5 records that could be broken in 2016

With 2015 coming to an end in a week’s time, another year of riveting cricket action beckons for players and fans alike in 2016. The current year saw many records toppled across different formats and in various disciplines of the game.Expectations will be rife that the upcoming year turns out to be on similar lines, perhaps only better. While we could surely have records created by some repeat offenders, there could be a few new faces too who create their own records.There are many possible records which may be a little too difficult to anticipate at this point, but a few others may end up being broken in all likelihood. Here are 5 records that could be broken in 2016:

#5 First Team to Win 2 World Twenty20 titles

Can India win a second World T20 title?

Possible Record Breakers – India, West Indies, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

The sixth edition of the ICC World Twenty20 is all set to take place in March next year. The previous five editions of the tournament have all been won by different teams and there are chances that we may have an all new champion yet again.

However, there is also a possibility that we may have one of the earlier winners taking home the coveted trophy one more time. If any of them manages to do so, they will become the first team to win 2 World Twenty20 titles.

Considering the fact that the venue for the tournament is India, the home team may look like the primary contenders for achieving this unique feat. But the other 4 teams are also equally capable of emulating their previous triumph in the prestigious T20 tournament.

#4 Most Sixes in a T20I career

With Baz retiring, will Chris Gayle take over?

Record Holder – Brendon McCullum

Possible Record Breaker – Chris Gayle

New Zealand’s swashbuckling wicketkeeper batsman, Brendon McCullum, joined the retirement bandwagon as he has decided to hang his boots sometime in February. He leaves the game as the holder of quite a few records, particularly in the T20I format.

One of McCullum’s more prominent records in T20Is is that of hitting the most sixes in a career with 91 of them. He has already confirmed that he won’t be taking part in the 2016 World Twenty20, so it is likely that he may not play in the T20Is prior to that.

With 87 sixes in his career, the big-hitting West Indian southpaw Chris Gayle is right behind Brendon McCullum. Therefore, it may not be long before Gayle adds the record for most career sixes in T20I cricket to his kitty.

Provided McCullum does not play a single match going forward in the shortest format of the game, it may take Gayle just a solitary innings to eclipse his record.

#3 Fastest Batsman to 9000 ODI runs

Will Sourav Ganguly’s long-standing record be broken?

Record Holder – Sourav Ganguly

Possible Record Breaker – AB de Villiers

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly is surely one among the most successful ODI batsmen of all time and has scored more than 11,000 runs in the 50-over format. During his career, Ganguly has created a number of records and one of them was of being the fastest batsman to reach 9,000 runs in ODI cricket.

It took the Indian southpaw 228 innings to reach the 9,000-run milestone and his record still remains intact. However, there are high chances that it may be broken in 2016 at the hands of South Africa’s ODI captain and star batsman AB de Villiers.

de Villiers already holds the record of being the fastest batsman to reach 7,000 and 8,000 ODI runs respectively. His ODI career statistics show that he has scored 8,406 runs so far in the 187 innings that he has played.

With 594 runs to get in 40 innings, there is a very realistic chance of AB de Villiers eclipsing Ganguly’s record by quite some margin. The only chance of him failing can be due to a drastic drop in form, which is something that looks highly unlikely.

#2 Fastest Bowler to 200 Test wickets

Will Ashwin further grow as a Test cricketer in 2016?

Record Holder – Clarrie Grimmett

Possible Record Breaker – Ravichandran Ashwin

2015 was undoubtedly an incredible year for Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in Tests as he was the highest wicket-taker of the year with 62 wickets in just 9 matches. His stupendous performance helped him create a number of new records.

The approaching new year brings about yet another window of opportunity for someone like Ashwin to set new standards and break more records. One of the prominent ones which is on the horizon for him is becoming the fastest bowler to reach the 200-wicket milestone.

It is a record currently held by former Australian leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett, who took 200 wickets in as few as 36 Test matches. So far in his career, Ravichandran Ashwin has picked up 176 wickets in just 32 Tests. Considering his current form, taking 24 wickets in 3 Tests is certainly a possibility that cannot be ruled out.

Another likely thing could be Ashwin ending up equalling Grimmett’s record, but we will hope he manages to eclipse it.

#1 Fastest Double Century in ODI Cricket

Can AB create another record in 2016?

Record Holder – Chris Gayle

Possible Record Breaker – AB de Villiers

The 2015 ICC World Cup saw two incredible double centuries being scored, one by West Indies batsman Chris Gayle in the group stage and another by New Zealand’s Martin Guptill in the quarter-finals. While Guptill got the higher score of the two, Gayle’s knock stood out as it turned out to be the fastest ODI double century ever.

The southpaw completed his double hundred in 138 balls eclipsing former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag’s 140-ball effort against West Indies. However, Gayle’s record is under threat from a certain AB de Villiers.

de Villiers broke the record for the fastest 50, 100 and 150, all in 2015 with the first two coming in the same match. Seeing the way South Africa’s ODI captain has been batting for the past few years now, a double hundred is just one great innings away. What needs to be seen is whether he can score the fastest one or not.

There are even chances that AB de Villiers may score 200 in less than 100 balls. The reason we say this is because his fastest 150 had come off just 64 deliveries and he is surely not one to take 36 more to score another 50 runs after being so well set.