Virat Kohli leads Lord's Cricket Ground list of top 20 players of 2016

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli took the No. 1 spot on the back of an astounding run in 2016 across all three formats of the game – he took India almost singlehandedly to the T20 semifinal and made amends in the Test format also for his comparatively poor record until this year.

Kohli also capped the year off with the Player of the Series award in the Test series against England.

Englishman Jonny Bairstow took the second spot for his all-round performances whenever called into action during they year. Although Joe Root has managed to garner more attention, Bairstow has been the bedrock of this English side that looked formidable until they stepped foot on the subcontinent.

Ravichandran Ashwin made it two Indians in the top-three with his consistency over the year. Like he said earlier in the year, the No.1 Test bowler is “like wine” and only seems to be getting better month after month.

Other Indians to make the list include batsmen Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.

While Steve Smith and Joe Root have made it into the list, the one surprise exclusion is Kiwi skipper Kane Willaimson.

The list:-

1. Virat Kohli

2. Jonny Bairstow

3. Ravichandran Ashwin

4. Rangana Herath

5. Chris Woakes

6. Kagiso Rabada

7. Joe Root

8. Quinton de Kock

9. Mitchell Starc

10. Ben Stokes

11. Misbah-ul-Haq

12. David Warner

13. Ajinkya Rahane

14. Steve Smith

15. Yasir Shah

16. Marlon Samuels

17. Kusal Mendis

18. Cheteshwar Pujara

19. Imran Tahir

20. Shakib Al Hasan.