1. Rohit Sharma

11 matches, 378 runs at 42.00, SR: 160.16, HS: 121*

The T20 World Cup winning captain comes out at No.1. His inclusion is mainly based on three crucial knocks in that competition, with his century against Afghanistan at the start of the year being another contributing factor. He scored 52* on a tricky New York pitch in India's World Cup opener, as well as 92 against Australia which was named as Wisden's T20I innings of the year.

2. Travis Head

15 matches, 539 runs at 38.50, SR: 178.47, HS: 80

There was significant competition for the second opening spot, with Tilak Varma and Phil Salt both in contention. Ultimately the small sample size for Varma and proportion of runs scored in the West Indies for Salt led to Head's inclusion. Head had success in the T20 World Cup, and also scored a 23-ball 59 against England in September, having started the year with consistent performances against New Zealand.

3. Sanju Samson

13 matches, 436 runs at 43.60, SR: 180.16, HS: 111

After missing out on the T20 World Cup, Samson scored back-to-back hundreds as part of a re-vamped India side following the tournament. He hitt 111 and 107 against Bangladesh and South Africa respectively, and capped off the year with another century in Johannesburg.

4. Daryl Mitchell

10 matches, 274 runs at 39.14, SR: 158.38, HS: 72*

Mitchell scored two half-centuries against Pakistan at the beginning of the year, including a 27-ball 61 in Auckland. He also hit 62 off 147.61 against Sri Lanka last month. Other contenders for middle or places included Babar Azam and Tristan Stubbs.

5. Glenn Maxwell

16 matches, 389 runs at 32.41, SR: 166.95, HS: 120*

Maxwell started the year with an unbeaten 120 against West Indies in Adelaide, before he recovered from a slump of form to make consistent contributions in Australia's T20 World Cup campaign.

6. Hardik Pandya

17 matches, 352 runs at 44.00, SR: 150.42, HS: 50*
16 wickets at 26.25, ER: 8.23, BBI: 3-20

Having had an outstanding year in T20Is, Pandya's 2024 was soured slightly when he missed out on India captaincy after Rohit's retirement from the format. His strike-rate is particularly eye-catching this year, as the ultimate lower-middle order innings finisher. He also made important contributions to India's T20 World Cup win with the ball, taking three wickets against South Africa in Bridgetown.

7. Wanindu Hasaranga

20 matches, 38 wickets at 14.28, ER: 7.11, BBI: 4-15
179 runs at 11.93, SR: 146.72, HS: 67

Hasaranga was prolific in 2024. He took 38 wickets including two four-fors against Zimbabwe and New Zealand. Hasaranga took at least one wicket in every T20I innings he bowled this year, including six wickets across four matches in the T20 World Cup, and 4-17 in New Zealand in November.

8. Rashid Khan

14 matches, 31 wickets at 9.58, ER: 5.60, BBI: 4-14

Look no further than Rashid's average for the reason he was included in this team. As good as ever, Rashid remains the outstanding T20 spinner in the world.

9. Naveen-ul-Haq

19 matches, 32 wickets at 15.34, ER: 7.40, BBI: 4-20

The second player from Afghanistan in this team, in a year where they made the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time, Naveen was an integral part of their success. He took 4-26 against Bangladesh in the competition, and finished with a strong bilateral series against Zimbabwe.

10. Jasprit Bumrah

8 matches, 15 wickets at 8.26, ER: 4.17, BBI: 3-7

Bumrah's 2024 was outstanding in all facets of the game, and with his Border-Gavaskar red-ball success it's easy for his Player of the Tournament run in the T20 World Cup to fade into the background. He conceded just seven runs and took three wickets in his four over Super Eights spell against Afghanistan, and took 2-18 in the final against South Africa. Despite playing just eight matches, the last of which was that World Cup final in June, Bumrah was the standout seamer of the year in T20Is.

11. Arshdeep Singh

18 matches, 36 wickets at 13.50, ER: 7.49, BBI; 4-9

Arshdeep rounds out five India players in the XI, for both his performances in the World Cup and in India's bilaterals later in the year. He finished the year with an outstanding average, and his best performance of 4-9 in New York the highlight.

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