There is no doubt that Virat Kohli is currently in the top form and a hot favorite as India’s Test team captain, especially with his 18-match unbeaten winning streak.
Weird as it may sound, but the young cricketer did not make it to the list of players in the prestigious International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Team of the Year. Instead, Kohli, along with Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, was declared the skipper of the ODI all-star XI.
Kohli has had a phenomenal 2016. He scored 1,215 runs in 12 Tests at 75.93, which include four centuries (including 2 double hundreds) and a couple of fifties along with the highest score of 235.
This record certainly warrants a place in the ICC Test team, doesn’t it? But according to ICC, the sides were picked based on the players’ records between September 14, 2015, to September 20, 2016.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur on Thursday informed that star Test skipper Virat Kohli failed to make it to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test Team because voting happened in September and he made all the runs after that month.
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However, the absence of Indian Test captain Virat Kohli left Indian cricket fans to cry foul and people took to social media to express their disappointment. Many have called out the ICC officials for including mostly English and Australian cricketers, others clearly were dismayed that Kohli, despite his sheer brilliance, did not make it to the list.
At the end of the Test series with England recently, Kohli was also the man-of-the-series with 655 runs as he leads India to the 4-0 win. This fact became another reason to anger his fans.
This was the news that started it all.
Here is the ICC Test Team of the Year 2016! #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/TjqFeMn4MY
— ICC (@ICC) December 22, 2016
See How Twitterati reacted on this ICC selection:
Bit strange to have so many English batsmen in the ICC Test team of the year, but no @imVkohli. https://t.co/SWvEoEb9bq
— Vikram Chandra (@vikramchandra) December 22, 2016
I am shocked to know that Sushant Singh Rajput didn’t win the best batsman award. #ICCAwards
— SAGAR (@sagarcasm) December 22, 2016
Virat Kohli scored 1215 runs in 2016 still not got place in ICC Test team. This is how people treat a general category student.
— Sunil- The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) December 22, 2016
.@ICC pic.twitter.com/8PWoBtXvXi
— Abdul Ahad Jawaid (@abdulahadjawaid) December 22, 2016
Woke up to the news that Kohli didn’t make it to the ICC Test team of 2016 (aware about the deadline) …going back to sleep.
— Devdutt (@ApratimKheladu) December 22, 2016
It’s surprising that despite his load of runs Virat Kohli is not included in ICC Test team of the year.Aus Adam Voges is preferred over him.
— Mirza Iqbal Baig (@mirzaiqbal80) December 22, 2016
What do you think of this? Do you feel the same? Let us know in the comments section below.