Harsha Bhogle picks his ODI XI of 2017

As the year comes to a close, it is time to look back and ponder as to which player was at his peak and who did not have a good time. Cricket Expert Harsha Bhogle, prominently known as ‘voice of cricket’ has already picked his ODI team of the year. The year witnessed some exciting matches including the Champions Trophy that Pakistan won. While a few players pick themselves, we can debate over the others.

Openers and No.3:

Do we need to look beyond Rohit Sharma? Absolutely Not. Sharma has had a breath-taking year in ODI cricket. He has scored 1293 runs at a staggering average of 71.83 in 21 innings. He scored six hundreds in the year along with a jaw-dropping double hundred.

His opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan makes his way into the XI. Dhawan has scored 960 runs at an average of 48.00 in the 22 games that he has players. The numbers may not tell the exact story as Dhawan demolished the oppositions and took the game away single-handedly. He ended the year with a strike rate of 101.37.

With already two Indians at the top, Virat Kohli picks himself for the No.3 spot. He is transforming the game and redefining it in a way that nobody ever did. Kohli scored 1460 runs in 26 innings at an inspiring average of 76.84. His strike rate was close to 100 and he has been scoring centuries for fun. There is no better sight in world cricket than to watch Virat hammer the ball on all parts of the ground. The top three slots taken by Indians reflect the successful season that they’ve had in 2017.

Middle Order:

The contenders for No.4 include Babar Azam, Faf du Plessis and the evergreen AB de Villiers. AB’s 760 runs at an average of 59.46 in 18 innings gives him the edge. His strike rate of 117 shows that his presence is a nightmare for the bowlers. At No.5 is the legendary MS Dhoni whose experience can give an edge to the team in crunch situations. Dhoni averaged close to 61 in 22 innings and amassed over 780 runs.

Ben Stokes takes the No.6 position with an average of 61.60 in 15 games. He is probably the best all-rounder in the cricket circle at the moment. He is someone who can give you 5-6 overs in a game too. So, there is no need to look beyond Stokes at the moment.

The No.7 spot is a tricky one as the player has to bat in the latter half of the innings and bowl a few tricky overs. While the likes of Hardik Pandya and Moeen Ali had a good season, it was Shakib Al Hasan would made the cut. Shakib is a top rated all-rounder who brings a lot of experience with him into the side.

Bowlers:

2017 has been a good year for the wrist spinners. Players like Yuzvendra Chahal, Imran Tahir and Rashid Khan have performed well for their respective sides. But Rashid’s 43 wickets in 16 innings at a bowling average as low as 10 gives him the edge. Liam Plunkett’s inclusion may come as a surprise but his numbers speak for themselves. He has picked 36 wickets at a slightly higher economy rate of 5.62. He can also provide valuable contributions with the bat.

When captain looks for a bowler in the death overs, his eyes cannot go beyond Jasprit Bumrah. Thus, he picks himself in the XI. His economy rate of 5.13 coupled with 39 wickets especially after bowling most of his very at the death makes him the best ODI bowler at the moment currently.

Hasan Ali was not known to the world before his Champions Trophy exploits. Since then he has picked 45 wickets in just 18 innings show that he is from another planet. His numbers make it easy to pick him in the ODI XI of 2017.

Harsha Bhogle’s ODI XI of the year:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Liam Plunkett, Jasprit Bumrah and Hasan Ali.