The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released its “Team of the Tournament” for the recently concluded T20 World Cup. However, Virat Kohli, India’s top batsman in their triumph against South Africa in the final was not part of this exclusive group.
India won their second T20 World Cup by defeating South Africa by seven runs in a nail-biting finish.
Kohli had a relatively dull world cup until the grand finale where he scored 76 runs off 59 balls and was named man of the match. Still Kohli did not make it to ICC XI despite his brilliance. And The ICC’s team featured six players from India, which reflected their strong performances during this time. These include C Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. Rohit led from the front amassing 257 runs at an impressive strike rate of 156.7 which made him second highest run getter only behind Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan.
Jasprit Bumrah was declared Player of The Tournament with some standout performances amongst other games played there in UAE. He took 15 wickets but more importantly his role as India’s trump card was best indicated by his ability to restrict oppositions’ scoring rates. And at an economy rate of 4.17 for the tournament, no bowler recorded better figures than Jasprit Bumrah.
PTI reports that following a historic semi-final finish three Afghanistan players have been included in the ICC team. The leading wicket taker Fazalhaq Farooqi and India’s Arshdeep Singh shared top honors with 17 dismissals each. Afghanistan’s skipper Rashid Khan and opening bat Rahmanullah Gurbaz who topped charts with both bat and gloves were also named in this year’s squad.
Captain Rashid Khan (14 wickets, 6.17 economy) was outstanding both as a leader and as an individual, leading Afghanistan to the semis.
The final two players are Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, who provide added balance to the team.
South Africa did not get anyone into the XI despite being runners-up. However, pacer Anrich Nortje received the award of being the 12th man for his efforts in this tournament.
Overall, ICC’s “Team of The Tournament” amalgamates individual brilliance with consistent performance across matches therefore singling out those players who had a huge impact on it.
ICC Team of The Tournament
Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh (all Indians); Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan); Marcus Stoinis (Australia) and Nicholas Pooran (West Indies); 12th man: Anrich Nortje.
