Five Indian players waltz into ESPN's ODI team of the year

The magnificent Rohit Sharma leads the way on the list after having what he described ‘ his best year’ in 2017. With Sharma fresh off his third ODI double century after scoring 208* vs Sri Lanka in the recently concluded series, he only looks to getting better with time. After a year in which he scored 1293 runs at an average of 71.83 in 26 matches, Rohit Sharma became the only player to score three ODI double centuries in the history of the game.

After Sharma, next on the list was Indian skipper Virat Kohli who ended 2017 as the top-ranked ODI batsman despite missing the series vs Sri Lanka due to personal commitments. His performances speak for themselves, batting at number three in the Indian national team, his six centuries and seven half-centuries took his run tally to a total of 1460 runs at an average of 76.84 over 26 matches.

The sixth and seventh spot are both occupied by hard-hitting all-rounders in the form of Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes. The phenomenal rise of Pandya has been a blessing for Indian cricket as his 557 runs and 31 wickets in 33 matches over the period of 2017 have rescued India in tight situations. He also collected 3 man of the match and was adjudged the player-of-the-tournament in the series versus Australia in September.

Amongst the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the spearheads of the Indian bowling department both occupy a spot on the list. Bumrah, a depth-over specialist, has been in terrific form grabbing 39 wickets at an average of 26.25 over the year. He has been highly economical with the help of his deadly yorkers, with an economy rate of 4.75. Kumar has emerged as the swing-master of the Indian team, with 28 wickets at a rate of 33.89 he certainly deserves the last spot on the list. His 5/42 versus Sri Lanka are his best figures in the ODI format till date.

Among others on the list, the likes of England skipper Joe Root, Pakistan middle-order batsman Babar Azam and medium-fast bowler Hasan Ali found their way on the list as well.

Notable mentions :

AB De Villiers (South Africa), David Warner (Australia), Mohammed Hafeez (Pakistan), Imran Tahir (South Africa), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)