Top 5 unsung heroes of 2017

In sports, we often tend to remember the players who pull you towards them. For example, a lot of people would remember what a Steven Smith or a Virat Kohli has done in a particular game or series. These kinds of players always remain in the spotlight (irrespective of what they do).

However, there are a few players who perform a thankless job. They, more often than not, tend to stay away from the spotlight and go about their work quietly, but their consistency and output is often up to the mark. Hence, we look at 5 such players who were the ‘unsung’ heroes for this year (2017).

Note – Stats as on 21st December 2017

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#5 Cheteshwar Pujara

Many cricket pundits have stated that ‘Cheteshwar Pujara meditates in the middle’ and that is because of his wonderful ability to bat for long hours with immense concentration. And in 2017, Pujara has done what he does the best

India’s Test No. 3 has churned out runs at will this year. He started the year with a couple of half-centuries against Bangladesh before coming into his own zone against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (where he scored 405 runs in 4 Tests).

In that series, he broke Rahul Dravid’s record of most balls faced by an Indian in a Test inning. He played 525 balls en route to a majestic 202. Every time, India were in trouble, Pujara bailed them out. His 52 on a tough pitch at Eden Gardens is a testament to this fact.

He has scored 1,140 runs at an average of 67.06 this year. Even though he has scored a plethora of runs (with 4 hundreds and 5 fifties), Pujara has stayed away from the spotlight.

With major attention being on the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Pujara has quietly gone about his work and is currently the highest run-getter of 2017.

#4 Liam Plunkett

Liam Plunkett is one of the reasons why England have done very well in ODI cricket this year. The tall 32-year old pacer runs in all day and hits the deck hard. He has a very good ability to bowl over 90 mph and generate discomforting bounce.

This year, he has taken 36 wickets in 18 games at an average of 22.47 and a strike-rate of 23.97. He is fourth on the list of leading wicket-takers in 2017. Only Hasan Ali (the leading wicket-taker this year) and Rashid Khan have a better average and strike-rate than Plunkett.

After a sluggish start to the year in India, where he was taken for runs, Plunkett came back strongly and was amongst the wickets pretty quickly. He took 10 wickets in 3 games against the West Indies in the Caribbean and was England’s most successful bowler in the ICC Champions Trophy, where he picked up 8 wickets.

Despite his exploits with the ball, Plunkett hasn’t quite hogged the limelight in the English team. However, he has enjoyed a stellar 2017.

#3 Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon is perhaps one of the most underrated bowlers in the world at the moment. He goes about doing his job rather quietly. However, to everyone’s surprise, Lyon is currently the leading wicket-taker (60 wickets) in Tests in 2017.

Yes, he has played 6 out of 10 Tests this year in the subcontinent, but he’s bowled beautifully irrespective of the pitch and conditions. He started the year with a bang as he picked up a career-best of 8-50 in March (his third Test of the year) against India. He took 19 wickets in 4 Tests in India before churning out 22 wickets in just 2 Tests in Bangladesh.

And that’s not all! He has bowled beautifully in the ongoing Ashes series as well. He has taken 14 wickets in 3 games and the England batsmen have had little success in countering him.

With the spotlight often on the big quicks (Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins), Steve Smith and David Warner, the 30-year New South Wales spinner has quietly done a thankless job for the Aussies.

#2 Tom Latham

Tom Latham might only be 5 feet 6 inches tall, but he packs a punch. And the year 2017 has been a revelation for the 25-year old Canterbury lad.

In Tests, he started off with a bang, scoring 302 runs in 4 innings against Bangladesh. More often than not, he has helped New Zealand get off to a solid start ensuring the middle order isn’t exposed early.

In ODIs, after a string of low scores at the start of the year, Latham turned the year around brilliantly as he has 50-plus scores in his last 6 One-Day innings. And of late, the New Zealand team management has moved him to No. 5 due to his ability to play spin well and the move has worked superbly.

In India, he helped New Zealand chase down 280 after being 80/3 in Mumbai (first ODI). He continued his rich vein of form in the series as he finished as the second highest run-scorer in the series. He’s also kept wickets in recent times and has done a wonderful job.

Hence, his performances haven’t quite been noticed as the spotlight has been on a few of the other players in the team.

#1 Hashim Amla

Hashim Amla is one of the calmest cricketers going around. You hardly notice him. But he has this excellent appetite for getting big runs. He may seem to be a classical Test batsman, but his record in the limited-overs formats speaks for himself.

In 2017, he’s hardly been noticed and still, he’s scored at an average of 50 in all three formats. In 11 Tests, he’s amassed 942 with 3 hundreds and 4 half-centuries. He played a big part in South Africa’s win against England at Trent Bridge. He scored twin fifties (78 and 87) in the game to help the Proteas set decent first and second innings scores.

In ODIs, he has scored 862 runs in 18 games and 269 runs in 6 T20I games. With the likes of AB de Villiers and de Kock hogging the limelight with their power hitting, Amla in his classical way consistently keeps scoring runs.

Even though Amla has scored more than 2,000 runs this year in international cricket, there’s hardly been any spotlight on him. Hence, he is the #1 unsung hero of this calendar year.