ICC World T20 2016: Rating the Indian cricketers at World T20

MS Dhoni excelled yet again in an ICC tournament

6. MS Dhoni: 8/10

With all the flak that he has received in the recent past, be it for his batting, for his captaincy or otherwise, the Indian captain has coped up with everything that has come his way and has responded in an emphatic manner.

While the scores of 30, 13*, 13*, 18*, and 15* might aggregate into just 89 runs from 5 games, but the circumstances in which he got those runs- at the fag end of the innings- and in the manner he got them- en route finishing games against Australia and Pakistan- speaks volumes about the fire that the Indian captain still has within himself.

Combine that with his blitzkrieg behind the stumps and you would still see a complete limited-overs package as far as batting at the death and finishing games is concerned.

The run-out off the final ball of the match against Bangladesh as well as the stumping out of nowhere to dismiss Soumya Sarkar in the same game would forever be etched into every cricket fan’s mind.

Dhoni- the captain, then wicket-keeper, and the finisher- excelled yet again in a World tournament and proved to everyone why he still is the best captain and the best man behind the stumps for the team.

7. Hardik Pandya: 6/10

Hardik Pandya’s fairytale T20 career was put to its litmus test in the World T20 this year, and he blew hot and blew cold on occasions.

While he took 2 wickets against Australia, 2 against Bangladesh and 1 against Pakistan, the manner in which he got those wickets spoke more about the batsmen’s errors than the bowler’s skill.

Otherwise, Pandya’s lengths have been pretty ordinary this tournament, a prime example of which was the semi-final game against the West Indies, where on a flat track, he consistently bowled half-trackers, and length balls, thereby enabling the West Indian batsmen to get underneath and launch big shots off him.

Much credit was given to then Gujarat-born all-rounder for the last over that was bowled in the match against Bangladesh, but it was pretty evident that the wickets that fell in the over were because the Bangladeshi batsmen panicked towards the end, and not because Pandya bowled terrific deliveries.

8. Ravindra Jadeja: 6/10

India’s slow-track specialist, who has been known for his immaculate line and length and squeezing the opposition under pressure failed to live up to the expectations that the team had from him.

With the tracks varying in quality with every match that India played, Jadeja failed to show the adaptability that was required, and failed to pick up crucial wickets.

He picked up 1 wicket each against New Zealand and Pakistan, 2 against Bangladesh, and went wicket-less in the last two games against Australia and West Indies.

On the flattest of tracks in Mumbai, Jadeja erred miserably as he didn/t bowl to the field set and kept bowling wide half-volleys, thereby presenting the batsmen with an ample number of scoring opportunities.

His figures of 0/48 in the semi-final were his worst figures of the tournament.

9. Ravichandran Ashwin: 7/10

India’s ace spinner, albeit not being at this threatening best in the tournament, provided his team with vital breakthroughs just when the team needed them.

He got India’s campaign to a perfect start by dismissing Martin Guptill in the first over of the Super 10 stage after being hit for a six off the first ball, and although India lost that match, he helped his team gallop back with an economical spell of 3-0-12-0 against Pakistan in a rain-curtailed match.

He bettered that with two vital strikes against Bangladesh, which included the wicket of their best all-rounder, Shakib-Al-Hasan at a crucial stage of the match.

Although, he went for runs in the games against Australia and West Indies and could not play a decisive role in the match as opposed to what was expected of India’s best spin bowler at the moment.

Jasprit Bumrah has emerged as a death over specialist for India

10. Jasprit Bumrah: 7.5/10

Jasprit Bumrah can arguably be considered as the find of the year for India, and the 22-year old youngster proved his mettle once again, and this time, on a big stage.

His death over skills were on display right from the first game of the tournament when he bowled excellent yorkers towards the end of New Zealand’s innings, thereby helping India restrict the Kiwis to a paltry total and uprooting Corey Anderson’s stumps in then process.

He bowled well against Pakistan as well, but the defining moment for him as far as the World T20 was concerned came in the match against Bangladesh, when he bowled a superb 19th over while defending just 17 runs off 12 balls, and gave away just singles off it.

Bumrah set up the now fabled final over of the match wherein Pandya defended 11 runs to win the game for India courtesy some self-destruction by the Bangladeshi batsmen.

The Mumbai Indians player also gave India the perfect start with the ball in the semi-final, when he cleaned up Chris Gayle’s off stump off the very first ball of his spell, with an inswinging yorker.

11. Ashish Nehra: 8.5/10

The 36-year-old veteran who has already made several comebacks into the Indian side, made this comeback then most effective and phenomenal of them all, as he spearheaded the Indian bowling attack and bowled with precision as well as pace.

His exploits resulted in wickets, both in the powerplays, as well as, during the death, and he returned as the most economical of all the front-line bowlers that India had for the tournament.

Even in the semi-final, when his counterparts were disappearing all around the park, he conceded just 24 runs off his 4 overs and also picked up the vital wicket of Marlon Samuels.

(Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey played just one game in the tournament, hence, the sample size is too small to rate them. Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Shami, and Pawan Negi didn’t feature in any of the playing XIs for India in he tournament, and hence have not been rated.)