Mumbai: The Indian skipper was named captain of the ICC ODI team and is also a part of the ICC Test side Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq did not find a place in the ODI team but was shortlisted for the ODI cricketer of the year award.
He was the third highest run-getter with an aggregate of 910 runs
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday added another feather to his glorious cap when he became only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to win the ICC People's Choice Award. Dhoni was also named captain of the 2013 ICC ODI Team for the fourth time in five years by the game's governing body at a function here.
England skipper Alastair Cook was named captain of the ICC Test Team with Dhoni as wicket-keeper and Cheteshwar Pujara in an opener's role. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's utility was well acknowledged with a spot in both formats. The selections were made after the panel headed by Anil Kumble reviewed performances for the period from August 7, 2012 to August 25, 2013.
R. Ashwin, who took 61 wickets which is the highest for the period, could only make it as the 12th man of the Test side as England's Graeme Swann (60 wickets) pipped the Indian to be the specialist spinner.
While there was no major backlash like last year when the then top-ranked spinner Saeed Ajmal was overlooked, certain selections once again raised questions. Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq did not find a place in the ODI team but was shortlisted for the ODI cricketer of the year award. Misbah was the third highest run-getter of the period with an aggregate of 910 runs in 22 innings at an average of 53.53.
Virat Kohli had amassed 689 runs with an average of 40.53 for the period and it was not enough to make the cut. Ten other batsmen had better numbers.
Inclusion of Michael Hussey in the Test team was met with criticism as the Aussie great retired from international cricket in January this year. In the given period, he played six Tests, scored three centuries and aggregated 527 runs (Average 75.29).
However, England's Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen, who scored 1022 runs and 811 runs respectively , were left out.
Kumble, in a statement, said that selectors tried their best but with just 12 spots to fill, some top players were bound to miss out.
“The selectors did utilise a vast amount of statistics from the period under observation, but we also took into account other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions and match situation.“
The ICC also short-listed individual award nominees and will name the winners later.
