2016 Player Ratings for India in ODIs
With the rather injudicious peppering of T20s in the international schedule, ODIs struggled to hold their own in 2016. Stuck between the resurging popularity of Tests and the ever-booming 20-overs, ODIs seem to be losing its relevance, highlighted by the fact that India played 21 T20s, but only 13 ODIs: winning seven out of those and losing the other six. A poor start to the year saw them lose three matches to Australia (which was negated by the T20I series win). The three ODIs in Zimbabwe were a breeze, while a topsy-turvy series against the Kiwis at home finished in the hosts’ favour.
Captain Dhoni, who has given up the longest format, continues to admirably manage his troops, but failed to fire with the bat. Here’s how the rest of the players performed:
Note: Only those players who featured in more than three matches have been considered.
Virat Kohli 9/10
Without a shade of doubt, 2016 has been the year of Kohli. He seems to have unlocked a different dimension to his batting, carting the bowlers all around the park with an authoritative gameplay that has bordered close to invincibility. It wasn’t just ODIs, he rocked in each of the three formats.
In 10 ODIs, he compiled 739 runs at an astounding average of 92.37, scoring as many as three centuries and four fifties. Rested for the series against Zimbabwe, he could have enhanced his record much further if he had featured in the three matches.
Rohit Sharma 8.5/10
Despite the fact that he had a below-par series against the Kiwis, Rohit Sharma still averaged 63 in ten ODIs for the Indian team. An injury in India’s final ODI series of the year proved costly for Rohit, who ended up being sidelined for the rest of the year.
He started off the year in blazing fashion, scoring an unbeaten 171 in the first match of the year against Australia, although the team ended on the losing side. In all, he made 564 runs, second only to Kohli for India.
Shikhar Dhawan 8/10
Rohit Sharma’s partner in crime at the top of the order, Dhawan slowly kept piling runs from the other end, without doing anything eye-catching, the same way he played second fiddle to David Warner throughout the IPL. He featured in just five matches, all in the Australian series, scoring two fifties and a 126 at Canberra.
Injury sidelined him for the series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
Ajinkya Rahane 6.5/10
India’s go-to man in crisis, Rahane looked off-colour in the ODIs, especially in the series against New Zealand where he managed just one fifty-plus score in five matches, a poor outing considering his standards. Experts have pointed out that the constant shuffling in the order has resulted in Rahane losing his consistency, at least in limited overs.
In nine ODIs, Rahane managed 284 runs at an average of 35.50, with three fifties to his name.
MS Dhoni 7/10
Having given up the longest format, Dhoni seemed to be rusty throughout 2016, despite playing 13 ODIs and 21 T20Is wearing the blue. His bat failed to generate much fanfare, highlighted by the fact that he averaged 27.80 in ODIs, way below his career figures.
His wicketkeeping also suffered, although not entirely. He combined insane pieces of stumping and run-outs with substandard catching behind the stumps.
Manish Pandey 6.5/10
The first Indian to score a century in the IPL, Manish Pandey might have slipped under the radar ever since that eventful night in 2009, but has resurfaced again to be part of the limited overs side. He scored a scintillating hundred in January Down Under, but did little of note thereafter.
Apart from the unbeaten 104, Pandey could manage only 86 runs in the next seven innings, getting dismissed at crucial junctures with his poor shot selection. The massive dip in his graph, ever since the Sydney mayhem, can jeopardise his selection for the upcoming season.