Kohli the best batsmen while Dhoni sharpest behind the stumps according to "Captain's survey"
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While Virat Kohli bagged the best batsman title, MS Dhoni was named as the best wicketkeeper in a recent BBC Sports survey which was filled by captains of six nations namely - Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Pakistan and England. Mitchell Starc was named as the World's best bowler.
India and Sri Lanka failed to register their responses to the survey in time and thus were not included in the process. The captains filled out the forms on behalf of their teammates and were therefore not allowed to vote for their own compatriots. The top choice made by every captain was awarded three points while the second best selection was given two points followed by the third selection which was assigned a single point.
The survey took all the three cricketing formats into account and it wasn't a surprise to see Indian skipper Virat Kohli lead the tally with 15 points. Kohli has an impeccable run-scoring record in all the three formats and is ranked fifth in Tests, third in ODIs and first in Twenty20 cricket.
AB de Villiers was the closest to Kohli with nine points followed by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson with five points. The other batsmen on the list in order of their points were - Hashim Amla(3 points), Joe Root(2 points) and Steve Smith(2 points).Â
Indian cricketing veteran MS Dhoni bagged the best wicketkeeper title by a margin of a single point as he received 13 points as opposed to Quinton de Kock's 12. Englishman Jos Buttler finished third with seven points followed by compatriot Jonny Bairstow, Pakistan's Kamran Akmal, India's Wriddhiman Saha and Pakistani skipper Sarfraz Ahmed all with one point each. Â
Australian paceman Mitchell Starc was the favourite choice for World's best bowler and topped the list with 14 points. However, Indian swing-specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar was third on the list of the best bowlers with six points.Â
