Babar Azam named captain of the Official ICC Most Valuable Team of the Tournament

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Players from six teams have been named in the Official ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Upstox Most Valuable Team of the Tournament

Stars from champions Australia, runners-up New Zealand, semi-finalists England and Pakistan as well as Sri Lanka and South Africa feature in the star-studded line up.

Opening batter David Warner, leg-spinner Adam Zampa and seamer Josh Hazlewood all make the cut for Australia after helping steer their side to their first ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title.

There are also spots for England ace Jos Buttler as wicketkeeper, Pakistan’s Babar Azam as captain, New Zealand left-armer Trent Boult and Sri Lanka star Wanindu Hasaranga – the tournament’s leading wicket-taker – in the line-up.

The side was pulled together by a selection panel featuring commentators, former international players and journalists Ian Bishop (Convenor), Natalie Germanos, Shane Watson, Lawrence Booth - of Wisden, the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday - and Shahid Hashmi of Agence France Presse and ARY Channel.

Ian Bishop said: “As with any team selection there will be varying opinions, and robust discussion on the final composition of the squad. The panel respects that, and we encourage the strong debate that will ensue. This team was incredibly difficult to select over such a highly competitive tournament. Selections were based predominantly on the Super 12 onward to the final.”

The team of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 (in batting order) is:

David Warner (Australia) – 289 runs at 48.16
Jos Buttler (wk) (England) – 269 runs at 89.66, five dismissals
Babar Azam (Captain, Pakistan) – 303 runs at 60.60
Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka) – 231 runs at 46.20
Aiden Markram (South Africa) – 162 runs at 54.00
Moeen Ali (England) – 92 runs at strike rate of 131.42, seven wickets at 11
Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) – 16 wickets at 9.75
Adam Zampa (Australia) – 13 wickets at 12.07
Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 11 wickets at 15.90
Trent Boult (New Zealand) – 13 wickets at 13.30
Anrich Nortje (South Africa) – nine wickets at 11.55
12th: Shaheen Afridi – seven wickets at 24.14

Warner came into the tournament in uncharacteristically patchy form but laid those demons to rest in style with a power-packed set of performances.

The left-handed Australian opener racked up a tally of 289 runs – the second most of the tournament – at a healthy average of 48.16 to help propel his team to victory in Sunday’s Dubai final.

Warner struck 65 against Sri Lanka in the Super 12 stages, before a breath-taking 89 not out against the West Indies and then 49 against Pakistan in the semi-finals placed his team on the cusp of global glory.

And his 53 in the final provided the perfect support act for Mitchell Marsh – 77 not out – as Australia chased down a total of 173 to clinch their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup crown.

England star Buttler was in similarly blistering form throughout, scoring just 20 runs fewer than Warner at a brilliant average of almost 90.

He cracked a perfectly-paced century against Sri Lanka - off just 67 balls – when his team needed him most, while his brutal knock of 71 not out against Australia helped fire England to an emphatic eight-wicket victory against the eventual champions.

Captaining the side at No.3 is Pakistan skipper Babar, who was the only batter to break the 300-run barrier throughout the duration of the competition.

His 68 not out against old rivals India powered Pakistan to a memorable 10-wicket victory, while three further half-centuries in the Super 12 stages helped book his team’s slot in the semi-final against Australia.

And while they were unable to battle past Aaron Finch’s outfit, Babar helped himself to 39 in the first innings to finish his campaign in typically consistent fashion.

Sri Lankan Asalanka slots in at No.4 after his match-winning innings against Bangladesh in the Super 12s.

With his team in pursuit of 172 to win, Asalanka cracked a scintillating 80 not out off just 49 balls to guide Sri Lanka over the line and solidify his reputation as one of his country’s brightest talents.

A further innings of 68 against the West Indies soon followed as Asalanka scored 231 runs at an average of 46.20 throughout the course of the tournament.

South African Markram and England all-rounder Moeen occupy the No.5 and 6 positions, with Markram’s quickfire 52 not out against England helping down Eoin Morgan’s team in Sharjah.

Another half-century against the West Indies helped him reach a total of 162 runs at an average of 54 while for Ali, a haul of 92 – at a strike rate of 131.42 – provided a valuable contribution for England.

His economical off-spin also went for just 5.50 per over as his seven wickets at 11 saw him function as a crucial string to England’s T20I bow.

Completing the middle order is another Sri Lankan in the form of Hasaranga, who stands tall as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with a stunning 16 from his eight matches.

The skilful leg-spinner bagged a brilliant hat-trick against South Africa as he dismissed Temba Bavuma, Markram and Dwaine Pretorius – across two separate spells – to etch his name into ICC Men’s T20 World Cup folklore.

And a further three wickets against England, bolstered by two against Australia, saw him emerge as the most prolific bowler of the tournament and firmly deserving of his place in the Team of the Tournament.

