SportsCafe Readers’ XI: Results for ODI/T20 team of the year

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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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

 © Sportscafe

In a field comprising David Warner, Quinton de Kock, Martin Guptill and Rohit Sharma, it was the Indian and the Aussie who made the cut. Surprisingly, it was Warner, who averages an incredible 63.09 in 2016, who edged out the Indian as the number one pick with 39% of the votes. Sharma, initially, was given a tough fight by the South African youngster de Kock but as the voting numbers increased, the Indian edged him out convincingly earning 33% of the total votes.

Middle order

Virat Kohli, Steven Smith and Kane Williamson

 © Sportscafe

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.

 © Sportscafe

Spinners

Sunil Narine and Adam Zampa

 © Sportscafe

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 pipping the duo to the top after his impressive performances in the IPL. Sunil Narine won the race to the top with 38% of the votes. Mitchell Santner, Adil Rashid, and Shakib Al Hasan completed the list. 

Pacers

Jaspreet Bumrah, Mitchell Starc, and Mustafizur Rahman

 © Sportscafe

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.

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