Dubai,jan 24
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 award.
In the home series against South Africa, Mandhana was in sublime form, beginning with back-to-back centuries in the first two ODIs. 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.
Deepti scored 186 runs and took 24 wickets in 13 matches in a fine all-round show in 2024.