Australian pairing Zampa and Hazlewood line up at No.8 and 9, with fellow leg-spinner Zampa lying closely behind Hasaranga in the tournament’s leading wicket-takers.

Conceding an average of his 5.81 runs an over, the Australian ace removed 13 victims across his seven matches – including a memorable five-wicket haul against Bangladesh in the Super 12s.

Zampa ended with figures of 5 for 19 off his four overs and after Australia navigated their way to the final, teammate Hazlewood followed in his footsteps with a record-equalling three for 16 against the Black Caps.

Hazlewood dismissed Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips in Dubai and his figures represented the joint-best of any seamer in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final alongside Indian Irfan Pathan in the 2007 showpiece.

And that helped cap a haul of 11 total wickets as the skilful right-armer proved a crucial weapon in guiding Justin Langer’s team to their maiden tournament title.

Rounding off the side at No.10 and 11 are fellow pace bowlers Trent Boult and Anrich Nortje, who both took 13 and nine wickets respectively for New Zealand and South Africa.

Left-armer Boult took three-fers against both India and Afghanistan, while grabbing both of his team’s wickets in the final helped him finish the tournament with an average of 13.30.

Nortje’s express pace sees him slot into the team at No.11, with his nine wickets at 11.55 featuring a barnstorming performance that blew away Bangladesh.

He took three for eight off his 3.2 overs to help bowl the Tigers out for just 84 and further enhance his reputation as one of the short format’s most blockbuster bowlers.

Taking his place as 12th man is Pakistan prodigy Shaheen Afridi, who started his tournament in style with a blistering new ball spell against old foes India.

Afridi, 21, removed the talismanic top three trio of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and captain Virat Kohli to end with figures of three for 31 and lay the foundations for a memorable victory.

The left-arm pacer finished the tournament with seven wickets at 24.14 and will no doubt continue to star at multiple more ICC World Cup events throughout an exciting future career.
 
No Rizwan and no Indian players either although they had some good performances too.
 
It’s a fair selection based on performance . Should have toss as the add on player . Player bigger role than most players .
 
They forget to add biggest most valuable things - The toss .also toss should have caption of this toss world cup
 
Pak fans complain about Babar captaincy , but he is captain of the ICC team of the tournament

What an honour, Well done Babar!!!
 
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No Rizwan? Could easily be there instead of Markram considering these batsmen are not necessarily chosen on their actual batting position. And Nortje over Shaheen? :qdkcheeky
 
They forget to add biggest most valuable things - The toss .also toss should have caption of this toss world cup
Toss was not the reason England and Pakistan lost the semis.India did not put enough runs against Pakistan and New Zealand.People will remember results only.In years to come no one will talk about the toss,dropped catches,runout chances or poor umpiring.Australia won the t20 wc and that is what will go in records.
 
Having two Sri Lankans and two South Africans in the team is a bit much, I think.

I mean fine if you want to have a couple of players from those teams - maybe 1 each - but to have the team of the tournament with 4 players who didn't even reach the semi finals is going too far. That's my opinion. I mean how valuable were they, really, when they didn't even get into the semis.
 
My T20 XI :-

1. Warner
2. Buttler(wkt)
3. Asalanka/ Babar
4. Van der dussen
5. Markram(c)
6. Moeen
7. Asif Ali
8. Hasaranga
9. Zampa
10. Hazelwood
11. Bumrah
 
Toss was not the reason England and Pakistan lost the semis.India did not put enough runs against Pakistan and New Zealand.People will remember results only.In years to come no one will talk about the toss,dropped catches,runout chances or poor umpiring.Australia won the t20 wc and that is what will go in records.

Its was important .both match were finished in 19th over ,you can checked stats of how many top team win each other after winning the toss
 
Van Dussen was better than Markram. Butler should play as a batsman and Rizwan as a wicketkeeper.
 
Its was important .both match were finished in 19th over ,you can checked stats of how many top team win each other after winning the toss

Yes toss was a factor but both Pakistan and England made simple mistakes in the last 4 or 5 overs of the second innings. Result could easily have gone the other way too.
 
What a joke.

Ignored Rizwan.

Also, Pakistan lost the semis due to poor captaincy of Babar. Cant really take these ICC awards serious now.

Babar should had been the ICC player of the tournament.
 
Butler is the wk who scored ten runs lesser than rizwan but SR is 150+

Shaheen is not among the wickets

Shadab and Haris rauf has taken more wickets than SSA actually

Buttler could have been there as a pure Batsman, Shaheen was economical too, I don't think ntrje was better than him.
 
Having two Sri Lankans and two South Africans in the team is a bit much, I think.

I mean fine if you want to have a couple of players from those teams - maybe 1 each - but to have the team of the tournament with 4 players who didn't even reach the semi finals is going too far. That's my opinion. I mean how valuable were they, really, when they didn't even get into the semis.

