Cricket in 2018: The best T20I captain of the year

Year after year the game of cricket has been witnessing revolutionary changes with regards to the innovation, rules, the level of fitness of cricketers, the competition and even formats. T20 cricket, the shortest format which has witnessed rapid changes has been quite cruel on the teams especially the captains who have to be on their toes and think on their feet as readymade plans often fail on the field.

The leadership skills have to be astute so as to think and take big decisions, even gambles as higher the risk is higher the reward in this form of the sport. Although T20 specialists are picked in the shortest format of the game and are entrusted to do a job, the role of captain is equally crucial if not more. It is often argued that the best of minds always help you achieve bigger feats as they have the ability to take risks when it matters.

Many captains showed commendable leadership skills in 2018 taking their teams to new heights in the most intriguing and testing shortest format but the one who stood out was the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team, Sarfraz Ahmed. The 31-year-old has been an inspirational leader for the bunch. He has given them confidence, trusts in their abilities and marshalled his troops really well and can thus be crowned as the “Best T20 Captain of the year 2018”

When Sarfraz took the captaincy of the young Pakistan side following the disastrous World T20 in 2016, they were at number 7 in the ICC rankings and two years from there they are at the summit. Under his captaincy, the team has performed exceptionally well – at times they’ve taken micro steps forward but have been moving in the right direction. He has to be attributed with building the team’s confidence, bringing out the best in his players and thus they’ve defeated most teams this year.

The most successful team in the year

In 2018, Pakistan played 19 matches in the shortest format of the game and won 17 there were only two games where they ended second best which is quite a feat. Their win to loss ratio is the highest for the year 2018 at 8.5.

The record is itself self-explanatory on how the skipper has led his team to put the best foot forward and managed to instil a sense of belief in the players. It is important to mention that 15 of the matches they played were against the top T20 sides in the world: 6 against New Zealand, 3 against Windies and 6 against Australia while 4 were against Scotland and Zimbabwe (two each).

Under Sarfraz’s captaincy, Pakistan is yet to concede a series in the T20 format, winning 11 consecutive series which is a world record. They have never lost a series in the shortest format for more than two years now, which is phenomenal. Sarfraz & Co. have won 11 consecutive games in T20Is while chasing, which is also a record. They have a 100 per cent chase record in T20Is under the leadership of the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Another remarkable milestone the number 1 ranked T20I team achieved under the 31-year-old skipper is a national record of 9 consecutive T20I wins in a row without conceding a defeat which is two shy of world record held by Afghanistan (11 wins in a row).

There’s no denying the fact that the team that was forced to play away from their home owing to security concerns and made UAE their second home has shown the world that if you have the talent and are willing to put in the effort success definitely comes by.

The credit for instilling this belief in his players and for pushing them even if too hard at times to get the desired outcomes surely goes to the captain Sarfraz Ahmed.

Get the latest Cricket News and all the Cricket in 2018 articles, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.