Following their successful WC triumph, as many as four Indians have found a place in the annual ODI XI announced by the ICC here on Monday. 

 

M S Dhoni has been bestowed with the honour of being nominated as the captain of the team and he has been joined by fellow team-mates Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh. 

 

The team comprises of two players each from Sri Lanka and South Africa and a player each from Pakistan, Australia and England. 

 

Sri Lankan skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan has been nominated as the fellow opener with Virender Sehwag while the middle order consists of stalwarts like Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson and Yuvraj Singh with the keeper being Dhoni. Graeme Swann is the lone spinner in the side while the pace department includes Zaheer Khan, Umar Gul and Dale Steyn. Sri Lankan pace sensation Lasith Malinga has been nominated as the 12th man. 

 

All the four Indian players played a stellar role in helping India lift its 2nd World Cup crown. Sehwag began the WC in style with a superb 175 against Bangladesh and gave the team some flying starts in the rest of the tournament. Zaheer Khan emerged as the joint highest wicket taker alongside Shahid Afridi with 21 scalps. Yuvraj Singh was the Player of the tournament for his all-round efforts while MS Dhoni reserved his best for the last as he played a scintillating WC winning innings of 91 in the finals. 

 

Chairman of the LG ICC Awards selection panel, Lloyd said: "This has been an outstanding year for 50-over cricket. I think everyone saw in the ICC Cricket World Cup how exciting this format can be. 

 

"The ICC Cricket World Cup was rightly applauded as one of the greatest in history and no one who was in Mumbai will forget that remarkable evening. 

 

"The ODI team of the year reflects the success of India with four players selected - Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni and Zaheer Khan. Yuvraj was, of course, the player of the tournament and MS Dhoni, the man-of-the-match in the final, whilst fellow finalists Sri Lanka has three players in the side." 

 

Lloyd was joined on the panel by former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas, former England captain Mike Gatting, former New Zealand bowler Danny Morrison and former South African bowler Paul Adams.