Indian batting star Virat Kohli was has been named captain of the ICC WT20 XI, which has no place for India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni but features veteran seamer Ashish Nehra
Following his sublime form in the World T20, India's star batsman Virat Kohli has been named the skipper of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) men's dream team of the tournament.
The WT20 XI though had no place for India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni but featured veteran seamer Ashish Nehra, who was named as the 11th man in the squad.
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Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pic/AFP
“The teams were chosen by a select group of former cricket stars and highly respected commentators who were given the task of picking a balanced side for all conditions on the basis of performances in the tournament. Statistics were used but were not the sole basis for selections,” , ICC said in a release on Monday.
For the second successive time, an Indian has been named captain of the all-star XI and incidentally it was Dhoni, who was declared skipper after the previous edition in Bangladesh where India reached the final. Four Indians had made the ICC XI after the previous edition and the number has dropped to two this time.
Kohli was adjudged Man of the Tournament for his sublime form which made him the backbone of India's batting line-up. He scored 273 runs with a staggering average of 136.50 and an equally astounding strike-rate of 146.77 with three 50 plus scores.
"Although I'm disappointed that we were not able to make it through to the final and win the ICC World Twenty20 title on home soil, I'm proud to be named player of the tournament," Kohli said in a statement released by the BCCI's official website.
"As a team, we have all loved the experience of playing in this event in front of big, passionate home crowds and I'm pleased the tournament in India has been successfully staged.
And I'd like to add my congratulations to the West Indies men's and women's squads for their successes," he added.
The prolific right-hander hit 29 boundaries and five sixes in all and was second in the list of leading run-getters behind Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh, who scored 295 runs.
Nehra handed India an early breakthrough in almost every game. He took only five wickets but was economical in all five games.
It also included a 12th man in Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh. The team did not feature any Pakistani player. The women's team, meanwhile, did not have any Indian cricketer.
“The experts chose India’s Virat Kohli as captain of the men’s side while Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies was named to lead the women’s line-up,” the ICC release said.
The men’s team, including 12th man, contained four players from England, two players each from India and the West Indies, and one each from Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and South Africa.
The West Indies women’s World T20 winning skipper Stafanie Taylor has been named the captain of the women’s team.
The women’s team comprised four players from New Zealand, two players each from Australia, England and the West Indies, and one player each from Pakistan and South Africa.
“The experts had an extremely difficult task to select the men’s and women’s squads from around 400 cricketers who represented the 26 teams, thanks to outstanding performances by all the players at this hugely successful event,” ICC General Manager - Cricket, Geoff Allardice said in the release.
“In the end, I believe the selectors have chosen two very well balanced sides which are capable of beating any opposition under any conditions,” Allardice said.
The selection panel that chose ICC teams of the World T20 consisted of Allardice, Ian Bishop (former West Indies fast bowler), Nasser Hussain (former England captain), Mel Jones (former Australia women’s batter), Sanjay Manjrekar (former India batsman) and Lisa Sthalekar (former Australia women’s all-rounder).
Teams:
Men: Jason Roy (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa, wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli (India, captain), Joe Root (England), Jos Buttler (England), Shane Watson (Australia), Andre Russell (West Indies), Mitchell Santner (New Zealand), David Willey (England), Samuel Badree (West Indies), Ashish Nehra (India), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) (12th man)
Women: Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Charlotte Edwards (England), Meg Lanning (Australia), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies, captain), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Rachel Priest (New Zealand, wicketkeeper), Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Megan Schutt (Australia), Sune Luus (South Africa), Leigh Kasperek (New Zealand), Anya Shrubsole (England), Anam Amin (Pakistan) (12th player)
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