ICC World T20 2016: Team of the tournament

Mitchell Santner

Santner's intelligent variations kept batsmen on their toes

Before the start of the tournament, many predicted that it would be the tournament for the spinners. But few would have predicted that the spinner with the most wickets would be a slow left arm bowler from New Zealand who had only played 5 T20Is coming into this tournament.

Yet, thanks to a combination of helpful surfaces and intelligent spin bowling, Mitchell Santner finished with 10 wickets from five matches at an average of 11.40 and an economy rate of just 6.27. What was more impressive was that he bowled in the powerplay and still managed to keep things tight.

While his wickets were certainly crucial, his runs in the opening game against India were the difference between a sub-par score on a turning track and a par score and that was what started New Zealand with a win that culminated in a semi-final place.