Same here, harusnga is ok, the rest of the three I don't think so that they deserve it
 
Pak fans complain about Babar captaincy , but he is captain of the ICC team of the tournament

What an honour, Well done Babar!!!

Babar did really well but lost his marbles a bit in the semi-final, Pak came the closest at defending a total against a top team and may have potentially edged the Aussies
 
Firstly well done to Babar!

Makram ahead of Rizwan is absurd.
Also, Sahadab was brilliant throughout the tournament and took 4 wickets when bowling second at Dubai in a semi final which is exceptional and he out bowled Zampa. Add his superb fielding capability and the fact that he can hold a bat, you have to wonder why he wasn't in that eleven.
 
What a joke.

Ignored Rizwan.

Also, Pakistan lost the semis due to poor captaincy of Babar. Cant really take these ICC awards serious now.

Babar should had been the ICC player of the tournament.

Exactly!!!! Babar's stubbornness cause us loose the semi. We could have better position if Nawaz played and Babar used his pinners properly. Plus he wasted way too many balls along with Rizwan.
 
Shaheen's stats are a bit surprising. For some reason, I thought he was the standout bowler of the tournament and I didn't realise he was lagging in the wickets column compared to his competitors. But then again, I only watched him in the matches against India and Australia where he was sublime for the most part and didn't watch the rest of Pakistan's games.
 
This is why you have to watch matches and not go by stats because stats can be so misleading, as it is the case with Babar’s performance in this world cup.

On paper, 303 runs at an average of 60 looks great, but is it really great? Babar in the World Cup scored 4 fifties, but 3 of those fifties came against the minnows Afghanistan, Namibia & Scotland. His only 50 against a top side came against India, where he was outshone by Rizwan. Against the two other top sides we played, he failed, scoring 9 against New Zealand and 39 of 34 balls against Australia. His slow batting against Australia cost us 15-20 runs which would have made a big difference.

And his captaincy also cost us against Australia. Not balling out Imad. Not giving Hafeez another over. Giving that joker Hasan the fourth over, when he looked physically spent after his third over. And the biggest blunder, having both fine leg and third man up, when Shaheen is going for yorkers.

There is no way in hell Babar deserves to be the captain of the World Cup team, let alone be in the actual team. I’m a big fan of Babar Azam, but he had an average overall tournament, in my opinion.
 
Shaheen's stats are a bit surprising. For some reason, I thought he was the standout bowler of the tournament and I didn't realise he was lagging in the wickets column compared to his competitors. But then again, I only watched him in the matches against India and Australia where he was sublime for the most part and didn't watch the rest of Pakistan's games.


Shaheen was just easing through his overs against Scotland and Namibia....bowled within himself.
 
Babar Azam is a gift that keeps on giving.

The fact that he appeared so clueless when he took over, to how he is now on the field, is yet another testament to his desire to grow in every aspect of his game.

Pakistanis are so used to him being this good, and so used to denigrating their own country's achievements, that they forget this is a huge honor for Pakistan - and thoroughly deserved too.

There are things Babar needs to improve on - but right now, in this moment, all we have to do is celebrate a good thing.
 
No Rizwan is a joke.

Could easily have got in as a batsman with either him or Buttler in the outfield.
 
This is my Team of the T20 WC

I took out Babar because he never batted at 3, I don't like to put players in positions where they have never batted (or only batted for 1- 2 matches).


David Warner (Australia)
Jos Buttler (wk) (England)
Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka)
Aiden Markram (South Africa)
Moeen Ali (England)
Liam Livingstone (England)
Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)
Adam Zampa (Australia)
Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
Trent Boult (New Zealand)
Haris Rauf (Pakistan)
 
I think it is a fair XI except for Shaheen's omission. I think Shaheen should've been there.
 
Big honor and another statement of how much a great player he is.

First ODI wolrd cup he was brilliant.
First t20 world cup, again brilliant and named captain of the team of the tournament.

Keep it on Babar.
 
This is my Team of the T20 WC

I took out Babar because he never batted at 3, I don't like to put players in positions where they have never batted (or only batted for 1- 2 matches).


David Warner (Australia)
Jos Buttler (wk) (England)
Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka)
Aiden Markram (South Africa)
Moeen Ali (England)
Liam Livingstone (England)
Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)
Adam Zampa (Australia)
Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
Trent Boult (New Zealand)
Haris Rauf (Pakistan)

Agreed. I have gone with similar team too although Asif Ali will be in my team instead of Livingstone based on performance.

Very impressed with Asalanka in this tournament.
 
Congrats to babar and Pakistan for this award. I think you guys will now know how it feels to be given a consolation award after failure in a icc tournament. This was customary for Dhoni and Kohli to be made captains of world teams innumerable times after failing to win the cup. But we all know what we would rather prefer!??
 
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