T20 World Cup: No Kohli but six Indians named in ICC’s team of the tournament

The Player of the Match in the final, Virat Kohli, missed out on the cut, but six other Indian players made it to the ICC’s team of the tournament for the recently-concluded 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas. Besides the Indians, the XI includes three players from Afghanistan and one each from the co-hosts West Indies and Australia, with South African seamer Anrich Nortje being named the 12th man.

India beat South Africa in the final on Saturday (Jun29) by seven runs to lift the 2024 T20 World Cup for the second time. Led by Rohit Sharma, the Men in Blue won the tournament without facing defeat, becoming the first team to achieve this feat in this competition.

Besides, Afghanistan’s rise to the top, with them beating heavyweights like New Zealand and Australia and reaching the semis for the first time, was rewarded with three players making it to the list.

None of the players from England (semi-finalists), Pakistan or even the USA, who made it to the Super 8s for the first name, were named on the team of the tournament.

India dominates team of the tournament list

Six Indians, including Captain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, were named on the list, with Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav and Rishabh Pant being notable absentees.

While Rohit Sharma was the second-highest run-getter, scoring 257 runs in eight outings at a strike rate of 156.7, his partner would be the tournament’s top batter from Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who hit 281 runs.

At number three West Indies’ star batter Nicholas Pooran is slotted, with India’s Suryakumar Yadav placed fourth on the list. Pooran was WI’s highest run-scorer (228 runs in seven matches) in this competition, while SKY, as most fans call Surya, was the second-best Indian batter with 199 runs, including twin fifties against the USA and Afghanistan.

The fifth and sixth slot is taken up by two all-rounders, Marcus Stoinis from Australia and Hardik Pandya from India. The two top stars were handy in most matches, with Pandya hogging all the limelight with his last-over heroic against South Africa in the final.

India’s star performer in the clutch games, including against England and Australia in the semis and final, respectively, Axar Patel, also made the cut. Afghanistan Captain Rashid Khan, who guided his team to their maiden final four in an ICC tournament, is also picked.

Pacers filled the remaining three slots, with the top three wicket-takers - Arshdeep Singh (17), Fazalhaq Farooqi (17) and Jasprit Bumrah (15) making the list. Bumrah was also named the Player-of-the-tournament for his heroic outing, more so for his impact during the T20 World Cup.

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Anrich Nortje (12th man)

(With inputs from agencies)