SportsCafe Readers’ XI: Results for ODI/T20 team of the year
As 2016 came to an end, we asked our readers to pick their best cricket team of the year in the SportsCafe Readers' XI for ODIs and T20s. The results are finally out with the fans opting for their best eleven, and there are a few surprising inclusions in the limited overs side of the year.
DISCLAIMER: The team has been selected entirely by audience votes and does not in any way reflect the opinions of SportsCafe.
Opening pair
Rohit Sharma and David Warner
In a field comprising David Warner, Quinton de Kock, Martin Guptill and Rohit Sharma, it was
Middle order
Virat Kohli, Steven Smith and Kane Williamson
There could only be one winner in this competition. After his exceptional performances in the T20 World Cup and the IPL, Indian Test captain, Virat Kohli picked up top spot with 83% of the votes. Steven Smith came in second with 107 votes that constituted 5% of the overall. The real fight, for the third position, was between Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Faf Du Plessis. Eventually, it was the Kiwi who took the spoils after edging out the Englishman by a margin of just 12 votes.
Wicketkeeper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
This one is surprising considering the fact that South African Quinton de Kock averaged 57.13 in ODIs in 2016 compared to the 27.80 that the Indian captain averaged in the year. Maybe it was the exceptional run out against New Zealand that earned the Indian captain 717 votes to his name.
Spinners
Sunil Narine and Adam Zampa
With both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja missing the cut, Amit Mishra was the only Indian on the list. But both Mishra and Imran Tahir, the highest ranked bowler on the list, missed out on a place by 4% of the votes with Adam Zampa
Pacers
Jaspreet Bumrah, Mitchell Starc, and Mustafizur Rahman
The Pacers were represented by two South Africans Kyle Abbot and Kagiso Rabada but neither did enough to convince the Sportscafe readers to pick them in their teams. It was Indian "toe-crusher" Jaspreet Bumrah who claimed the top spot with 45% of the votes. Australian Mitchell Starc was runner-up with 99 (24%) votes and was followed by Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman who was instrumental in Bangladesh's performance in the year gone by.
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments