Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2016: T20I team of the year

2016 was a breakthrough year for the shortest format of the game. While that statement might sound strange, given the fact that T20s entered the mainstream a decade ago and are now a part of most bilateral series', the fact remains that the format is still in its nascent stage of development.

2016 was such a breakthrough year largely due to the fact that India were hosting the World T20 this time around. Being one of the richest boards in the world, it wielded its power to ensure the first half of the year was filled with plenty of T20 action, almost enough to satiate the audiences thirst for the high octane action for the rest of the year.

The format still heavily favours the batsmen as high scores are what the audience craves and it provides the perfect opportunity for the big-hitters around the world to strut their stuff.

For Sportskeeda’s Cricket Awards 2016, we sat and deliberated on a number of permutations and combinations to work on a team that was cohesive and well-rounded before finally settling on a final 11.

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The team of the year for 2016 is as below -

#1 Rohit Sharma – India

Rohit Sharma has been unbelievable for India at the top of the order

It was an absolutely fabulous year for the hard-hitting right-handed batsman who goes from strength to strength in the limited-overs formats. He is absolutely destructive opening the innings and can clear any boundary in the world.

He ends the year as the second highest run-getter with a mighty 497 runs from the 18 matches he played. His highest score came against Bangladesh, the hosts of the Asia Cup, in the very first game of the tournament.

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s, 100s
18	497	29.23	131.48	4, 0

#2 Martin Guptill – New Zealand

Martin Guptill is frightening to watch when he is on fire

The Kiwi Martin Guptill might do down in history as one of the best limited-overs players ever and he showed why in 2016 with another superb year at the top of the Kiwi batting order. The way he bats can put any opposition on the backfoot almost immediately. He has made sure the Kiwis don’t feel the absence of Brendon McCullum in the side.

The thing that stands out from Guptill’s numbers is his strike-rate coupled with the fact that he opens the innings. He is another who started the year in superb fashion and his best knock was an unbeaten 87 against Pakistan in January. A couple of months later, he would torment the same opponents in the World T20 with an 80 to ensure his side picked up a win at the World T20.

He forms an absolutely destructive opening combination with Rohit Sharma.

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s, 100s	Best
9	392	49	171.82	4, 0	87*

#3 Virat Kohli (Captain) – India

Virat Kohli’s innings against Australia will go down as one of the best ever

Virat Kohli had one of the most memorable years in cricket history with his exploits in the three formats, but he arguably performed the best in T20s over the course of the year. What distinguishes him from the rest of the pack is his ability to finish games. He doesn’t seem pressured by anything as his works all the numbers in his mind and while he is at the crease, anything is possible.

Simply astonishing numbers. He had the most numbers of runs, nearly 150 more than his nearest competitor at a ‘Brandmanesque’ average of 106.83 with a 50 in every second game he played. He overcame the disappointment of not registering a century in T20Is by scoring 4 in the IPL.

He saved his best for the Aussies, registering his best score of 90* against them at Adelaide in January. His best knock was undoubtedly the unbeaten 82 against the same opponents in the World T20 when he led the side to a victory in the very last over when everyone else around him was falling.

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s, 100s	Best
15	641	106.83	140.26	7, 0	90*

#4 Glenn Maxwell – Australia

Sri Lanka will never forget Maxwell’s special knock against them

There is no doubting Maxwell as an absolute matchwinner in limited overs cricket. There are very few who can invent shots like he does and it helps that he can roll his arm over with the ball as well.

Just when you thought Guptill’s strike-rate couldn’t be bettered, Maxwell goes and does just that. He almost scores 2 runs a ball, simply frightening. In a span of 3 days in September, he would have the watching world gripped as he ripped the Lankans to shreds on their own turf. His unbeaten 145 at Pallekelle is the second highest score in T20I history.

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s, 100s	Best
11	435	48.33	174.69	2, 1	145*

#5 Jos Buttler (Wicket-keeper) – England

Jos Buttler couldn’t propel England over the line in the World T20 final

England’s wicket-keeper extraordinaire is a natural in the shortest format of the game and, oh boy, doesn’t he make watching batting fun. A supremely clean striker of the ball, he boasts of incredible power and clears the boundary at will. He had a smashing 2016 batting in England’s middle-order while doubling up with keeping duties as well.

