London: Indian captain MS Dhoni, opener Virender Sehwag, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and pace bowler Zaheer Khan have been included in the ICC one-day team of the year, it was announced on Monday.
The other players in the team are Sri Lankan batsmen Tilakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga, South African batsman AB de Villiers, South Africa pacer Dale Steyn, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, and Pakistani bowler Umar Gul.
According to the playing XI, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sehwag have been placed as number one and two, with Kumar Sangakkara to follow at number three. The former Lankan captain will be followed by AB de Villiers at four, Shane Watson at five, Yuvraj at six and Dhoni at seven, England off-spinner Graeme Swann at eight. Umar Gul has been placed at number nine, with Dale Steyn at ten, Zaheer at eleven and Lasith Malinga is kept as the twelfth man.
Dhoni, the Indian World Cup-winning captain, has been given the charge of the side.
All four Indian players, who have found the place in the ODI eleven, have played key roles in helping India winning the World Cup.
Yuvraj was the players of the tournament of the quadrennial event, while Zaheer Khan was jointly the highest wicket taker of the tournament with then Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi.
Sehwag gave India flying starts on most occasions, while Dhoni's match-winning innings in the final against Sri Lanka was mind-boggling.
Chairman of the LG ICC Awards selection panel, Lloyd said: "This has been an outstanding year for 50-over cricket. I think everyone saw in the ICC Cricket World Cup how exciting this format can be.
"The ICC Cricket World Cup was rightly applauded as one of the greatest in history and no one who was in Mumbai will forget that remarkable evening.
"The ODI team of the year reflects the success of India with four players selected - Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni and Zaheer Khan. Yuvraj was, of course, the player of the tournament and MS Dhoni, the man-of-the-match in the final, whilst fellow finalists Sri Lanka has three players in the side."
Lloyd was joined on the panel by former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas, former England captain Mike Gatting, former New Zealand bowler Danny Morrison and former South African bowler Paul Adams. Statistics were available as a guide but were not necessarily the overwhelming factor in the choices made.
The ICC ODI Team of the Year was one of two teams selected by the ICC selection panel along with the Test line-up which was announced last month.
Source: Cricketnews
