Dubai: His side may have lost in the final but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was Monday named captain of the 2014 ICC World Team of the Tournament that figures four Indians, including star batsman Virat Kohli. Opener Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin are the other two Indian players who feature in the team that was announced by the ICC.
Kohli was adjudged Player of the Tournament for amassing 319 runs with the help of four half centuries, including knocks of 72 and 77 in the semifinal and final of the showpiece event.
Besides Indians, the team has two players from both South Africa and West Indies, and one representative each from Australia, the Netherlands and champions Sri Lanka.
Chosen by a select group of experts, the team was aimed at being suited for Bangladesh conditions, on the basis of performances in the tournament only. Statistics were used but were not the sole basis for selections.
Selection Panel Chairman and member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, David Boon, said of the selection: "It was a very difficult task for the panel to pick a team of 11 from the exciting players who featured in this tournament. "As the selection criteria for the Team of the Tournament are the performances of players in the conditions during the ICC World Twenty20 2014, some of the best players in world cricket had to be left out of the team."
"Bowlers in particular performed strongly throughout this tournament, and the side we have selected includes three of the most impressive bowlers in Dale Steyn, Samuel Badree and Lasith Malinga. The team also contains six specialist batsmen, including Stephan Myburgh from the Netherlands as an opening batsman, as well as three all-rounders, including MS Dhoni as a wicket-keeper batsman."
The panel faced a difficult choice for a number of positions, and players who were considered but who did not ultimately make the team included India's Amit Mishra, Pakistan's Ahmed Shehzad, the South Africa duo of A B de Villiers and Imran Tahir, Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews and Rangana Herath, and West Indies' Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine.
Men's Team of the Tournament (in batting order):
Rohit Sharma (India) 200 runs
Stephan Myburgh (Netherlands) 224 runs
Virat Kohli (India) 319 runs
JP Duminy (South Africa) 187 runs
Glenn Maxwell (Australia) 147 runs
MS Dhoni (India - captain, wicketkeeper) 50 runs, 6 dismissals
Darren Sammy (West Indies) 101 runs
Ravichandran Ashwin (India) 11 wickets
Dale Steyn (South Africa) 9 wickets
Samuel Badree (West Indies) 11 wickets
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) 5 wickets
12th Player: Krishmar Santokie (West Indies) 8 wickets.
