakistan where he claimed 13 wickets in five matches to surge up the ICC T20I bowling rankings. His sustained wicket-taking at the top and in the middle overs has positioned him as New Zealand’s new T20I spearhead and an outside yet genuine contender for the global award.
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