Lasith sole Lankan as Indians dominate ICC Team of the World Twenty20

Tuesday, 8 April 2014 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the men’s Team of the Tournament of the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014, with India’s MS Dhoni named captain.

The team includes four players from India, two from both South Africa and West Indies, and one representative each from Australia, Netherlands and Sri Lanka. Chosen by a select group of experts, the team was aimed at being suited for Bangladesh conditions, on the basis of performances in the tournament only. Statistics were used but were not the sole basis for selections. Selection Panel Chairman and member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, David Boon, said of the selection: “It was a very difficult task for the panel to pick a team of 11 from the exciting players who featured in this tournament. “As the selection criteria for the Team of the Tournament are the performances of players in the conditions during the ICC World Twenty20 2014, some of the best players in world cricket had to be left out of the team. “Bowlers in particular performed strongly throughout this tournament, and the side we have selected includes three of the most impressive bowlers in Dale Steyn, Samuel Badree and Lasith Malinga. The team also contains six specialist batsmen, including Stephan Myburgh from the Netherlands as an opening batsman, as well as three all-rounders, including MS Dhoni as a wicket-keeper batsman.” The panel faced a difficult choice for a number of positions, and players who were considered but who did not ultimately make the team included India’s Amit Mishra, Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad, the South Africa duo of AB de Villiers and Imran Tahir, Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews and Rangana Herath, and West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine. David Boon of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees was the chairman of the independent jury that selected the Men’s Team of the Tournament. Other members of the panel included Marais Erasmus of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, ex-England captain Nasser Hussain, former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop and Utpal Shuvro, one of Bangladesh’s senior-most cricket correspondents.