Sportskeeda Cricket awards: 5 best Test all-rounders in 2017

2017 has not yet come to an end but for the Cricket fans, the year is already done and dusted as the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia and the one-off Test between South Africa and Zimbabwe, which is also the first-ever four-day Test, are done and dusted with.

A lot of action took place over the last 12 months with Indian skipper Virat Kohli stamping his authority with the bat by scoring over 1000 runs with the help of three double centuries and Australian spinner Nathan Lyon spinning a web around the opposition batsmen and ended with over 60 wickets in the year.

There were a lot of consistent performers in 2017 with the bat which includes the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Steve Smith, Dean Elgar etc. With the ball, James Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, Rangana Herath etc. made the year their own.

Apart from the traditional batsmen and bowlers, there were few all-rounders who set the stage on fire in 2017. Let us take a look at the five best Test all-rounders of 2017.

#5 Ben Stokes

One can safely say that England are dearly missing the services of their all-rounder Ben Stokes in the ongoing Ashes series as the Durham star was dropped from the squad after his involvement in a street fight during the ODI series against West Indies.

The main reason for that is that Stokes is England's finest match-winner at the moment as he has won matches for the Poms with his heroics with both bat and ball.

Stokes' presence in the side was valuable as the left-hander can change the course of the match with the bat in a matter of just one session as he scores his runs at a brisk pace, something that is lacking with the current English team.

In the seven matches he played this season, Stokes has amassed 527 runs at an average of 44 with the help of two centuries and a fifty. With the ball, the right-arm medium pacer took 16 wickets at an average of 31.31 including a 6/63 against West Indies at Lord's.

#4 R Ashwin

2016 was a sensational year for R Ashwin as the Indian off-spinner starred for the team with both bat and ball and went on to win the ICC Test cricketer of the year and the ICC Cricketer of the year awards.

In 2017, Ashwin tried to replicate his 2016 success and partly managed to do it with the ball. The tall off-spinner accounted for 54 wickets in 11 matches at an average of just over 27 and a strike-rate of 59.2. Though he starred with the ball for Virat Kohli and co., he failed to deliver with the bat.

In spite of getting a promotion in the batting order, Ashwin managed to score just 239 at an average of just 17 and a highest of 54, numbers that are below-par for an all-rounder. Still, he makes it to the fourth position in the list, thanks to his returns with the ball in his hand.

#3 Moeen Ali

Ever since getting a break as a frontline bowler during the home series against India in 2014, Moeen Ali has established himself as one of the better all-rounders going around. He has started to contribute with both bat and ball of late and has become one of the vital cogs in England's wheel in the longer formats.

He picked up 33 wickets with the ball and with the bat, he was giving England some runs down the order on a consistent basis. In 2017, he scored 497 runs.

Moeen played a crucial part in England's win over South Africa and West Indies at home but he failed to replicate the success in the ongoing 2017-18 Ashes, one of the main reasons why England are struggling down under.

#2 Ravindra Jadeja

After being in the shadow of his spin twin R Ashwin for the last two years, 2017 saw Ravindra Jadeja outperforming his teammate with both bat and ball. Jadeja was very instrumental in the Indian team winning the four-match Test series against Australia earlier this year as he starred with both bat and ball that saw him winning the Man of the Series award.

Apart from that, the Saurashtra all-rounder made his presence felt in both the three-match series against Sri Lanka with his performances.

With the bat, Jadeja scored 328 runs in 14 innings at an average of 41 this year which includes four fifties and a highest score of unbeaten 70. He was better with the ball as he ended the year with 54 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 23.05 with 6/63 being his best bowling figures and struck once every 56 balls.

#1 Shakib-al-Hasan

Over the last one decade, Bangladesh's Shakib-al-Hasan has been the best all-rounder by a mile irrespective of the format as he is contributing to his team's success with both bat and ball on a consistent basis.

2017 is no different as Shakib ends the year as the best Test all-rounder. In the seven matches he played, he scored 665 runs at an average of 47.50 and picked up 29 wickets at an average of 33.37.

He played a vital part in Bangladesh's Test win over Australia in August this year and also scored a brilliant 217 against New Zealand in Wellington. Bangladesh without Shakib is like a human being without a backbone and it was clearly evident from the Tigers' tour of South Africa for which the all-rounder was rested.