Kohli headlines six Indians in ICC team of the tournament
The talismanic Virat Kohli was the biggest name among six Indian players picked in the 12-member ‘Team of the Tournament’ for the Champions Trophy. Shreyas Iyer, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and pacer Mohammed Shami also featured in the playing XI, while all-rounder Axar Patel was named the 12th man.
The Black Caps have four members of their squad making the team, including Player of the Tournament Rachin Ravindra, with Mitchell Santner being named captain.
Two players from Afghanistan also made the cut after they won their first Champions Trophy match in their debut appearance.
Ravindra scored two centuries and topped the run-scoring charts with 263. Ravindra was joined by Ibrahim Zadran at the top of the order. The 23-year-old Afghan played a brilliant knock of 177 — the highest-ever Champions Trophy score — against England.
Kohli slots in at No. 3 after he finished fifth in the run-scoring charts with 218 at an average of 54.50. Kohli made an unbeaten century in their group-stage win over Pakistan and a crucial 84 in the semifinal win over world champions Australia.
Teammates Shreyas and Rahul join him in the middle-order. Shreyas was India’s top run-scorer in the tournament, with two half-centuries helping him to 243 runs in total, while Rahul finished with an average of 140 thanks to unbeaten knocks of 42 and 34 in the semifinal and final, respectively.
New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips is selected at No. 6 after a brilliant performance with the bat and in the field. Azmatullah Omarzai is the second Afghan named in the team. The fast-bowling all-rounder had a fantastic tournament with both bat and ball, finishing with seven wickets and 126 runs. Santner finished the tournament with nine wickets — the joint second.
Shami capped a successful return from injury by finishing with nine wickets. Matt Henry, who missed the final due to a shoulder injury, finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps at 16.70. The team is completed by Chakravarthy, who took nine wickets in just three matches.
