The ICC Annual Awards 2017 were announced on Thursday with India’s Virat Kohli claiming the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year.
The India skipper also claimed the ODI Cricketer of the Year award while his Australia counterpart Steve Smith took the top honour in the Test format.
On the team of the year selection, there were a few surprises omissions which have caught the eye of cricket fans worldwide.
Here, we look at four players who were unlucky to miss out on the team of the year selection.
SHAKIB AL HASAN (BANGLADESH)
The Bangladesh star is one of the best all-rounders in world cricket and has had another stellar year with both bat and ball.
In the voting period of the ICC Awards from September 21, 2016 to December 31, 2017, the 30-year-old southpaw has played a total of nine Test matches.
During this time, Shakib has picked up 41 wickets at an average of 29 including three five-wicket hauls.
He has been equally influential with the bat, scoring 771 runs at an average of 42.83 – including a highest score of 217 against New Zealand at Wellington.
Ben Stokes has been preferred ahead of Shakib as the all-rounder for the Test team of the Year.
During the same period, the England man has scored a 1000 runs in 14 matches at an average of 40.
With the ball, he has picked up 35 wickets at an average of 27.68.
JOE ROOT (ENGLAND)
The England man made it to the Test team of the year but missed out in the ODI format as South Africa’s AB De Villiers sneaked in ahead of him.
The 26-year-old has been a revelation in the 50-over game during the voting period with 983 runs at an average of 70.23.
This includes two centuries and seven fifties, with a highest score of 133 against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Meanwhile, De Villiers has only scored 773 runs in 19 matches at an average of 59.46, with one ton and five half-centuries.
When comparing the numbers of both, Root’s exclusion seems completely baffling.
HARDIK PANDYA (INDIA)
The India all-rounder has been making waves in the limited-overs format since his introduction to international cricket in 2016.
The 24-year-old has played 33 ODIs in the time-frame considered, picking up 35 wickets at an average of 35.48.
With the bat, Pandya has scored 602 runs in 21 innings at an average of 33.44 coupled with a strike-rate of over 118.
Stokes has been more impressive with the bat in hand in the same period with 764 runs in 18 matches at an average of 63.66, but falls some way behind in the bowling department with 16 wickets at an average of nearly 40.
This could have gone either way but considering the fact that Pandya has just burst onto the international stage, his achievements seem to carry more weight.
NATHAN LYON (AUSTRALIA)
Perhaps the most surprising omission from the ICC Test team of the year, Nathan Lyon has had a wonderful 2017 where he finished as the highest wicket-taker with 63 scalps to his name.
India’s Ravichandran Ashwin has been given the sole spinner’s slot in the Test team of the year with 111 wickets in 19 matches at an average of 25.87.
During the same time-frame, Lyon has picked up 75 wickets at an average of 28.22.
While stats will show that Ashwin was the clear winner, they do not tell the whole story.
All of Ashwin’s 111 wickets during this period have come in the subcontinent which has traditionally aided spinners.
That Lyon has had to the bulk of his bowling on Australian pitches with minimal help for spinners is a tremendous achievement and should have been taken into account for the team of the year.
