As the decade is about to end tomorrow with this year, the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac named its T20I team of the decade. Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are the only two Indians who have been able to make a cut to the Wisden’s T20I team of the decade.
Shockingly, the T20I list neither had MS Dhoni nor Rohit Sharma, while Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch was named as the captain of this team. The team also included two more Australian namely, Shane Watson and Glenn Maxwell.
England’s Jos Buttler and David Willey also made it to the list, along with Afghanistan all-rounders — Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan. Lasith Malinga, the legendary cricketer from Sri Lanka and New Zealand’s Colin Munro completed the list.
Besides Wisen’s T20I team of the decade, Virat Kohli also found a place in Wisden’s Test and ODI team of the decade as well. The Indian skipper has also found a place in the list of five cricketers of the decade that also included Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, and Ellyse Perry. On Virat Kohli, Wisden wrote:
“While Kohli’s record in domestic T20 cricket is patchy, the same cannot be said of T20Is. Kohli’s average of 53 was the best in the decade, and while his consistency compromises his strike-rate slightly, he is still able to score at a good rate, even if not exceptional. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah Maintain Top Spots in ICC ODI Rankings.”
He added:
“Strong against pace and spin, and rapid between the wickets, Kohli is an ideal player at No.3, able to fight fires when an early wicket is lost and stabilise the innings, but also accelerate when a platform is set. Following a huge first-wicket partnership, Kohli will slide down the order in this XI,”
Talking about Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance in the game, Wisden said that despite only making his debut in 2016, the Indian pacer has made a spot from himself in this list all thanks to his defensive brilliance.
“Bumrah’s overall economy rate of 6.71 is the second-best in the world among quick bowlers, behind Dale Steyn. This statistic is more impressive when you consider he did the majority of his bowling in the death overs, where his economy rate of 7.27 was the seventh-best in the world, and comfortably the best by a quick bowler. Bumrah is likely to bowl three overs at the death for this side.”
Wisden’s T20I team of the decade:
Aaron Finch (c), Colin Munro, Virat Kohli, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Jos Buttler, Mohammad Nabi, David Willey, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga
