ICC World T20: Top Five Batsmen to look out for

After five scintillating editions, the world’s biggest T20 cricket tournament is back to amuse the cricket fans around the globe. For the third time in a row, the ICC T20 world cup is taking place in the Indian subcontinent. Subcontinent conditions hold a reputation of batting friendly pitches.For every team, batsmen are going to play a significant role in the tournament. Every team consists a number of proficient batsmen who have been known to change the course of the match at any moment. Although each team has a strong batting line-up, it will be interesting to see if they live up to their reputation.Let us take a look at top 5 batsmen who are favorite to make an impact in this World Cup:

#5 Jos Buttler

jos butler — Buttler has England's three fastest one-day hundreds to his name

Jos Buttler has been growing his stature in international cricket ever since he was given a consistent run by the selectors. He is described as one of the most destructive batsmen in the world at the moment. He is a natural stroke-player, particularly strong on the leg side. He prefers to come in and play an inning of stellar quality.

His ability to score runs in death overs and his all-round abilities make him one of the most influential players in the England team. Buttler has England's three fastest one-day hundreds to his name, Maiden ODI ton off just 61 balls, against Sri Lanka at Lord's, a thrilling inning of 129 against New Zealand at Edgbaston and topping the list, a 46-ball onslaught against Pakistan in Dubai.

In recent years, he has matured as a player who can play a big innings. The inform Buttler would help the English Team to go a long way in this edition of ICC World T20.

#4 David Warner

He is considered as solid built, a hard-hitting top order batsman in the limited over cricket. He has immense power in his forearms which make him a hard hitter of a cricket ball. He is the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without any experience in first-class cricket.

In International cricket, David Warner has labelled as not having a single defensive bone in his body. He is known for his offensive batting style and ability to play switch hit by using a right-handed stance which produce plenty of runs for him. Warner generates his power from his strong forearms and uses his low center of gravity to get underneath deliveries and hit them high in the air. If a bowler misses his line and length, even by a few inches, he will smash it to the boundary.

David Warner is not only an effective batsman against the pace bowlers, but he also has the ability to demolish any quality spin side which make him one of the most impactful batsmen in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.

#3 AB de Villiers

A Human dynamo like no other, an enigmatic batsman, AB de Villiers is widely regarded as one of the multifaceted athletes to have walked on a cricket field. His extraordinary strength and fitness make him an influential personality on the cricket field.

He often decimates the entire horde of bowlers with his ability to play innovative shots and superb hand-eye coordination. If fine leg or Deep Square is up, he shuffles across and scoops it over square or fine leg for four or six. If you bowl short, he is confident to pull you for six in any cricket ground. If it’s full, he will loft you over your head for six.

On January 18, 2015, de Villiers shattered the entire West Indies bowling attack and scored the fastest hundred ever in One day international. Currently, he holds the record for the fastest 50, 100, and 150 in an ODI. In India, he has a great fan following as compared to other foreign players. His experience of playing on Indian pitches and his past records in subcontinent conditions would play a crucial role in his upcoming T2O world cup campaign.

#2 Chris Gayle

An explosive left-handed batsman, this Caribbean run-machine can bring nightmares to thriftiest bowlers in the world, he can take a match away from any team in a few balls. He is known for his aggressive batting style, imposing physique and timing, his long reach helps him in getting to the pitch of the ball allowing him to send deliveries over the infield with ease.

There is hardly any way to win a match if he starts middling the ball with his bat. In his cricketing career, Gayle set numerous world records in the game across the world. He is a batsman with a blazing reputation who stands as one of the front-runners for his team. His recent 12 ball fifty in the BBL against Adelaide Strikers is sufficient to prove his destructive batting style.

Besides domestic T20 cricket leagues, Chris Gayle has made 1406 runs at a strike rate of 142.6 in 43 innings in T20I. In the first match of the inaugural T20 world cup, Gayle horrified the South African bowlers by smashing 117 off 57 balls, the first ever T20I century. Although the Indian subcontinent pitches are different from the Caribbean and Australian pitches, Gayle’s prior familiarity with these conditions from his experience in the IPL would be a big reason to worry for other teams in this ICC T20 World cup 2016.

#1 Virat Kohli

He is arguably the finest batsman in the world right now. Kohli may seem to be arrogant at times, but this doesn’t affect his passion while playing for the nation. His brilliant efforts on the field often become controversial, but he is always applauded for his performances. He has gained success and fame in a short span of time.

In twenty over format, batsmen play low percentage of cricketing shots and this makes extremely difficult for them to achieve any sort of consistency in their performance. But Kohli’s ability in adapting to different conditions and his style of playing risk-free cricket without compromising on the ability to score runs quickly make him a regular performer. His average of 52.61 in T20Is is enough to demonstrate his consistency in the shortest version of the game.

One of the significant aspects of Kohli's batting is his ability to play regular shots, keep his balance while batting offensively and finding the gaps in the field for two's and four's. He recently scored 199 runs in 3 matches T20 series against Australia, which displays his ability to adapt to different conditions with ease. He has a wide range of strokes in his batting arsenal, which makes him one of the complete batsmen of the modern era.

He clearly has no problems with different kind of bowlers and conditions. Kohli would be the key batsman for India on their road to glory.