Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2017: Top 10 T20I batsmen of the year

It's that time of the year when gifts are exchanged, Christmas bonuses are handed out and awards are... well... awarded to various individuals for various achievements in various fields.

We at Sportskeeda have decided to join in the festive spirit and hand out an award or two to the most deserving cricketers of the year.

T20 cricket has taken the world by storm (how long it lasts is anyone's guess what with the emergence of the ridiculous T10 League) and there were obviously stunning performances all over the world by batsmen - and bowlers too, but who cares about them? - looking to bag lucrative IPL contracts for next season. From Evin Lewis channeling his inner Chris Gayle to Colin Munro wielding his bat like a lumberjack, fans were treated to some truly awe-inspiring moments in the field.

And since T20 is a batsman's game, here is looking at the 10 best batsmen of 2017:

Babar Azam

Pakistan have had an inspirational 2017, emerging winners of the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Their exploits in the shortest format of the game were just as stunning, having won eight out of the 10 games they featured in, including series victories against Sri Lanka, World XI and the West Indies.

At the heart of their success has been rising sensation Babar Azam, who is second on the list of the highest run scorers in T20Is this year. Averaging a shade under 40 and striking at 119, Azam has amassed 352 runs from 10 innings, with a top score of 86 which came against a World XI attack consisting of Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Ben Cutting amongst others.

Shoaib Malik

Malik was remarkably consistent for Pakistan

A mainstay in the Pakistani lineup courtesy his exquisite skill with both bat and ball, Malik had an impressive 2017, compiling 273 runs in 10 innings. While those may not look too impressive, his average of 45 and strike rate of 144 warrant his presence on the list.

Malik's personal best this year came against Sri Lanka, a game in which he put the bowlers to the sword, smashing 51 off just 24 balls.

Add to that his handy off-spin and it is no wonder he is such a revered figure in Pakistani cricketing circles.

David Miller

If it's in the arc, it's out of the park

The South African is one of the most coveted players in the shortest format of the game and it isn't hard to see why. Plying his trade for various T20I franchises around the globe, Miller has tons of experience playing 20-over cricket and he put that to good use in 2017 for his nation.

It was, unfortunately, Bangladesh who felt the complete wrath of Miller's blade as he tonked and carted the likes of Shakib, Mehidy and Taskin en route to the fastest T20I century, a figure he reached off just 35 balls (Rohit Sharma later equaled the feat with his knock against Sri Lanka).

Prior to that knock though the 28-year-old had not been enjoying the greatest of runs, struggling to lay bat on ball in the series against England and then for the World XI against Pakistan.

In all, the destructive southpaw amassed 243 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 162.

Colin Munro

Breathtaking belligerence

If there was a correlation between how hard you hit a ball and how many runs you garner from said hit, Colin Munro would lead any list. One of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball, Munro was forced by New Zealand into a game of musical chairs, as they tried him out at various positions over the course of his short international career. However, he has finally found success at the top, giving New Zealand devastating starts more often than not.

Munro started and ended the year in style, blasting centuries against Bangladesh and India respectively, the only player this year to do so. Striking at a whopping rate of just under 170, the southpaw has amassed 274 runs in just seven innings, easily earning a spot on this list. In between, he somehow managed to pick up three ducks along the way, feats that ensure he is not any higher than #7.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul was remarkably consistent across formats for India in 2017

KL Rahul, despite all his exploits recently in all formats of the game, remains India's third choice opener. Rahul has an uncanny ability to get starts in all formats of the game and this was clearly evident in the knocks he played this year.

In seven innings, the flamboyant opener has amassed 279 runs, averaging nearly 40 and striking at 140. What is interesting to note is that in those seven knocks, he failed to reach double digits only twice, when he was dismissed for eight against England at Kanpur and four against Sri Lanka at Mumbai.

With three half-centuries and a couple of 20s to his name, Rahul established himself as one of India's most consistent players in the format.

Hashim Amla

Amla notched 259 runs in just six innings

In the era of cricketers who swing their bats like Thor's Mjölnir, Hashim Amla is Captain America. His style of play is tailor-made for Tests, but his adaptability to the limited-overs formats has been remarkable, employing the same technical strokes to churn out bucketloads of runs.

