2016 was certainly a memorable year for India. Not only did they end the calendar year as the No.1 ranked Test team but also reached the semi-final of the World T20, won two of their three ODI series and 75% of their T20I matches.
However, despite their impressive performances and the form of the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, there were also few players who couldn't quite live up to the billing in 2016. Some didn't get enough chances but there were others who didn't make the most of theirs and disappointed in 2016.
Here are five Indian players who disappointed in 2016:
Rishi Dhawan
India have always been on the lookout for a genuine fast bowling all-rounder and their search hasn't thrown up too many rewards. Not since the likes of Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan have India had someone who can fulfill the duties of performing with both bat and ball in equal measure. And when Rishi Dhawan was picked for the ODI series against Australia, many thought he could be the answer.
An able middle-order batsman who also has a handy knack of picking up wickets, Dhawan was picked for the ODI and T20I series against Australia in January. However, he had a series to forget with both bat and ball. In the three ODIs that he played, he took just one wicket and was expensive while in his only T20I he went for 42 runs in his four overs while picking up just one wicket.
What made matters even worse for him was that Hardik Pandya, who wasn't even part of the ODI squad to face Australia, overtook him in the all-rounder ranks and established himself as an integral part of India's T20I and ODI squads as the year went on.
Manish Pandey
At the start of the year, India's tour of Australia was going as bad as it could possibly go. But one man turned it all around and ensured India had the momentum to create history in the T20I series as they whitewashed the hosts and set the tone for the year to follow.
The man in question was Manish Pandey, whose unbeaten century in the fifth ODI at Sydney helped India chase 331 and salvage some pride in the ODI series. Although India went on to win the T20I series 3-0 and went on a roll from there, Pandey was never quite able to recapture his form thereafter.
He didn't manage a single score in excess of 30 in ODIs after that and ended the year with 190 runs in 11 ODIs.In T20Is, his four matches yielded just 48 runs and included a duck as well. What was disappointing about Manish Pandey's 2016 was his inability to convert his great start to the year into a memorable one as his century aside, he failed to shine not only against New Zealand but against Zimbabwe as well.
Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina may have only played 18 Tests for India but there can be little doubt that he has been one of India's most consistent performers in limited-overs. Although the 30-year-old was dropped from the ODI squad to face Australia earlier in the year and was unwell for the New Zealand series, he played plenty of T20Is in 2016.
Having begun the calendar year as the Indian with the most runs in T20s and a career average in excess of 30, Raina was expected to flourish in 2016 with a slew of T20Is to begin the calendar year. However, the southpaw disappointed whenever he turned out for India.
In the 16 T20Is that he played in 2016, he managed just 220 runs at an average of 22 and strike rate of 126, well below his career stats. He didn't even register a fifty and managed just 5 sixes in 16 matches, which isn't great considering he averages at least one six a game across his T20 career which has spanned nearly 250 games.
MS Dhoni
After retiring from Tests, the questions around when MS Dhoni will call it a day from all forms of the game have been circling in every press conference following a defeat. After a year in which he averaged just 34 from 34 matches with just a solitary fifty, the Indian ODI and T20I captain certainly hasn't helped his own cause or lived up to his lofty standards.
Dhoni's average across all formats in 2016 has been boosted considerably by his not outs in T20Is. Of the 21 T20Is that he has played in, he has batted in 16 and remained not out in 11 of them, which has given him an average of 47.60, even if he has just two scores in excess of 20 in 2016.
Although Dhoni was the only one to play in all 13 ODIs that India played in 2016 and even promoted himself to No.4, a position he prefers, he averaged just 27.80 at a strike rate of 80.1, which is well below his career ODI average of over 50. He also doesn't have an ODI century to his name in three years, which doesn't bode well for him.
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh may have just made his comeback to the Indian side in 2016 but it wasn't the fairytale that the all-rounder would have wanted. Although his year ended in memorable fashion, courtesy of his wedding and started brilliantly as well in the Australia T20I series, the middle didn't go according to plan.
Although he played in 15 T20Is, in his preferred middle-order slot, he could only manage 166 runs at an average of 20.75 and strike rate of just 104.40. Although he provided MS Dhoni with a handy option with the ball, picking up five wickets at an economy rate of just 6.64 in 9 overs, he didn’t quite live up to the expectation with the bat.
While there were a couple of important knocks in those games, more often than not, the all-rounder found it difficult to get going from the outset. Although he was in brilliant form in the Ranji Trophy, he was overlooked for the Test squad and his chances of playing again for India, even in T20Is look slim after a lackluster 2016.
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