ICC Awards 2018: Predicted Test Team of the Year

Ever since 2004, International Cricket Council (ICC) give away awards to recognize the best international cricket players of the previous 12 months in the Men and Women categories. The winners for 2018 in women's categories were announced recently by the ICC. ICC Men's awards for 2018 is expected to be announced soon.

In the men's awards, some of the biggest award categories are Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (Cricketer of the Year), Test Player of the Year, and ODI Player of the Year Awards. Also, ICC will announce the Test and ODI Team of the Year during the award ceremony.

2018 has witnessed some great Test matches and brilliant individual performances. Players' performance between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018 are taken into consideration for all the award categories.

2017 ICC Men's Test Team of the Year: Dean Elgar, David Warner, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ben Stokes, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mitchell Starc, Kagiso Rabada, and James Anderson.

Here in this article, we take a look at the probable Men's Test Team of the Year for 2018.

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Openers: Dimuth Karunaratne and Cheteshwar Pujara

Australia v India - 3rd Test: Day 2

Despite a poor 2018 for Sri Lanka in Tests, Dimuth Karunaratne managed to have a great year with the bat. He opened the batting for the sub-continent side and was hugely consistent. Karunaratne has scored 743 runs in 17 innings at an average of 46.43, which included one hundred and seven fifties. A great year with the bat for the 30-year-old.

Cheteshwar Pujara got into the Test XI after a superb series against Australia. After the first three games in the ongoing series, Pujara has scored 328 runs at an average of 54.66. With two hundreds, he is also the highest run-getter in the tournament so far. All in all, the 30-year-old had a great 2018 with 837 runs from 23 innings at an average of almost 40.

Middle-order: Joe Root, Virat Kohli, and Kusal Mendis

Virat Kohli

The England Test skipper comes in at No.3. Joe Root has played some consistent cricket over the past 12 months and scored a lot of runs. In 24 innings, Joe Root has scored 948 runs at an average of 41.21. His 124 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele is one of the best Test knocks of 2018. The 28-year-old has managed two hundreds and six fifties in 2018.

Virat Kohli is almost certain to win numerous awards at the 2018 ICC awards. He was phenomenal for India in all three formats of the game and scored a truckload of runs. The Indian captain is the highest run-getter in Tests for 2018 by some distance. The 30-year-old has scored 1322 runs in 24 innings at an average of 55.08. Kohli has also struck five hundreds during the past 12 months.

He is only the second player after Virat Kohli to amass 1000 runs in Test cricket for 2018. Kusal Mendis has been a mainstay in the Sri Lankan batting lineup for quite some time. The 23-year-old scored 1023 runs in 23 innings at an average of 46.50. His 141* against New Zealand at Wellington is one of the best Test knocks of 2018.

Wicketkeeper and All-rounder: Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes

Jos Buttler takes the wicketkeeper spot in the 2018 Test Team of the Year. Buttler has scored 760 runs in 18 innings at an average of 44.70. The 28-year-old has amassed six fifties and one hundred during the past 12 months. He made his return to the Test side in May and never looked back. He struck a brilliant 106 against India at Nottingham in August.

Ben Stokes will complete the strong batting line-up. Stokes had a great 2018 with both the bat and ball. In 20 innings, the 27-year-old has scored 537 runs, which included four fifties. He has also picked up 22 wickets at a strike rate of 48. With his abilities to win games with both the bat and ball, Stokes takes the all-rounder spot in Test XI for 2018.

Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada

Pat Cummins (L), Australia v India - 3rd Test: Day 5

Pat Cummins comes into the bowling line on the back of his brilliant exploits against India in the ongoing Test series. He has picked up 14 wickets in the tournament, which included a 9/99 in the third Test. The 25-year-old finished 2018 with 44 wickets in just eight Tests at a stunning average of 19.97. Cummins has also proved to be more than useful with the bat in the lower-order.

Kagiso Rabada is the World No.1 bowler in the current ICC Test Match Player Rankings. In 2018, the Proteas seamer has amassed a huge 52 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 20.07. Rabada is expected to go head-to-head with Virat Kohli for the 2018 Test Player of the Year award. The 23-year-old speedster is also the highest wicket-taker in Test matches for 2018.

Bowlers: Nathan Lyon and Jasprit Bumrah

Shami and Bumrah share a laugh, Australia v India - 3rd Test: Day 4

Nathan Lyon pips Dilruwan Perera, Yasir Shaw, and Ravichandran Ashwin to take the spinner's slot. Lyon was phenomenal for Australia in 2018 and picked up 49 wickets in10 Tests. Lyon dismissed Kohli for the seventh time in his career during the third Test, the most by any bowler against Kohli in Tests. The 31-year-old has picked up 17 wickets in the ongoing series against India.

Jasprit Bumrah completes the XI. With 20 wickets in three Tests, Bumrah is the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing series between India and Australia. He has also produced a Man of the Match performance in the third Test, which India won by a huge margin. Having made his Test debut 12 months ago, the 25-year-old has picked up 48 wickets in just nine Tests, which included three five-wicket hauls.