Ashwin, Shami find spot in ICC Test & ODI teams of the Year
The ICC announced its Test and ODI Teams of the Year 2015 today, as selected by a special panel co-chaired by former India captain Anil Kumble. Only two Indian players found a mention- Ravichandran Ashwin in the Test squad and Mohammed Shami in the ODI squad.
The Test team saw England captain Alastair Cook heading the squad that also includes two other Englishmen- Joe Root and Stuart Broad. Apart from England, Australia and Pakistan also have three members each in the squad, while two Kiwis complete the playing 11. Ravichandran Ashwin finds a place only as the 12th man – Ashwin was placed fifth in the Test bowling rankings in September which marks the close of the window considered for selection. However, a stellar performance in the Freedom series has seen him jump to the second place in the latest rankings released on November 30.
Stuart Broad achieved the remarkable feat of being selected to the ICC Test squad for the fifth time since 2009.
South African AB de Villiers, meanwhile heads the ODI squad- a first time for the Proteas ODI captain who has found himself in the team for the fourth time in five years. Tillakaratne Dilshan and recently retired great Kumar Sangakkara also have secured a spot for the fourth time.
Mohammad Shami is the only Indian to enter the squad on the back of a stellar World Cup performance where he bagged 17 wickets from seven matches. The quick has been out with an injury since the World Cup after reportedly playing through pain and a knee injury in the tournament.
The Chairman of the selection panel Anil Kumble said,“I would like to congratulate all the players for their selection in the Test and ODI teams of the year. It is an achievement for each of them to be proud of and a recognition for their good performances in the qualifying period.
“Testament to the quality of cricket played is the calibre of players to have missed out on selection. While selecting these squads, the selectors considered various combinations and took into account several factors in overall performances. Congratulations to all of the players on their selections.”
The selection panel comprised of former greats of the game including West Indies quick Ian Bishop, ex-England batsman Mark Butcher, former Australia women’s captain Belinda Clark and Mr. G. Viswanath, Deputy Editor of The Hindu. The qualification period for the selection ran from September 18, 2014 to September 13, 2015.
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