Babar picked over Kohli; no Rohit, Gill as 3 Indians make the cut to Cricket Australia's WTC Team of the Tournament
The team also comprises three from Australia, two from England and one each from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
After umpteen records broken and re-written, a few historic tours and an introduction to the 'Bazball' concept, the 2021/23 cycle of the World Test Championship has almost come to a close. In another three days, the summit clash will kick off at The Oval in London between India and Australia with both looking for a maiden title win. And ahead of the big final, Cricket Australia named the Best XI from the tournament and it neither Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma nor rising sensation Shubman Gill.
Only three Indians made the cut as Cricket Australia named the "ultimate Test XI from the last two years". The team also comprises three from Australia, two from England and one each from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa. The team was picked based on how the players performed throughout the two years of the WTC cycle with the players having flourished in all conditions.
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Despite his impressive show as an opener in the 2021 England tour, where he even smashed a ton at The Oval, Rohit was snubbed alongside Shubman Gill, who was although a late addition to the campaign, but proved his worth with twin centuries between November and March, one of which came in the Border-Gavaskar series. Usman Khawaja and Dimuth Karunaratne were picked as the openers.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who compiled over 1500 runs in only 14 matches, was picked as the No.3 followed by leading run-getter of the tournament, Joe Root (1915 runs in 22 Tests), implying that the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli were snubbed. The top-order batting line-up was completed with the addition of swashbuckling Travis Head, who announced his arrival as one of the most destructive middle-order batters.
Next followed were the three Indians that eventually made the cut to the Best XI. Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin were picked as the two spin-allrounders with Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper. The pace line-up included Pat Cummins, also named the captain of this team, James Anderson and Kagiso Rabada.
