Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2017: Top 10 T20I batsmen of the year

AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers averaged over 50 in T20Is in 2017

It took him two years to make a Test comeback, but AB de Villiers remained a constant in coloured clothing for South Africa.

Possessing a remarkable quiver of strokes, de Villiers ensured he made up for his absence from Tests with scintillating strokeplay in the few matches he actually featured in the shorter formats.

In seven innings for the men from the Rainbow Nation, de Villiers managed 304 runs at an average over 50 and a strike rate of 152. Mingling the skill of a veteran craftsman with the brute force of an inexperienced butcher, de Villiers contributed in every single game he pulled on the green shirt for the South Africans.

The highlight was his remarkable consistency: he reached the 20-run mark on all seven occasions, converting two of those into half centuries, against Sri Lanka at Cape Town and England at Southampton.