Best XI across all formats in 2016

Azhar Ali

Warner's opening partner could not be more different. Azhar Ali began the year with 8 Test centuries and none outside the sub-continent. Although he averaged over 50 in Tests in three of the last four years, he had never really stood out in an batting line-up that continued to be reliant on old war horses in Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq.

All of that changed in 2016 for Azhar Ali as he became one of Pakistan's batting mainstays and established himself one of the best openers in the world. The calendar year saw him score a century in England, double century in Australia and a triple ton in the UAE and topple all sorts of records.

That he makes it into this side is all courtesy of his Test performances which saw him end the year with 1,198 runs at an average of over 60. His tendency to score big has been a constant amidst a year that saw plenty of Pakistani batting collapses.