Three West Indians, two Englishmen, Indians and Kiwis, and one each from Bangladesh and Afghanistan make up our team of the tournament
ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-20162:18
Match Day – Mahela Jayawardene, Ian Chappell and Ajit Agarkar pick their players of the tournament
How’s this for a scary T20 team?1 Rohit Sharma, 2 David Warner, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran Tahir.Before the 2016 World T20 began, imagine the odds on none of those players being part of the best XI of the competition? A combination of challenging pitches, muddled tactics, and bad form, however, resulted in just that, and an unconventional crew outshone the majority of the pre-tournament headliners. Here’s the XI our votes threw up:1. Mohammad Shahzad (wk) – 222 runs, 140.50 strike rate
The Afghanistan opener’s pugnacious hitting played an important role in his team making the Super 10s, where his assault on a hapless South African attack was one of the most memorable moments of the tournament. Shahzad may not be the sprightliest fielder so he’ll take the wicketkeeping gloves.2. Kane Williamson (capt) – 123 runs, 105.12 strike rate
Won all his tosses in the group stage, read pitches with precision, was ballsy enough to leave out Tim Southee and Trent Boult, and scored his runs in the toughest batting conditions any team had to face. Under Williamson’s leadership, New Zealand were the best side in the Super 10 group stage, until they lost the semi-final to England. He’s here for his captaincy – was a poor tournament for captains, wasn’t it? – having just pipped Jason Roy to the second opener’s slot. You can’t pick a player who didn’t captain in the tournament as captain, can you?3. Virat Kohli – 273 runs, 136.50 average, 146.77 strike rate
Fearsome numbers. So far above his team-mates. Master of the chase. Let’s move on.4. Joe Root – 249 runs, 146.47 strike rate
Runs batting first, and runs batting second. Elegant runs, and fast runs. Stunning catch to turn a must-win group game, and two wickets in an over in the final. He did everything England could have asked of him.5. Jos Buttler – 191 runs, 159.16 strike rate
Activate beast mode, and there are few more destructive batsmen at the moment than Buttler. With him at the crease, England can score anything.6. Andre Russell – 91 runs, 142.18 strike rate; 9 wickets, 7.87 economy
Smashes the ball as hard and far as anyone, bowls a brisk pace, and is swift on the field. Dumped favourites India out of the tournament. Russell now has a second World T20 title, to go with his IPL, BBL, BPL, PSL and CPL trophies.7. Carlos Brathwaite – 57 runs, 203.57 strike rate; 4 wickets, 8.05 economy rate
Six. Six. Six. Six. “Carlos Brathwaite! Carlos Brathwaite! Remember the name!” roared Ian Bishop. “History for the West Indies.”8. Mitchell Santner – 10 wickets, 6.27 economy rate
Bamboozled India. Was an integral part of New Zealand’s unbeaten run in the group stage, taking key wickets and curbing the run rate. Santner’s left-arm spin helped him edge Ish Sodhi out of the XI, because another legspinner had no rival.9. Samuel Badree – 9 wickets, 5.39 economy rate
A legspinner who barely turns his legbreak. Deadly accurate. Often bowled in the Powerplay. Delivered in every game.10. Mustafizur Rahman – 9 wickets, 9.55 average, 7.16 economy rate
Slower cutter, faster cutter, fuller cutter, shorter cutter. The Fizz foxed them all. A shining light in a dark campaign.11. Ashish Nehra – 5 wickets, 5.94 economy rate.
Took 1 for 20 three times, worst figures of 1 for 29, and went for only 1 for 24 when West Indies were pulverising India at the Wankhede. Bowling during the fielding restrictions, 36-year old Nehra used all his smarts to escape a thrashing. David Willey lost out by one vote.
