Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players'It's a joke': Ravi Shastri fumes, Vernon Philander shocked as 8 Indians included in broadcaster's ODI team of the year
Ravi Shastri, Vernon Philander were taken by surprise as the official Indian broadcaster for the SA tour revealed its Team of the Year, derived from fan voting.
As 2023 draws to a close, reflecting on standout cricketers across ODIs, Tests, and T20Is is inevitable. In its annual tradition, the official Indian broadcasters for India's tour of South Africa, unveiled their ODI Team of the Year, featuring as many as eight Indians cricketers in the XI. While it's extremely flattering from the average Indian fan's point of view, cricket experts like Ravi Shastri, Vernon Philander, and Mark Nicholas expressed disbelief in the selection process.
Fan voting determines the team selection. The process is straightforward: players with more fan votes secure a spot in the year-end team. Unsurprisingly, emotionally-driven fans overwhelmingly voted for all available Indian players. While fans have their preferred contenders for each XI spot, the numbers reveal a significant bias, with 70 percent of the votes coming from India, clearly influencing the final outcome.
"It's a joke. Rashid Khan… does he play? I think there must be only Indians voting in there. No one else. Mitchell Marsh, Rashid Khan, Quinton de Kock. One player from the World Cup winning team in Adam Zampa? What a No. 7. Rashid is one of the best around. For him not to make the cut there, unbelievable. Jadeja is the best all-rounder. Him and Rashid would have been the ideal combination across all surfaces in the world," Shastri, the former India coach said with a touch of shock.
Also Read: India vs South Africa Live Score, 1st Test Day 2
The team includes Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as openers, Virat Kohli at 3, followed by Daryl Mitchell at No. 4. The middle order comprises KL Rahul at 5 and Heinrich Klaasen at 6. Adam Zampa takes the No. 7 spot, while Kuldeep Yadav is the other spinner at 8. The fast-bowling attack is once again India dominated with the trio of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah making it to the XI.
No Maxwell or Starc
Amid this Indian heavy line-up, there is no mention of Glenn Maxwell, who played arguably the greatest ODI innings of all time against Afghanistan at the World Cup, or a David Miller or Aiden Markram. Quinton de Kock, who bid adieu to ODI cricket with a sparkling World Cup did not impress fans and neither did the likes of Rashid Khan, Mitchell Starc or Shaheen Afridi. Like Shastri, Philander too was at a loss for words and while he tried his best to agree with the final XI, the former SA quick had certain reservations about it.
"If I am Quinton de Kock, I'll be highly disappointed to be missing out on selection. With his last year in ODI cricket and to sign off in the way he did… I tell you what. He is an incredible player. I understand that all these guys are worthy of selection; they've had a wonderful year, especially the Indians," Philander mentioned.
"Virat brings stability. But for me, maybe an Aiden Markram. David Miller another name. Glenn Maxwell, how can you leave him out? He saved Australia from the death. There are just so many to pick from. If I was Maxwell, I would feel really hard done by selection."
