 The ICC announced the World T20 XI squad at the completion of the tournament,
but none of the Indian players could make it to the final eleven. This was announced
by the ICC at Lord's on Monday, along with the team for the women's World T20
XI as well.
The captain of the men's team is the winning team, Pakistan's captain, Younus
Khan, on expected lines. The 12-player squad also has Shahid Afridi,
Umar Gul and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.
Sri Lanka and South Africa have been represented by three players
each, while there are two from West Indies.
T.Dilshan, who was named the man of the tournament is one of the Sri Lankans,
while Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga - as the 12th man - are the other
two. Jacques Kallis, A.B. de Villiers and the mightily impressive left-handed
pace bowler, Wayne Parnell are the South Africans.
West Indian captain, Chris Gayle, and Dwayne Bravo make it to
the squad from the West Indian side.
The Indian exclusion was on expected lines, as they did not make it to the
semi-finals with none of their players doing anything of note against a strong
enough nation.
There was something to cheer for the Indian fans in the form of the inclusion
of Rumeli Dhar in the women's World T20 squad. Dhar had picked six wickets
in the tournament, which saw the Indian women get to the semi-finals before
being routed by the Kiwi eves.
In Ashes news, Shane Watson will not play in the first warm-up game for the
Australians against Sussex, due to a knee injury. This comes as a huge setback
to both, the player and the team. Australia had been already struggling with
the decision around the selection of the number six or seven all-rounder, with
Watson, Marcus North and Andrew McDonald in the fray.
For Watson himself, this comes as no surprise, as he has had a history of career-threatening
injuries in the past and he himself admitted that it is how things were in his
career. Watson did not play in the 2005-06 Ashes because of a hamstring injury
and his place was taken by Andrew Symonds. This time around, Symonds
had been dropped from the squad due to his disciplinary issues and Watson had
been preferred instead.
Fortunately for Australia, both the other all-rounders, North and McDonald
have had a couple of test matches under their belt against South Africa and
will use that experience if they were called up to play.
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