Best XI across all formats in 2016

2016 was a year that saw plenty of brilliant performers and performances. West Indies won the World T20, India went through the entire year unbeaten in Tests and England established themselves as a formidable outfit in the shorter formats.

The modern fab four (Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith) all scored over 1,800 runs and finished as four of the top five run-getters in international cricket. But only three of the four make it into this side.

The side consists of five front-line batsmen, an all-rounder and four bowlers, including three seamers and a spinner. Australia dominate this side with four players while there are two players each from England, India and South Africa while there is a solitary player from Pakistan.

Here is the best team across all formats in 2016:

David Warner

Having been a regular fixture in the Australian side across all three formats, David Warner wasn't really under any pressure in 2016 to perform. But they say that your biggest competition is yourself and Warner really took that seriously as he went berserk and smashed all of his previous records and also a few more in the calendar year.

An explosive opener, who was thought o be ideal in the shorter formats, not only has Warner show he is a multi-format player but also finished 2016 with more centuries than anyone else in international cricket.

In his 44 matches, the 30-year-old smashed 2,374 runs at an average of 47.48 with nine centuries, including his career-best ODI score and the highest tally of runs in a calendar year by an Australian opener.

Azhar Ali

Warner's opening partner could not be more different. Azhar Ali began the year with 8 Test centuries and none outside the sub-continent. Although he averaged over 50 in Tests in three of the last four years, he had never really stood out in an batting line-up that continued to be reliant on old war horses in Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq.

All of that changed in 2016 for Azhar Ali as he became one of Pakistan's batting mainstays and established himself one of the best openers in the world. The calendar year saw him score a century in England, double century in Australia and a triple ton in the UAE and topple all sorts of records.

That he makes it into this side is all courtesy of his Test performances which saw him end the year with 1,198 runs at an average of over 60. His tendency to score big has been a constant amidst a year that saw plenty of Pakistani batting collapses.

Virat Kohli (Captain)

What can be said of Virat Kohli's form in 2016 that hasn't been said before. He finished the year with not just his personal-best tally of runs in a calendar year but with the most of any international batsman and second-most of any Indian batsman in the history of the game.

What makes his numbers look all the more impressive is not just the sheer volume of runs that he has scored but the consistency. Take this for instance, he is the only player to end a calendar year with an average of over 75 across all formats in the history of the game.

If 1,215 Test runs an average of 75.93 seem impressive, then his tally of 739 ODI runs at an average of 92.37 is mind-boggling and 641 T20I runs at an average of 106.83 is simply superhuman. That and the fact that he almost single-handedly took India to World T20 glory and ended the year unbeaten as captain in Tests means he also captains this side.

Joe Root

In many ways, 2016 has been the year of almost for Joe Root. He almost broke Michael Vaughan's record of most Test runs in a calendar year by an Englishman, he almost took his side to their second World T20 title and he only just finish second on the leading run-scorers chart for the year behind Virat Kohli.

If those make it seem like 2016 was a disappointing year for Root, then that couldn't be farther from the truth. As the 26-year-old batsman broke new barriers, set his personal-best tally of runs and scored over 2,500 runs at an average of over 50. He also scored 18 fifties, which is one short of Tendulkar's tally of 19.

As a batsman, barring from adding a few more centuries, there was little Root didn't do. He doubled his career tally of T20I fifties and averaged over 60 in ODIs as he all but shed his image of being an impressive Test player but not as good in the shorter formats as he flourished irrespective of the format he played in.

Steve Smith

After scoring over 2,000 runs across all formats in 2015 at an average of over 60, few thought that Steve Smith could do better in 2016. Even if his average isn't as good it was last year, Smith still managed to finish 2016 with his personal-best tally of runs and fifties in a calendar year.

Australia may have had a mixed year in 2016 after losing five consecutive Tests and being whitewashed in South Africa in the ODI series but it was a memorable year for Smith with the willow. His captaincy may still need some work but having become the first batsman to average over 60 in Tests after 90 innings, it is fair to say his batting certainly doesn't.

Not only did Smith score 2,406 runs at an average of 53 with seven centuries and 13 fifties but he was also the only batsman to score more than 1,000 runs in both ODIs and Tests in 2016. Having score nearly 5,000 runs in international cricket in the last two years, one can only wonder how much higher Smith can go.

Ben Stokes

The value of a good all-rounder is one that can only truly be felt when you don't have one. Having a player who can be picked in the side as a specialist batsman or a bowler is a luxury that not many countries have. But England are fortunate to have one in Ben Stokes, who makes it into this side as the all-rounder.

