Virat Kohli exclusion from ICC ODI XI may have shocked cricket fans but stats speak otherwise
Virat Kohli exclusion from ICC ODI XI is justified
By Aayush Puthran
Stats can be a cruel indicator to assess performances. When the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced its Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams of the year, there were few surprising decisions. The exclusion of Virat Kohli from the ODI team and the inclusion of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Test team raised a few eyebrows.
However, if their performances during the assessment period (August 7, 2012- September 25, 2013) are to be taken note of, then it justifies their respective places.
Here is the list of performances of batsmen in Tests during the period of assessment
| Player | M | R | Ave | 100s | 50s |
| Michael Clarke | 14 | 1,559 | 70.86 | 5 | 5 |
| Alastair Cook | 15 | 1,256 | 44.85 | 5 | 3 |
| Jonathan Trott | 15 | 1,139 | 40.67 | 2 | 7 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 10 | 1,073 | 82.53 | 4 | 2 |
| Ian Bell | 14 | 1,022 | 44.43 | 4 | 4 |
| Hashim Amla | 9 | 973 | 69.5 | 4 | 4 |
| Matt Prior | 15 | 845 | 42.25 | 1 | 5 |
| AB de Villiers | 9 | 816 | 62.76 | 3 | 3 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 11 | 811 | 40.55 | 2 | 6 |
| David Warner | 13 | 811 | 33.79 | 1 | 7 |
| Joe Root | 11 | 763 | 40.15 | 2 | 3 |
| MS Dhoni | 10 | 700 | 58.33 | 1 | 4 |
However, it is the selection of Michael Hussey that comes as the real surprise in the team. He played only six Tests during this phase before announcing his retirement. Even as he struck three centuries during those 10 innings, five of those outings came against a Sri Lankan side that was outplayed during the series. Another thing to be noted is that all six Tests were played at home. His average shoots to 75.28 because of three not outs.
Other contenders for Hussey’s place in the Test XI
| Player | M | R | Ave | 100s | 50s |
| Jonathan Trott | 15 | 1,139 | 40.67 | 2 | 7 |
| Ian Bell | 14 | 1,022 | 44.43 | 4 | 4 |
| Virat Kohli | 10 | 684 | 52.61 | 3 | 3 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 6 | 614 | 61.4 | 3 | 3 |
| Michael Hussey | 6 | 527 | 75.28 | 3 | 1 |
Another thing worth debating in the Test line-up is that, would it lend a better balance having an all-rounder in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin in the side. During the year of assessment, Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker in Test, yet finds himself missing from the starting XI. Graeme Swann, who picked one wicket lesser than the Indian off-spinner during the year, is the lone spinning option in the side. Even in batting, there is very little that separates the two.
Here are the statistics of their performance during the year
| M | R | Bat. Ave | Wickets | Bowl. Ave | SR | |
| Graeme Swann | 12 | 334 | 30.36 | 60 | 25.96 | 55.5 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 10 | 332 | 36.38 | 61 | 25.5 | 55.8 |
Even as Ashwin boasts of a slightly better record in both departments, it must be noted that the Indian spinner played all his Tests in home soil, where conditions are favourable for both —batting and spin bowling. Thus Swann, gets the nod ahead of the India. However, having both of them in the starting XI would have offered a better balance to the side.
However, even as the Test side looks a lot settled, it is the ODI team that has caught a few eyeballs. If the performance of the assessment period is to be considered, Kohli’s show falls way behind the ones selected in the ICC ODI team. Although Kohli has scored two tons and three half-centuries, his average maybe good but it isn’t the best. And he falls behind in the number of runs scored.
| Player | M | R | Ave | 100s | 50s | SR |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 21 | 956 | 63.73 | 2 | 6 | 89.34 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | 19 | 928 | 71.38 | 4 | 3 | 83.45 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | 22 | 910 | 53.52 | 0 | 9 | 70.76 |
| Ian Bell | 21 | 826 | 43.47 | 1 | 5 | 78.44 |
| AB de Villiers | 21 | 819 | 48.17 | 1 | 6 | 91.71 |
| Hashim Amla | 19 | 794 | 49.62 | 2 | 3 | 90.32 |
| Darren Bravo | 25 | 775 | 33.69 | 1 | 6 | 68.7 |
| Jonathan Trott | 15 | 725 | 65.9 | 1 | 5 | 80.02 |
| Nasir Jamshed | 20 | 713 | 37.52 | 2 | 3 | 68.68 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 14 | 707 | 54.38 | 3 | 2 | 93.51 |
| Virat Kohli | 23 | 689 | 40.52 | 2 | 3 | 87.88 |
Even as the selection of the batsmen in the line-up seems fine, it is the bowling line-up which is unusual. Ravindra Jadeja makes into the team purely on the basis of his bowling; with batting being an added advantage. He finished the year as the third highest wicket-taker. But, Lasith Malinga making it to the ODI team ahead of some of the other bowlers is surprising.
Performance of the pacers from August 7, 2012- September 25, 2013
| Players | Matches | Wickets | Average | SR | ER |
| Junaid Khan | 22 | 40 | 21.62 | 26.5 | 4.89 |
| Lasith Malinga | 25 | 35 | 26.28 | 31.5 | 5.00 |
| Mitchell Johnson | 21 | 32 | 23.09 | 31.3 | 4.41 |
| Ryan McLaren | 20 | 31 | 25.83 | 30.2 | 5.12 |
| Clint McKay | 18 | 30 | 21.60 | 29.3 | 4.41 |
| Mohammad Irfan | 20 | 30 | 24.80 | 33.2 | 4.47 |
| Ishant Sharma | 18 | 30 | 25.50 | 29.0 | 5.26 |
| James Anderson | 15 | 29 | 17.96 | 24.3 | 4.43 |
| Mitchell McClenaghan | 10 | 29 | 16.51 | 18.9 | 5.22 |
| Mitchell Starc | 12 | 28 | 16.39 | 19.7 | 4.98 |
Junaid Khan’s name missing from the list is a shocker and so is the inclusion of Malinga ahead of the other bowlers mentioned in the list. There were indeed some surprising selections and it wasn’t all about Kohli and Dhoni.
Here is the list of the ICC teams of the year
ICC Test XI
Alastair Cook (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (wk), Graeme Swann, Dale Steyn, James Anderson, Vernon Philander, 12th Man: Ravichandran Ashwin.
ICC ODI XI
Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shikhar Dhawan, Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Saeed Ajmal, Mitchell Starc, James Anderson, Lasith Malinga, 12th Man: Mitchell McClenaghan.
(Aayush Puthran is a reporter with CricketCountry. Mercurially jovial, pseudo pompous, perpetually curious and occasionally confused, he is always up for a light-hearted chat over a few cups of filter kaapi!)