The cherry on the cake would have been the World T20 crown, but that wasn’t to be.

The highlights of his season include a sublime unbeaten 66 against the Lankans during the group stages of the World T20 that took his team to a 10-run win, a quickfire 17-ball-32 to guide his side in to the finals of the World T20 and a year’s best score of 73, against the Lankans again, where he opened the batting.

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s, 100s	Best
10	366	61	151.23	3, 0	73*

#6 Shakib Al Hasan – Bangladesh

Shakib does it all for the Bangladeshi

Bangladesh’ s Shakib Al Hasan will go down as one of the greatest all-rounders ever with his exploits in all three formats. He is the poster boy for a Bangladeshi side that is evolving from underachievers to a very solid cricket team.

It was a special year for Shakib and his team as they hosted the Asia Cup and performed admirably well, losing the finals to India. He had over 250 runs and 20 wickets, highlighting his importance in this format. While his contributions with the bat were appreciated, his performances with the ball was what often made the difference for his side.

Matches	Runs	Strike-rate	Wickets	Economy rate
16	260	113.53	20	7.4

#7 Shane Watson – Australia

Shane Watson called curtains on a fabulous international career in 2016

The veteran is the most experienced player in the XI and makes it on the back of another stellar season for the Aussies. His retirement came as early as March in 2016, by which point, he had already done enough in the year to merit a spot here.

He adds flexibility to the batting order, and also has the skill to bowl a full set of overs, while possibly even opening the bowling. His batting figures are simply astonishing. In 9 matches, he scored nearly 300 runs at a strike-rate of 150. He even managed a century in T20s in 2016, coming against India in Sydney. With the ball, he was typically effective, picking up a-wicket-a-game at an economy of just over 7 per over.

Matches	Runs	Strike-rate	Wickets	Economy rate
9	298	150.50	9	7.25

#8 Ravichandran Ashwin – India

Ravi Ashwin is a different kind of beast in T20 cricket

While he is not the all-rounder that he is in Test cricket, his proficiency with the ball in the shortest format of the game is enough to merit him a spot in the playing XI. He made his name playing this format, for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

He works on bowling tight lines and not giving anything away, suffocating the batsmen and stemming the flow of runs. He took 23 wickets in 17 matches while conceding just over 6 runs an over on average. His best match came against Sri Lanka in Vizag, where he was superb with figures of 4/8.

Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
17	23	16.17	6.30

#9 Imran Tahir – South Africa

Nobody celebrates as exuberantly as Imran Tahir does in world cricket

The South African leggie perfectly compliments Ravi Ashwin and the duo would be deadly as the spin kings of the team. 2016 did not end the way the South Africans would have wanted, failing to perform well in the World T20 with a supremely talented squad.

For Tahir, it was a fabulous year. He took nearly two-wickets-a-game while conceding just over 6 runs per over, quite a feat for a leg-spinner. His best performance came at Cape Town where the English had no answer to his trickery and lost 4 wickets to him.

Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
9	16	14.68	6.52

#10 Mustafizur Rahman – Bangladesh

Mustafizur Rahman delighted the watching world with his bowling

Mustafizur Rahman or ‘The Fizz’ was the name on everybody’s lips in the beginning of 2016. He was the darling of the Bangladeshis and destroyed all the opponents he faced. Still only 21, he is one who has a bright future ahead of him.

He seems like a bowler who is made for the shortest format, with a number of variations in the arsenal. He kept it tight at all times, reflecting in his incredible economy, going at just over a-run-a-ball for the year. His average, as well, is 12.18, absolutely frightening!

He saved his best for the Kiwis during the World T20 where he took a remarkable fifer.

Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
8	16	12.18	6.12

#11 Jasprit Bumrah – India

Jasprit Bumrah can bowl a yorker at will

India found a new hero in the limited-overs formats of the game in the form of Jasprit Bumrah. The Baroda lad, with an unusual, jerky action bowls with deadly accuracy, and, most importantly, has the most important ball for this format in his arsenal, a deadly yorker.

2016 was a breakthrough year for him and he lies alone at the top of the wicket-takers list with 28 scalps. He played the most number of games in T20s this year, but his consistency never dipped. He is deadly towards the fag-end of the innings where bowlers generally go for plenty.

His best performance came against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, when he took 3/11.

Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
21	28	18.82	6.62