Former England captain turned commentator Michael Vaughan has named his Champions Trophy XI for this year”s edition. However, the 42-year-old has no place for Virat Kohli in the XI. Leaving Kohli out of his own Champions Trophy XI, Michael Vaughan also stated that no sensible Indian fan will include Virat Kohli in the lineup.
This comes as a big surprise since Virat Kohli had yet another impressive outing in this editions Champions Trophy scoring 3 unbeaten fifties en route to which he also regained the top spot in the ICC world rankings for ODI batsmen.
No place for Kohli says, Michael Vaughan
Kohli kicked-started his 2017 Champions Trophy campaign by slamming a swashbuckling 81* against Pakistan. However, he was out for a duck in the next game against Sri Lanka. In a must-win game against the South Africans, Virat Kohli combined with Shikhar Dhawan to chase down South Africa”s target of 192 runs. Kohli finished the innings unbeaten with a gutsy 76 runs. Kohli did not stop there as he produced a defining knock against Bangladesh in the semi-final only to confirm that he was a master of a chase. The 28-year-old hammered a significant 96 runs only to guide his team into the Champions Trophy finals.
However, in the final, Kohli fell pray to a beauty from Mohammad Amir as he departed for only 5 runs. This lead to an Indian collapse and only Hardik Pandya stood tall amidst ruins. Kohli”s returns from this editions Champions Trophy was impressive as he averaged a staggering 51.6 in 5 matches with 258 runs to his name. With three unbeaten fifties, Kohli had done enough to find mention in the combined Champions Trophy XI declared by the ICC.
Vaughan includes Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
Michael Vaughan, however, thinks otherwise and felt Kohli had not done enough to merit a place in his Champions Trophy playing XI. Vaughan though included Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan for their impressive show throughout the tournament. Dhawan ended the tournament as the golden bat winner for the second time. Rohit Sharma too bagged the openers slot as Vaughan gave both the centurions ago at the top.
Michael Vaughan picked up three of his countrymen in Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Adil Rashid in his team. Hero of the finals Fakhar Zaman, who blasted his way to his maiden ODI hundred in the final against the arch-rivals India was also included in the XI. Hasan Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan too found a place in Vaughan”s side. Sarfaraz Ahmed was also named the captain of the side with Shakib Al Hasan was the only player from Bangladesh to be included.
Michael Vaughan’s XI:
Fakhar Zaman, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Joe Root, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Adil Rashid, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali.
My Combined team of the champions trophy … Fakhar,Dhawan,Rohit,Root,Shakib,Stokes,Sarfraz(c),Rashid,Amir,Hasan Ali,Junaid …#CT17
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 20, 2017
Why should Virat be in this team ?? https://t.co/2tCzCmBtxk
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 20, 2017
