Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2018: ODI All-rounder of the Year
The year 2018 was used by most of the ODI teams to try and test the best combination for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
The World Cup qualifiers and Asia Cup were the only two grand ODI events that took place this year. While Afghanistan triumphed in the World Cup qualifiers, India lifted the Asia cup.
We have seen some brilliant all-around performances by teams and cricketers this year in ODIs. England are currently the best ODI team in the world because of the wealth of all-rounders they have in their arsenal. India are in the 2nd position in the ICC ODI rankings.
Here in this article, we take a look at the top three ODI all-rounders of 2018. The list has some surprising names and doesn't have players from many of the top ODI teams.
Renowned all-rounders like Thisara Perera and Moeen Ali narrowly missed out on the top three places.
#3 Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwe have had one of the worst years in their cricketing history. They failed to qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2019, having lost out on the qualifier slots to Windies and Afghanistan.
However, Sikandar Raza had a brilliant 2018. He was Zimbabwe's best ODI player as he shined with both the bat and the ball.
The Zimbabwean scored a whopping 633 runs from his 18 games, at a batting average of 39.56. He registered five fifties from his 18 innings, with a highest score of 92.
Raza sparkled with his bowling too. In his 18 games, he took an impressive 22 wickets at a bowling average of 19.50. His ability to not concede runs is very evident as conceded just 4.77 runs per over in 2018.
Raza should consider himself unlucky for not being able to help his team qualify for the coveted tournament.
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