Sportskeeda Cricket Awards: Top 10 ODI cricketers of 2017

2017 has been a memorable year for ODI cricket with over 120 matches being played. England were the most successful team with a 75% win rate and India were second with a 73% win rate.

The ICC Champions Trophy was held in June which saw Pakistan come away with the trophy.

As the calendar year draws to a close, we at Sportskeeda have ranked the top 10 ODI cricketers of the year

#10 Ross Taylor:

After a poor outing with the bat in 2016, the former New Zealand captain bounced back in style and emerged as the highest run-getter for New Zealand in 2017.

He redefined his batting style and was not as agressive as he used to be, as he batted at a strike-rate of 81.89. Interestingly, he hit just one six, the least by a batsman with at least 350 runs this year.

He ended up with 968 runs with two centuries and seven half-centuries to his name.

#9 Ben Stokes:

The enigmatic English all-rounder might have had the worst possible end to the year as he was dropped from the Ashes Test squad due to the infamous incident outside a pub in Bristol.

However, he has been one of the most impactful players for England in ODIs this year. He took the game away from the opposition on a number of occasions with his powerful hitting. He ended with 616 in 13 innings with four half-centuries and two centuries to his name.

He was impressive with the ball as well, as he picked up 14 wickets in 15 innings.

#8 Jasprit Bumrah

Ever since making his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2016, Jasprit Bumrah has become one of the best limited-overs bowlers in the world.

His toe-crushing yorkers, especially during the death overs, have been a nightmare for the opposition batsmen. He continued his fine run of form this year as well and ended up as India's highest wicket-taker in the 50 over format.

He picked up 39 wickets in 23 matches at an average of 26.25

#7 Upul Tharanga

The Sri Lankan cricket team had an absolutely horrid year as they lost majority of the matches they played.

They were dismantled by India home and away towards the fag end of the year. However, their worst loss came at the hands of Zimbabwe, as they lost 3-2 to the lowly ranked side.

Amidst the poor performances was Upul Tharanga, who stood out as the lone warrior in the side. He was one among three batsmen who ended up with over 1000 runs in the calendar year as he scored 1011 runs in 25 innings with two centuries and six half-centuries to his name

#6 Liam Plunkett

Apart from a loss to India at the beginning of the year, the England cricket team had a great year. They achieved series victories against West Indies, South Africa, and Ireland.

Liam Plunkett was at the helm of England's success as he picked up 36 wickets in 17 innings at an average of 17, thus ending the year as the highest wicket taker for England in 2017.

He will look to carry his fine run of form into the ODI series against Australia which begins at the beginning of 2018.

#5 Hardik Pandya

The 24-year-old Indian all-rounder has performed exceptionally well, both with the bat and the ball, and has thus cemented his place in the squad for the away tours in 2018.

He produced some breathtaking innings with the bat for the Men in Blue as he scored 557 runs in 36 innings at a strike-rate of 120. His innings against Pakistan went in vain, but will never be forgotten for many years to come.

He played a huge role with the ball as well as he picked up 31 wickets in 27 innings.

#4 Rohit Sharma

Hitman, as he is known, continued his stupendous run of form this year and broke numerous records with the bat.

He missed the first-half of the year due to an injury and began his cricketing year only in the ICC Champions Trophy in June. He had an instant impact as he scored one century and two half-centuries in the tournament.

He captained the side at the end of the year against Sri Lanka and scored a magnificent double century in the ODI held in Mohali.

He ended with 1293 runs to his name in 23 innings at an average of above 70 with six centuries to his name - the joint highest with Virat Kohli.

#3 Rashid Khan

he Afghanistan spin sensation continued to impress everyone with some magnificent performances throughout the year.

He has carried Afghanistan cricket on his shoulders and played a huge role in them achieving Test status earlier this year.

He picked up 43 wickets in just 16 matches at a phenomenal average of 10.44. It will be interesting to see how he performs against the big sides in the future.

#2 Hasan Ali

The 23-year-old Pakistan bowling sensation has been one of the finds of the year. He played a huge role in Pakistan's success this year and was the man of the tournament in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which saw Pakistan lift the cup for the first time ever.

Despite not generating a lot of pace, he proved to be deadly in the shorter format of the game.

He ended up as the highest wicket-taker this year, with 45 wickets to his name in 18 matches at an average of 17.

#1 Virat Kohli

It comes as no surprise that the Indian cricket team captain tops the list of the ODI cricketer of the year.

He has dominated international cricket over the past few years and has been scoring centuries and breaking records for fun off-late.

He also captained India to series victories against England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka, and thus broke a lot of captaincy records as well.

He ended up as the highest run-getter this year with 1460 runs to his name in 26 innings at an average of 76.84 with 6 half-centuries and seven centuries to his name.