ICC Awards 2017: Top 5 contenders for Cricketer of the Year

The annual ICC awards, introduced by the world cricket governing body in 2004, gives away awards for top performers in all the three formats, Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. Cricketer of the Year is the most prestigious of those awards and is given to the player who was a cut above the rest in all the three formats, this time between 21 September 2016 and September 2017.

We have seen some truly brilliant performances over the last 12 months. Ashwin and Jadeja had a brilliant time in tests. Quinton de Kock and Faf were brilliant for South Africa. Hasan Ali was phenomenal in ODIs, a glimpse of which we saw in the Champions Trophy. Rashid Khan, with his leg spin, was the find of 2016/17 in limited overs cricket.

These performances were amazing but here in this article, we are going to talk about those names who excelled in all the three formats of the game and can win the Cricketer of the Year award.

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#5 David Warner

David Warner's form has been a consolation for Australia in an otherwise poor form in Test and ODIs. They lost the test series and the ODI series in India 2-1 and 4-1 respectively and the three-match ODI series against New Zealand 2-0. Moreover, they were eliminated from the group stages of the ChampionsTrophy as well.

Warner, though, had a brilliant last 12 months. He opened for Australia in all the three formats and scored 2251 runs. An aggressive batsman who has the penchant to play long innings, Warner was the third highest run scorer in test matches and second highest in One Day Internationals in the last 12 months period.

#4 Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada is regarded as the most promising fast bowler around. He can bowl with fierce pace and can generate extra bounce off the deck as well.

Rabada made his international debut in a T20 game against Australia in 2014 and ever since, he has been a key member of South Africa side.

The right-arm pacer is now a regular in all three formats and a consistent performer for South Africa. With Dale Steyn out, Rabada leads SA's pace battery at the age of 22.

Rabada has taken 58 wickets in test cricket and 27 wickets in limited overs cricket between September 2016 and 2017.

#3 Joe Root

Joe Root has been the most consistent performer in all three formats of the game in the last couple of seasons. Since making his debut in 2012, Root has gone from strength-to-strength and developed into one of the best no.3s in the world cricket right now.

The right-hander has accumulated 1318 runs in test matches, 839 runs in One Day Internationals, and 143 runs in Twenty20 Internationals, taking his tally to 2300 runs between September 2016 and 2017. He averaged close to 65 in One Day Internationals and 49 in test matches during the same period.

#2 Ben Stokes

Rated as one of the most valuable allrounders in the word right now, Stokes plays all three formats for England and has had a hugely successful 2017.

During the last 12 months, Ben Stokes has scored 1737 international runs (1000 in test matches, 691 in One Day Internationals and 46 in T20Is). He has also picked up 53 international wickets (35 in test matches, 16 in One Day Internationals and 2 in T20Is).

Batting at no.5, he is a vital cog to this England set up and provides depth to their batting and bowling department. He is the most accomplished all-rounder today and his ability to adapt to different formats of the game has been key to England's success over the last two seasons.

#1 Virat Kohli

Kohli has made giants strides as a cricketer in the last few years and is now the most accomplished batsman in world cricket. He led India to #1 ranking in tests and captains India in all three formats.

During the last 12 months, Virat Kohli has made a mind-boggling 2984 international runs (1413 in tests, 1467 in ODIs and 104 in T20I) and averages around 65 in tests and 92 in ODIs. He made 3 double hundreds and 10 hundreds during this time.

Kohli led India to a 4-0 thrashing of England in tests at home, a 2-1 series win against Australia and a 3-0 thrashing of Sri Lanka. In ODIs, he led India to a 4-1 series victory against Australia, 5-0 against Sri Lanka and 2-1 against England.