Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2017: Top 10 T20I batsmen of the year
It's that time of the year when gifts are exchanged, Christmas bonuses are handed out and awards are... well... awarded to various individuals for various achievements in various fields.
We at Sportskeeda have decided to join in the festive spirit and hand out an award or two to the most deserving cricketers of the year.
T20 cricket has taken the world by storm (how long it lasts is anyone's guess what with the emergence of the ridiculous T10 League) and there were obviously stunning performances all over the world by batsmen - and bowlers too, but who cares about them? - looking to bag lucrative IPL contracts for next season. From Evin Lewis channeling his inner Chris Gayle to Colin Munro wielding his bat like a lumberjack, fans were treated to some truly awe-inspiring moments in the field.
And since T20 is a batsman's game, here is looking at the 10 best batsmen of 2017:
Babar Azam
Pakistan have had an inspirational 2017, emerging winners of the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Their exploits in the shortest format of the game were just as stunning, having won eight out of the 10 games they featured in, including series victories against Sri Lanka, World XI and the West Indies.
At the heart of their success has been rising sensation Babar Azam, who is second on the list of the highest run scorers in T20Is this year. Averaging a shade under 40 and striking at 119, Azam has amassed 352 runs from 10 innings, with a top score of 86 which came against a World XI attack consisting of Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Ben Cutting amongst others.