3. Jonny Bairstow (England)
This year, Jonathan Bairstow not only secured his place in the side but also became one of the cog-wheels of England’s batting. Bairstow exhibited his big appetite for runs, right from the start of the year against Proteas, when he scored a thrilling 150 in company of Ben Stokes at Cape Town. He followed it up with marvelous scores of 140 and 167 against Sri Lanka in UK. The red-handed batsman fared well against the tough attack of Pakistan as well and scored half-centuries in each of the Manchester, Birmingham and Oval Test.
After that, came the time when he had to prove his worth outside home, in Asia. And the Wicket-keeper responded with twin half-centuries on a turning Chittagong track though he failed in the last Test of the series. Bairstow carried on his good show and scored 352 runs at 44 in India. Notably, he broke the world record for most runs and dismissals by a Glove-man in a calendar year.
