Harmanpreet Kaur was named the captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) women’s T20 International team captain while the hard-hitting Smirti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav made both the T20I and the One-day International squads named on Monday. Suzie Bates of New Zealand was named ODI captains, an ICc release said. The two sides have been selected by the same voting academy, which comprised members of the media and broadcasters who also voted for the annual women’s individual awards to be announced later today, and took into consideration player performances in the 2018 calendar year, the release added.
“Bates’s appointment as the ODI captain is a recognition of her contribution in inspiring her side to second position in the ICC Women’s Championship after three rounds. In the seven ODIs this calendar year, Bates has scored 438 runs with two centuries and a half-century. Bates is presently ranked seventh in the ICC Women’s Players Rankings for ODI Batters,” the release said.
Harmanpreet was rewarded for spearheading her side to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 in the Caribbean in November.
“In that tournament, Kaur scored 183 runs at a strike-rate of 160.5, while in the 25 matches in the calendar year, she accumulated 663 runs at a strike-rate of 126.2. Kaur is ranked third in the ICC Women’s Player Rankings for T20I Batters.”
Reacting to the news, Bates said: “Thank you very much to everyone who voted for the ICC team of the year. To be named captain is just an absolute honour. Obviously, I have been playing for a long time and stepped down from captaincy, but to be named captain of a World XI is pretty special and something I will always remember.
Women’s T20I Team of the Year (in batting order):
Smriti Mandhana (India), 2. Alyssa Healy (Australia) (wk), 3. Suzie Bates (New Zealand), 4. Harmanpreet Kaur (India) (capt), 5. Natalie Sciver (England), 6. Ellyse Perry (Australia), 7. Ashleigh Gardner (Australia), 8. Leigh Kasperek (New Zealand), 9. Megan Schutt (Australia), 10. Rumana Ahmed (Bangladesh), 11. Poonam Yadav (India).
Women’s ODI Team of the Year (in batting order):
Smriti Mandhana (India), 2. Tammy Beaumont (England), 3. Suzie Bates (New Zealand) (capt), 4. Dane van Niekerk (South Africa), 5. Sophie Devine (New Zealand), 6. Alyssa Healy (Australia) (wk), 7. Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), 8. Deandra Dottin (Windies), 9. Sana Mir (Pakistan), 10. Sophie Ecclestone (England), 11. Poonam Yadav (India).
Harmanpreet was delighted to be appointed T20 captain, when she said: “To be honest, it was really surprising for me. The last two years we did not get enough T20I matches to play and it was really tough for me to build that confidence in the team and show that self-belief that we can do well in T20Is. Credit goes to all team members, the way they worked hard and show that self-belief.
“This award means a lot to me to build my confidence, BCCI is showing confidence on me – that I can do well in the format and I am looking forward to do well in the future.”
The voting academy included Melinda Farrell, Melanie Jones, Lisa Sthalekar (all Australia), Charlotte Edwards, Kalika Mehta (both England), Anjum Chopra, Snehal Pradhan (both India), Lesley Murdoch (New Zealand), Urooj Mumtaz (Pakistan), Natalie Germanos (South Africa), Alan Wilkins (Wales) and Ian Bishop (West Indies).
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