The Best of 2017: World T20I XI of the year

The shortest format of a cricket game, Twenty20 has garnered a lot of attraction among the viewers since its inception at the highest level in 2007. The first ever World T20 was a huge blockbuster and since then the format hasn’t looked back. The advent of T20 leagues around the world has led to a scenario where very few T20 Internationals are played. The teams prefer to play only a one-off or maximum three-match series. Though the T20Is are most followed and viewed across the world and the year 2017 only saw an increase in viewership.

India was the best team as far as the performance is concerned. They won every bilateral series apart from Australia as the decider of that series was washed out and they had to contend for a draw. Even the other cricketing teams like New Zealand, Pakistan and Windies had a decent 12 months period in the shortest form. Here we pick the World T20I XI of the year 2017 purely based on the statistics and the special performances by the cricketers:

1. Rohit Sharma (India)

Rohit Sharma walks into any side when it comes to the limited-overs cricket. His proven ability to hit sixes in a nonchalant way is excellent and has stormed past a lot of players at the top with his recent knock against Sri Lanka in Indore. He has hit the purple patch this year and looks extremely dangerous with the bat. The century he scored was the joint fastest in T20Is equalling David Miller who had scored off 35 deliveries against Bangladesh earlier this year.

Not surprisingly, Rohit has the highest strike rate of 176.55 amongst the top 50 run-getters in the format in 2017. He has amassed 256 runs in 8 matches with his best score being 118 and also has a half-century to his name. He also averages 32 which means he has provided the team with a good start at the top with the field restrictions.

2. Evin Lewis (Windies)

Evin Lewis will be the perfect partner for the Hitman as he can tonk the ball from the word go. Both will complement each other well at the top and pummel any bowling attack in the world. Lewis is a proper T20 batsman and has proved it time and again by scoring centuries in the format. This year Indian bowlers had to bore the brunt of his magnificent hitting skills during their tour to Caribbean nation in the one-off T20I. He has won matches on his own for Windies and has to be included in this list.

Lewis is the top run-getter in the 20-over extravaganza in 2017 with 357 runs at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 154.54 in nine matches. The swashbuckling opener was also amazingly consistent with an average of 44.62 and has smashed a total of 31 sixes which is also the most by any player. Any team would love to possess a batsman like Evin Lewis at the top of the order and it is no surprise that he is also in demand in the T20 leagues across the world.

3. Virat Kohli (India) (C)

Virat Kohli will be the undoubted leader of this XI and will also bat at first drop. The most amazing thing about him is he doesn’t alter his technique while playing different formats. The 29-year-old hasn’t lost a series this year across formats and his performance with the bat is absolutely inhuman. He loves to lead from the front and wants to stay involved in the game at every stage. His willingness to win every match makes him one of the best in the world and that is the reason he is the only player to have an average in excess of 50 in all the formats.

Kohli has accumulated 299 runs in 10 outings this year with a strike rate of 152.55 and an average of 37.77. He opted out of the series against Sri Lanka else he would have scored more runs much like his teammate Rohit Sharma. He would love to carry the same form in South Africa and create history by winning all the three series across formats.

4. AB de Villiers (South Africa)

AB de Villiers is another legend of the modern era who literally plunders runs at will. His ability to hit the cricket ball is absolutely surreal and a cricket fan would love to pay and watch him on any given day. Though injury has kept him away from other formats, AB featured in 7 T20I matches for South Africa this year scoring 304 runs.

He strikes at 152 runs per hundred balls whnewsich is awesome and averages 50.66 which is the best in this format. He will also play the perfect foil to Virat Kohli and when the two would get together it will be a treat to watch them play.

5. Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

Shoaib Malik simply cannot be ignored in T20s nowadays given his contrasting attributes to manoeuvre the ball for singles and tonk the big hits whenever needed. He can change his game according to the situation and fits in perfectly at number 5 in this star-studded line-up.

He donned Pakistan jersey in 10 matches this year and scored 273 runs which is amazing given the fact that he is the middle-order batsman. An average of 45.50 is a testimony to his consistency and a strike rate of 144.44 proves his ability to rule over the bowlers at the death.

