Star batter Smriti Mandhana and all-rounder Deepti Sharma were on Friday named in the ICC women's ODI Team of the Year 2024 but none of their male counterparts found a place in the men's side that was dominated by Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The women's all-star team has three players from England, two Australians, two South Africans and one each from Sri Lanka and West Indies, besides the two Indians.
South African batter Laura Wolvaardt, who scored 697 runs in 12 matches in 2024, was named captain of the ICC team.
The men were, however, absent from the ICC XI and that can be attributed to lack of ODI engagements for the country last year. India played only three ODIs -- an away series against Sri Lanka --, losing two of them while the third one ended in a tie.
The 28-year-old Mandhana accumulated 747 runs in 13 matches to be the highest run-scorer in women's ODIs in 2024. She is also in the running for the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year 2024 award.
She began her year with a run-a-ball 29 against Australia in January, but had to wait six months for her next ODIs, a home series against South Africa.
When she returned, Mandhana was in sublime form, beginning with back-to-back centuries in the first two ODIs against the Proteas. She narrowly missed a third consecutive ton, falling for 90, though her remarkable tally of 343 runs in the series earned her the Player-of-the-Series award.
Mandhana had a shaky start in the first two ODIs against New Zealand in October, but ended the series on a high note with a brilliant century in the final match. With this hundred, Mandhana became the most prolific century-maker for India in the Women's 50-over format.
A similar story unfolded during the away series against Australia, where she capped off in style with a century at the WACA. She came close to back-to-back centuries in the opening ODI against West Indies but fell agonisingly short in the nervous nineties once again. Mandhana wrapped up the series with two half-centuries.
Deepti scored 186 runs and took 24 wickets in 13 matches in an all-round show in 2024.
She began the year with a gritty all-round performance in the lone ODI against Australia at Wankhede in January, scoring an unbeaten 25 runs and taking a wicket.
In the three-match series against South Africa in Bengaluru in June, Deepti showcased her bowling brilliance, picking up two wickets in each of the three matches. In her only opportunity to bat, she scored a crucial 37 in the opening game.
Deepti starred in the ODI series against New Zealand in October, earning Player-of-the-Match honours for her 41 runs and figures of 1/41 in the opening game. She followed up with a strong showing in the second match, taking 2/30 in a losing cause, and was the standout bowler in the final ODI, spinning India to victory with figures of 3/39.
Meanwhile, the absence of any Indian in the men's all-star team could be attributed to very less number of matches the country played last year. India played only three ODIs -- an away series against Sri Lanka --, losing two of them while the third one ended in a tie.
The all-star ODI team announced by the ICC features four players from Sri Lanka, three each from Pakistan and Afghanistan and one from the West Indies.
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka was named skipper of the ICC team as well for his stupendous batting through the year.
In his 16 ODI appearances in 2024, Asalanka scored 605 runs at an average of 50.2 including a century and four fifties.
Sri Lanka played 18 ODIs in the year gone by, the highest among all teams, and won 12 of them.
Pakistan picked up seven victories from its nine ODI engagements, while Afghanistan won eight of their 14 one-dayers.
Big-hitting West Indian Sherfane Rutherford, who made his international debut in 2023, was the lone non-Asian in the all star XI for his 425 runs from nine games at an astonishing average of 106.2.
ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year for 2024:
Smriti Mandhana (India), Laura Wolvaardt (c) (South Africa), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Ashleigh Gardner (Australia), Annabel Sutherland (Australia), Amy Jones (WK) (England), Deepti Sharma (India), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Kate Cross (England).
ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year for 2024:
Charith Asalanka (C) (Sri Lanka), Saim Ayub (Pakistan), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka), Kusal Mendis (WK) (Sri Lanka), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan), Haris Rauf (Pakistan), AM Ghazanfar (Afghanistan).