Nearly 1,500 runs and 50 wickets make for great numbers for a batsmen and a bowler but when you consider that it was Stokes who managed both, that is when you know you have a serious talent on your hands. And the Durham all-rounder has only just begun his international career.

Whether it was providing a final flourish in the shorter formats, some useful counter-attacking middle-order runs in Tests, Stokes was a hit with the bat. With the ball, he showed his mastery of reverse swing with the red ball and his death bowling prowess in the limited-overs, barring the debacle in the World T20 final.

Quinton de Kock (Wicketkeeper)

The battle for the wicketkeeping slot is arguably the most difficult choice in the entire side. Both Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow were phenomenal with the bat in 2016, having scored over 1,600 runs each across all formats. But courtesy of his impressive consistency across all formats, it is the South African who gets the nod.

After an impressive start to his limited-overs career, 2016 was the year in which Quinton established himself as a worthy replacement for the legendary Adam Gilchrist. Following in the Australian's footsteps, the Proteas keeper has been a revelation opening the innings in the shorter formats while providing to be a brilliant counter-attacking option in the lower middle-order in Tests.

With 1,781 runs to his name at an average of 53.96, the 24-year-old finished sixth on the leading run-scorer charts across all formats. His ability to accelerate from outset irrespective of the format is what makes him a dangerous batsman and that was in evidence in 2016 where he scored more than one-third of his runs in international cricket.

Mitchell Starc

Despite not playing an international match until June 2016, the fact that Mitchell Starc makes it onto this list is a testament to just how good he has been in the calendar year since his return from injury. And the fact that he has proven himself to be a handy hitter lower down the order doesn't hurt his chances either.

Despite playing just 23 matches across all formats in 2016, Starc finished the year with 80 wickets, a tally which was bettered by just two bowlers. And he managed to do all at a strike rate and average which just defied belief at times.

Starc has always been a great limited-overs bowler, courtesy of his yorkers and that was evident as he broke an all-time ODI record by becoming the fastest bowler to 100 wickets. But 2016 also showed just how good he can be with the red ball as he finished with 50 wickets in 8 Tests, the first of which came in late July and despite bowling on largely placid pitches.

Ravichandran Ashwin

2016 was a year in which Ravichandran Ashwin broke the Asian record for being the fastest to 200 Tests and as the leading wicket-taker in Tests and second on the list in T20Is. 97 wickets in all formats in the year means that there can be little doubt about who the year's best bowler was.

Ashwin beat his personal-best tally of most wickets in calendar year, which he set last year but fell just short of the Indian record of most wickets in Tests in a series and a calendar year. Still, Ashwin was simply sublime in Tests, where he picked up 72 wickets in 12 matches and 23 wickets in T20Is in 17 matches at an economy rate of just 6.30.

The only blot on Ashwin's copybooks in 2016 was his performance in ODIs, although playing just two of India's 13 matches in the format meant he didn't have too much time to any impact, which will be something he will be looking to correct in 2017.

Kagiso Rabada

For someone who only just made his international debut in 2015, Kagiso Rabada has certainly had a phenomenal year in 2016. Not only did he finish as the pacer with the most wickets in the calendar year but also finished second overall, behind Ravichandran Ashwin, which is not bad for someone who hadn't played an international game at the start of last year.

Of the 113 wickets that the 21-year-old fast bowler has taken in his career, 81 came in 2016 from just 32 matches. What was most impressive about Rabada is not just the wickets that he picks up but also the way that he goes about doing it.

If his career economy rate of over 5 and 8 in ODIs and T20Is seem on the higher side, his strike rate of 28.7 and 16.4 certainly make up for that. Although he is yet to cross 50 wickets in any format of the game, if he keeps up his incredible form, he will have a very good chance of breaking quite a few records before too long.

Josh Hazlewood

Although he is often overlooked in favour of Mitchell Starc, who steals all the headlines as far as bowling is concerned, that should take nothing away from the performance of Josh Hazlewood. Only three bowlers managed to pick up more international wickets in 2016 than the right-arm fast bowler who enjoyed a stellar calendar year.

With Starc missing from the line-up for the first half of the year, it was Hazlewood who stepped up and lead the bowling attack. And his tally of his 69 wickets from 30 matches and consistency across formats helped him take the final spot in the side ahead of Rangana Herath and Ravindra Jadeja, who flourished in largely favorable conditions and predominantly in the longer format.