COLOMBO: Seven Asian players including India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara were selected in the International Cricket Council’s one-day team of the year yesterday.
Dhoni, who was included in the team for a fifth year in succession, was named captain.
India’s Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga, Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal and all rounder Shahid Afridi were also named in the team.
England captain Alastair Cook and paceman Steven Finn, Australian skipper Michael Clarke and South African fast bowler Morne Morkel completed the line-up.
ICC one-day team of the Year (in batting order): Gautam Gambhir (India), Alastair Cook (England), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Virat Kohli (India), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India, wicketkeeper/captain), Michael Clarke (Australia), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Morne Morkel (South Africa), Steven Finn (England), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan). 12th Man — Shane Watson (Australia)
Pak not to boycott
Pakistan will not boycott the International Cricket Council (ICC) awards despite registering a protest over the omission of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal from the shortlist of candidates.
“We have our strong reservations over Ajmal’s omission from the awards list but have decided not to boycott the ceremony but we will only be sending some squad members to the event,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday. The annual ICC ceremony will be held on Saturday in Colombo but Ajmal — the top wicket-taker in tests for the qualifying period — is not shortlisted for test cricketer of the year, ODI player of the year or international cricketer of the year. He was picked in the ICC test team of the year. Talk of a potential boycott had even reached Pakistan’s parliament. The PCB spokesman added that no board official would attend the ceremony.
Lucky shirt
Indian players have been ordered to wear the same jersey design that won them the World Cup last year for next week’s World Twenty20 in a bid to bring them good luck.
Nike, the Indian team’s clothing sponsor, had earlier this month unveiled a new Twenty20 design that displayed the national colors prominently and even paraded top stars in the new outfit at a media launch. But India’s cricket chiefs have asked the players to wear the same blue shirts in which they won the 50-over World Cup in order to bring good luck to the team, the Times of India reported on Friday.
“It’s our decision to ask the players to wear the jersey which they had used during the 2011 World Cup,” Indian cricket board official Ratnakar Shetty told the newspaper. India won the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007 but failed to make the semi-finals of the next two editions in 2009 and 2010. The new T20 design had been welcomed by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and senior batsman Virender Sehwag when it was launched.
Dhoni said the design would help fans identify with the shortest format of the game. “When we see players in white, we know they are playing Test cricket,” he said. “Similarly, when you see them in blue, you know an ODI is going on.
“Now that we have a different T20 shirt, there will be a strong association between the format and the jersey.” Sehwag had said he liked the new jersey because it displayed the national colors of red, white and green.
“I play with my heart and I play for the national flag,” he said. “I like this jersey because the national colors are on my heart.” The World Twenty20 opens in Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Australia serious
Rankings will mean nothing when play starts at the Twenty20 World Cup and Australia are deadly serious about winning the tournament for the first time over the next few weeks, according to skipper George Bailey.
Australia, who have won the one-day World Cup four times and are the most successful test playing nation of all time, are ranked ninth in the world in the shortest form of the game.
Their best finish in the three Twenty20 World Cups to date was reaching the final at the last edition in 2010 but Bailey said the country’s approach to the format had altered.
“It’s the one trophy we don’t have in our cabinet and it’s something we’re looking to rectify,” he told reporters in Colombo on Thursday.
“It’s a bit of a process, Australia didn’t really take T20 that seriously, I certainly think that’s changed.
“(But) it doesn’t change overnight, it takes a bit of time to catch up.” Australia prepared for the Sept. 18-Oct. 7 tournament with a three-match series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, a rare chance to string a few matches together which coach Mickey Arthur said should benefit the team.
“Normally your T20s are sandwiched between your tests and your ODIs and it is a time where you take your foot off the pedal,” he said. “But to have a group together for 12 days has been excellent.” Australia lost the first two matches of the series to the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup winners — the first by seven wickets and the second in a ‘super over’ shootout — but recovered to win the third encounter by a crushing 94 runs.
“I thought we had a really good build up, we obviously had a disappointing first game but from there on in I think we played some really good, consistent cricket with bat and ball,” Bailey added.
“And certainly to finish off that series with our strongest performance was excellent and certainly arriving here as confident as can be and with a little bit of momentum.”
Asian players dominate ICC one-day team of the year