Opening the batting for the Proteas, Amla has notched 259 runs in just six innings, at an average of 54 and strike rate of 148, magnificent numbers for such a conventional player.

Vintage Amla was on show for South Africa in their series against Bangladesh. Having failed to exert his influence on the visiting Bangladeshi side in the opening encounter, Amla wreaked havoc in the second T20I, racing off to a half-century and eventually ending with 85 runs to his name off just 51 balls. While remaining in the shadow cast by Miller and his brutal century, Amla ensured that the visitors were held in a guillotine they simply could not break out of.

Amla features in this list in spite of finishing outside the top 10 run-scorers in the format this year.

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma scored the joint-fastest T20I century

Eat. Sleep. Break records. Repeat. Rohit Sharma's daily routine is not something us mortals can easily stomach. In a year when he became the only batsman to score three double centuries in ODI cricket, and the only IPL captain to lift three trophies, he also somehow found the time to leave his footprint in T20I cricket. No biggie.

Rohit scored the fastest T20I century (off 35 balls, joint with David Miller), when he unleashed his plethora of strokes on a hapless Sri Lankan bowling attack at Indore. Rohit hit as many as 12 fours and 10 sixes in that knock, and ended the year as the only Indian to have hit a T20I ton.

In nine innings, he compiled 283 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 171, including the century against Sri Lanka and a half-century against New Zealand earlier in the year.

Virat Kohli

A true legend

Runs are what define Virat Kohli. No matter the format, the venue or the opposition, Kohli ensures he garners runs by the gallon.

2017 was just more of the same for the Indian skipper.

Featuring in 10 out of the 13 T20Is India played in 2017, Kohli compiled a total of 299 runs with the help of two half-centuries, striking at 153.

The highlight of his year in the shortest format came in the one-off T20I against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium. Walking out to bat in a tricky situation with India chasing 171 having lost both openers, Kohli toyed with the Sri Lankan bowlers en route to a breathtaking half-century. He was eventually dismissed after scoring 82 runs, in what was one of his finest knocks this calendar year.

While he struggled in the series against Australia that followed, he was back to his best against New Zealand, notching yet another half-century, in the second T20I at Rajkot.

India's leading run-getter in the format, Kohli ended the year third on the ICC's list of top T20I batsmen.

AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers averaged over 50 in T20Is in 2017

It took him two years to make a Test comeback, but AB de Villiers remained a constant in coloured clothing for South Africa.

Possessing a remarkable quiver of strokes, de Villiers ensured he made up for his absence from Tests with scintillating strokeplay in the few matches he actually featured in the shorter formats.

In seven innings for the men from the Rainbow Nation, de Villiers managed 304 runs at an average over 50 and a strike rate of 152. Mingling the skill of a veteran craftsman with the brute force of an inexperienced butcher, de Villiers contributed in every single game he pulled on the green shirt for the South Africans.

The highlight was his remarkable consistency: he reached the 20-run mark on all seven occasions, converting two of those into half centuries, against Sri Lanka at Cape Town and England at Southampton.

Evin Lewis

Lewis was in astonishing form in 2017

With Chris Gayle's stocks falling fast, West Indies needed someone in his mould capable of filling the void left by the big Jamaican at the top of the order. In Evin Lewis, they have found the perfect replacement. Under Gayle's tutelage, Lewis is on his way to T20 stardom.

He broke onto the scene last year by scoring a century in his second T20I match, against India at Lauderhill, Florida. 'Lightning doesn't strick twice,' they say, but that doesn't apply to Lewis, as he scored his second T20I century against the same opposition, at Kingston earlier this year. Chasing 191, Lewis made mincemeat of the Indian bowling attack, notching his second T20I century in fine fashion. Riding on the back of his unbeaten 125 off just 62 balls, West Indies cruised to a nine-wicket victory, thereby clinching the series.

He followed it up with a brilliant performance against England at Chester-le-Street, blasting his way to 51 off just 28 deliveries.

In nine innings in 2017, Lewis compiled 357 runs at a stunning average of 44 and a strike rate of 154, easily propelling him to the top of this list.