Moreover, he can give his captain a few overs with the ball in case one of the main bowlers goes for runs or gets injured. He has been doing it for a lot of years now and surely his off-spin bowling will trouble any batsman on the day. A couple of economical overs is all you need in a T20 game and Malik can easily provide it when required.

6. MS Dhoni (wk)

MS Dhoni makes it to this team purely based on his skills behind the wickets. He is the number 1 wicketkeeper in the world currently with the most number of dismissals to his name as well. His finishing skills are enduring a downward graph but at 6 he will still provide a much-needed stability in case the stalwarts at the top fail. Any team can collapse in a T20 game in the quest for runs and who better than Dhoni to sponge on. He can still smash sixes at will and he has proved it this year with some brutal knocks in the end.

The veteran has garnered 236 runs in 11 innings and has remained unbeaten five times to finish the game for India. He has scored all these runs at a strike rate of 137.20 and average close to 40. Also, his inputs to the spinners while bowling is absolute gold has helped the Indian tweakers a lot this year. He is an invaluable asset to any team and walks into this team like a King.

7. Carlos Brathwaite (Windies)

Carlos Brathwaite, the skipper of Windies, comes into this team more as a bowler rather than the batsman. He has rarely smashed sixes like he hit in the World T20 final in 2016 at the iconic Eden Gardens. If he still gets a chance to bat which is highly unlikely, he can score a few quick runs.

His variations with the ball are excellent and thrives on it to fox the batsmen when they are aiming to hit big shots. He has scalped 12 wickets this year in 9 outings at an average of 14.50 and economy of 6.82 this year which is magnificent. The strike rate of 12.7 means he picks up a wicket after every 13 balls which is again very commendable in the format dominated by the batsmen.

8. Yuzvendra Chahal (India)

Yuzvendra Chahal has to be in this team as he is the leading wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game this year. The leggie is not afraid to toss the ball up and accepts the challenge of bowling in the powerplay gleefully. His partnership with Kuldeep Yadav has been the most talked point during the home season. His performance has kept the veteran bowlers R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja away from the team for a long time now. Chahal is a bright prospect for India as far as 2019 World Cup is concerned.

He has picked 23 wickets in 11 innings in the year 2017 with his economy a slightly higher 7.83. However, his strike rate of 10.8 is fantastic and an average of 14.50 just gets better. His best bowling figures of 6/25 came against England in January this year in the third T20 International which was a series decider. The leggie also scalped two back to back four-wicket hauls in the recently concluded three-match series against Sri Lanka to rest the year on a high.

9. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan simply cannot be ignored in the T20 format as he can bamboozle any batsman with his variations. He doesn’t believe in tossing the ball too much but thrives on his stock deliveries which tend to skid on after pitching. His efforts have surely given his country a name and fame around the cricketing circles.

This year he scalped 17 wickets in 10 matches which is only second to Chahal and has the best economy rate of 4.57 which is absolutely unreal in this format. His average of 9.41 is stunning and has the best figures of 5/3 which is staggering for a 19-year-old kid at the international level.

10. Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the world going around in the limited-overs format currently. He is a smart bowler and bowls all his overs in the tough periods. Very often he takes the new ball in powerplay and then comes back in the end when the batsmen are trying to go for the big shots.

His ability to nail the pinpoint yorkers makes him special and has won a few games for his team from the jaws of defeat. He had defended only 8 runs like a boss in the must-win encounter against England in January when a player like Jos Buttler was at the crease.

Bumrah, with his amazingly awkward action, has picked 12 wickets in 11 outings this year at an economy rate of 6.92 and average of 20.

11. Kesrick Williams (Windies)

Kesrick Williams is the most surprising pick in this line-up ahead of Hasan Ali thanks to his stats and the two maiden overs he has bowled this year. He trumped the Pakistani bowler only because of the wickets and his economy.

While Hasan Ali has picked 12 wickets at 7.67, Williams has sent 17 batsmen packing at 6.95. Even his strike rate of 11.1 is the second best after Chahal and makes him the most dangerous bowler. Williams would be the new-ball bowler and partner Bumrah after which the spinners and the all-rounders will take control.

The aforementioned players are the best ones chosen only on the basis of their performance in 2017 and though few cricketers have missed out closely, this team would give any opposition a run for their money.