Kuldeep Yadav wins âdebutant of the Yearâ in ESPNcricinfo awards 2017
BCCI
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who has been the talk of the town ever since stepping into international colours against Australia last year, bagged the âDebutant of the Yearâ. The jury for ESPNcricinfo awards 2017 included former players like Ian Chappell, Courtney Walsh, Ramiz Raja and more.
It was former India coach Anil Kumble who had first recognized the talent of an amateur Kuldeep, which ran more than just his unconventional bowling style. He was handed a place in the first XI in the Dharamsala Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar trophy where Kuldeep announced his arrival to the cricketing world by taking David Warnerâs wicket as his first international one. Kuldeep ended the year with 43 international wickets at an average of 22.18, leaving behind Pakistan's Shadab Khan by miles, who took 34 wickets at 25.35.
Australiaâs domineering win over England in the Ashes meant the best batsman and the bowler in the longest format were won by the Kangaroos. Quite expectantly, Aussie skipper Steven Smith won for best Test batting performance. Apart from his 109-run winning knock against India in Pune, his eight-and-a-half-hour 141 not out at the Gabba were the highlights of his season. Nathan Lyon was selected for the Test bowling award, whose 8 for 50 against India edged him past Ravichandran Ashwinâs  6 for 41 in the same Test, in Bengaluru.
In a pleasantly surprising pick, England Women Captain Heather Knight won the Captain of the Year award, leaving behind the likes of Smith, Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Ahmed, for winning the World Cup title (and wins in 11 matches out of 15 overall in the year). It was also the first time that women were nominated in the category.
In the ODI category, Pakistanâs unexpected win over India in the Champions Trophy final meant they swept all the awards. While Fakhar Zamanâs unbeaten 114 in the final fetched him the "batting performance of the year" award, Mohammad Amir scooped the best bowling display for his inspiring 3 for 16 in the same game.
In the shortest format, Evin Lewis got the award for best batting performance for his unbeaten 125-run knock in Kingston against India, which was the highest score in a T20I chase. Indiaâs Yuzvendra Chahal was voted the T20I bowling winner for his 6 for 25 against England in Bengaluru.
While Rashid Khan won the Associate bowling performance of the year for his 7 for 18, the Associate batting award went to Kyle Coetzer for his ton in Scotland's 26-run win over Zimbabwe, which was their first ODI win over a Full Member.
While the likes of Rohit and Kohli went surprisingly missing from all the categories, Harmanpreet Kaur got the best batting performance award for her magnificent 171-run knock against Australia in the World Cup semi-final. Englandâs Anya Shrubsole got for her bowling display of 6 for 46 against India in the final.
