The ICC on Monday announced its ODI Team of the Year, as chosen by a specially appointed selection panel chaired by West Indian batting legend and former captain Clive Lloyd.
The announcement was made at a special function ahead of the LG ICC Awards ceremony which is being held this evening at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Presented in association with FICA, the LG ICC Awards recognise the best international players and officials of the past 12 months.
Six countries are represented in the 12-man line-up and just one player - Mahendra Singh Dhoni of India - four years in a row. The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 winning captain keeps wicket and leads the side and is joined by fellow ICC ODI Team of the Year 2009 members AB de Villiers of South Africa and Shane Watson of Australia.
There are four Indians in the side, all of whom were involved in India's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 victory over Sri Lanka in Mumbai in April of the year. Meanwhile Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga, who were all part of the side that lost out to Dhoni's men in the final on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium, are selected for the team too.
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, MS 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, formerEngland captain Mike Gatting, former New Zealand bowler Danny Morrison and former South African bowler Paul Adams. Statistics were available as a guide but were not necessarily the overwhelming factor in the choices made.
The ICC ODI Team of the Year was one of two teams selected by the ICC selection panel along with the Test line-up which was announced last month.
ICC ODI Team of the Year (in batting order)
Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Virender Sehwag (India), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Shane Watson (Australia), Yuvraj Singh (India),MS Dhoni (India, wicketkeeper/captain), Graeme Swann (England), Umar Gul (Pakistan), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Zaheer Khan (India), 12th Man - Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)