It’s almost the end of 2016 and we have had a year of scintillating cricket. It began with India taking on Australia in the One-Day series and slowly the focus shifted to the World T20 which was for the first time held in India. West Indies were crowned champions and then there was a heap of Test matches which were played. The pink-ball also drew a lot of interest as the world got to see more of it.
All through this year, there were cricketers who were brilliant. Who contributed immensely to the success of their teams. Therefore it’s time we look at 25 such individuals who have had a year to savour. In this article, we will look at the countdown from 25 to 16.
#25 Dinesh Chandimal
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After the retirement of the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Chandimal has been one of the mainstays of Sri Lanka’s batting. He has matured as a player in the last few years and has been a constant run-getter for the Islanders. Whenever and wherever Sri Lanka have been in trouble more often than not he has bailed them out.
Chandimal has had quite a year to remember as he played 21 matches in all, where he scored 1113 runs.He had a batting average of 46.37 with the highest score of 132. He also smashed four centuries during the time period.
#24 Vernon Philander
Now when you have Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada in a side, it becomes difficult to cement a place in it. Therefore Philander did not play in any ODIs or T20s in 2016. He just played in 6 Test matches. But in these games Philander was outstanding.
The right arm pacer grabbed 21 wickets in these outings with two five-wicket hauls to his credit. He had a bowling average of 20.38 alongside his 179 runs with the bat.
Philander was particularly impressive in his last three games against Australia where he picked up 12 wickets helping his side win the series 2-1.
#23 Babar Azam
The 22-year-old is one of the finest in the Pakistan cricket team at present. Since making his debut in March last year, the youngster has gone on to impress everyone. He averaged a very healthy 53.00 combining all formats in the year from 20 outings. He also amassed 1060 runs with 3 tons to his credit. With scores of 120, 123 and 117 in the series against West Indies in October, Azam now has the world record for the most runs in a three-match bilateral ODI series. His 360 runs beat de Kock's 342 against India.
Pakistan surely would want him to keep on going strong in the years ahead especially with the kind of talent he has. Maybe some years down the line he will be placed beside the likes of the Virat Kohli’s and the Joe Root’s.
#22 Rohit Sharma
It was an average year for Rohit Sharma in international cricket. He, however, played some crucial knocks in One-Day-Internationals and T20 formats but failed to replicate the same in Tests.
During the World T20 this year it was Rohit who gave India some great starts. He started off the year with a bang with a 171 not out at Perth and then bagged another 124 at Brisbane against the Australians but then after the World T20 his performances slid down.
In the last ODI series versus New Zealand where he played five games, his best score was 70. Overall, he played 33 matches in 2016 where he scored 1349 runs at an average of 43.51 with 2 hundreds.
His fans would surely hope he will have a better 2017.
#21 Trent Boult
He is quick, he is aggressive and has the ability to grab wickets at crucial junctures in a game. Boult has been quite a revelation for New Zealand since making his debut in 2011. This year too, the left-arm paceman was very impressive.
This year, Boult featured in 10 matches, 14 ODIs and 4 T20s where he bagged 31, 27 and 5 wickets respectively. In total, he had 63 wickets from 28 games with a best of 4/40 versus Pakistan in a One-Dayer.
His average with the ball was an impressive 29.39. He will be key to New Zealand’s success in the years to come.
#20 Jasprit Bumrah
India have always wanted a bowler who was steady at the death. Bumrah catered to the needs of the team and was drafted into the side in January 2016. The right-arm paceman was impressive right from his debut where he bagged 2/40 against Australia. Since then he has grown in stature with every passing game.
He has played 29 games so far—8 ODIs and 21 T20Is and has picked up 45 wickets. He averages an impressive 17.24 with the ball.
His best of 4/22 came against Zimbabwe in an ODI in Harare in June. Astonishingly Bumrah hasn’t scored an international run yet. But with the kind of form he is in with the ball he is surely going to make 2017 his own too.
#19 Martin Guptill
The New Zealand opener had an average 2016 when you take into account all three formats combined. But when you pull out only his limited overs record in the year, he has had a brilliant run. Now one of the things with Guptill is that when he gets going, there is no way to stop him.
Australia recently witnessed one such knock when he cracked an 114 at Sydney. Even though the Kiwis lost the game, it was an innings to remember. In 2016, he averaged 42.41 in ODIs and above 49 in T20Is.
Overall he played 35 matches, scored 1506 runs with a mean of 36.73. He also picked up 5 wickets with his off spinners.
#18 Chris Woakes
He is one of the brightest all-rounders that England have at the moment. But he is yet to cement a place in the side in any format. 2016 was a mixed year for Woakes where he played 12 Tests and 14 50-over games.
On one or two occasions he came good with the willow for England too, as he grabbed a top score of 93 not out in a Test and a One-Dayer.
For the record, Woakes featured in 26 games where he scored 705 runs and picked 58 wickets. His best bowling figures of 6/70 came in a Test match against Pakistan a few months back.
In 2017, he would ideally want to cement a place in the England playing XI.
#17 Hashim Amla
He has been South Africa’s batting talisman for some time now. Be it Tests, ODIs or T20s, Amla has been a consistent performer at the top of the order.
In 2016, however, Amla played just nine games as he was sidelined due to multiple injuries. And whenever he returned to the first XI, he struggled. But he still managed to gather 729 runs in nine matches with the highest score of 201. His average with the bat was still at a healthy 48.60.
For a man who made his debut way back in 2004 maybe the age and the toil is catching up but he would still hope to have a better 2017.
#16 Mohammad Amir
He stormed into the Pakistan side as a teenager who was bowling at around 150 clicks per hours. He was picking up wickets, bouncing out opponents, everything was rosy for the young man. But then he got involved in a match-fixing scandal and was banned for five years.
His ban was lifted in September 2015 and early this year he made a return to the Pakistan side. And what a comeback it was for the now 24-year-old.
Amir had sharpened his skills while his time in the wilderness and returned as a wily and crafty bowler. He lost a bit of pace but still had the ability to surprise the batsman with his late movement.
He has had a wonderful year where he first took on New Zealand, West Indies and then England. In the 32 matches he played this year, Amir grabbed 53 wickets at an average of 34.67 with best of 4/97 against Australia.
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