6 Indian players included in ICC team of the tournament for T20 World Cup 2024
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has named six Indian players in their best playing XI of the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2024. With the Men in Blue lifting the trophy for the second time, the playing XI was inevitably dominated by them.
The top three consists of Rohit Sharma, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Nicholas Pooran. Gurbaz and Rohit were the top two run-getters of the multi-nation event and provided their respective sides with the desired starts. Although the West Indies' Nicholas Pooran struck only one half-century, he amassed 228 runs in the competition, striking at 146.5.
Suryakumar Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, and Hardik Pandya occupy the next three spots. Suryakumar stepped up in some vital matches for India with some brisk knocks at No.4, while Stoinis was Australia's hero during the group stage with half-centuries against Oman and Scotland. Pandya, meanwhile, was among the main architechts of India's triumph with 144 runs and 11 scalps, including a clutch bowling performance in the final.
Axar Patel is yet another specialist all-rounder in the line-up due to his ability to stand up under pressure consistently. The 30-year-old also pulled off one of the best catches of the tournament against the Aussies.
Team India's new-ball bowlers round off the bowling unit
The lone spinner in the ICC's best playing XI is the dynamic Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan. The spin wizard claimed 14 scalps at 12.78 apiece and captained his side to the semi-finals. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh were a lethal bowling duo and unsurprisingly occupy the next two spots.
Bumrah and Arshdeep went on to claim 32 wickets between them and almost always set the tone for Team India. The former also earned the Player of the Tournament award for his 15 wickets at a ridiculous 8.26 and an economy rate of 4.17.
Afghanistan quick Fazalhaq Farooqi was the joint top wicket-taker of the competition alongside Arshdeep with 17 wickets at 9.41. The left-arm seamer also took a fifer against Uganda.