1. Jason Roy, England: Despite getting out for a 2-ball duck in the final, Roy was largely outstanding in the tournament. He got England off to explosive starts, none more so than in the match against South Africa. His opening blitz of 43 from 16 balls helped England chase down 230. Later in the semi-final against New Zealand he smashed 78 to virtually seal the deal for England. In a tournament that saw the likes of Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, and Martin Guptill in action, it was Roy who proved to be the most destructive. Roy scored 183 runs in 6 matches at a strike rate of 148.78. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs West Indies, ICC World T20 2016, Final at Kolkata
2. Quinton de Kock, South Africa: The South African opener was one of the most consistent batsmen of the tournament. In 4 matches he scored 153 with a best of 52. This meant that he scored in virtually every game, and he did so at a strike rate of 143. Though de Kock is a regular wicketkeeper, he will not be the first-choice ‘keeper of this team. The opening duo of Roy and de Kock will prove to be a nightmare for the bowlers.
3. Virat Kohli, India: Man of the Tournament Kohli waged a lone battle throughout the tournament. With India’s batting order misfiring severely, it was up to Kohli to bail the team out and lead them to victory in almost every match. Kohli was up to the challenge; he was the leading run-scorer of the Super-10 with 273 runs in 5 matches at an average of 136.50 and a strike rate of 146.8 with 3 fifties. Kohli will lead the way at No. 3 for the team.
4. Joe Root, England: Kohli was undoubtedly the best batsman of the tournament, but Root was a close second. Usually batting at No. 3 for England, Root showed that it was possible to thrive in T20 cricket even with a classical technique. That is not to say that Root did not try innovative shots now and then, but Root’s strokeplay was largely what one may find in the MCC coaching manual. From 6 matches Root scored 249 runs at 49.80 and a strike rate of 146.5. Root will bat at No. 4 in the team, below Kohli.
5. Jos Buttler, England (wk): Buttler will be the wicketkeeper of the side ahead of de Kock, but his performances with the bat were good enough that he would merit a spot as a pure batsman as well. With 191 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47.75 and strike rate of 159.2, Buttler was one of England’s most potent weapons. At No. 5 in the line-up, Buttler will be the power player who can capitalise in the death overs.
6. Andre Russell, West Indies: There are few better limited-overs all-rounders in world cricket than Russell. He proved that with another excellent performance in the T20 World Cup 2016. With bat he scored 91 runs in 6 matches at 30.33 and a strike rate of 142.18, but along with that he also grabbed 9 wickets at an average of 21 and a respectable economy rate of 7.87. He will have the license to go for his big hits batting at No. 6 in the team.
7. Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan (c): Nabi ended as the leading wicket-taker of the World T20. Afghanistan could have pulled off another win or two, but for match-saving innings from Moeen Ali and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Nabi finished with 12 wickets in 7 matches at 13.66 and an economy rate of just over 6. With bat he scored 105 runs at a measly average of 15 but a strike rate of 131.25. He also scored a half-century. Nabi will captain the side and bat at No. 7.
8. Mitchell Santner, New Zealand: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the tournament in terms of effectiveness, Santner proved to be a decisive arrow in New Zealand’s quiver. He took 10 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 11.40 and an economy rate of 6.27. He did not do much with bat, but then he was not required to either.
9. Samuel Badree, West Indies: Arguably the bowler of the tournament, Badree was the main reason West Indies’ bowlers managed to keep them in the game. With Suleiman Benn and Russell for backup, Badree not only kept the runs down while opening bowling, he also struck decisive blows throughout. He took 2 for 16 in the final, which helped keep England down to a chase-able score. Badree finished with 9 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 13.77 and economy rate of a mere 5.39.
10. Ashish Nehra, India: The old warhorse proved to be India’s best bowler by far in a tournament where the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were expected to thrive. Nehra bowled brilliantly with new ball and at the death for India. His contribution went beyond numbers: thanks to his expertise and experience, he kept motivating and advising others like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Nehra finished with 5 wickets in 5 matches but at an economy rate of only 5.94.
11. Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh: There were sections of the media that thought Mustafizur might have been a one-trick pony, but the left-arm pacer from Bangladesh proved his detractors wrong with canny bowling throughout the tournament. Mustafizur was injured for the initial part of the World T20, but came back brilliantly. In 3 matches he took 9 wickets at an average of just 9.55 and a strike rate of 8. He grabbed 5 for 22 against New Zealand as well.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is an animal lover and comic, film and TV geek. A fast bowler at heart, he enjoys watching a good, low-scoring game of cricket. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
Written by 
