Ekta lone Indian in both ICC ODI, T20I Teams of the Year

Indian women's team left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht emerged the lone Indian to feature in both the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI and T20I teams of the year with Englands Heather Knight named as captain of the 50-over side and West Indian Stafanie Taylor appointed captain of the 20-over side.

India captain Mithali Raj was included in the ODI team of the year while her deputy Harmanpreet Kaur found a place in the T20I team.

Mithali, who became the highest run-getter in the history of women's ODI cricket during the ICC Women's World Cup earlier this year, led India to their second final appearance in the showpiece event, where her girls went down fighting against hosts England.

The two sides were selected by the same panel, which had voted for the annual individual awards, and included Chloe Saltau, Mel Jones, Lisa Sthalekar (Australia); Charlotte Edwards, Kalika Mehta, Alison Mitchell, Alan Wilkins (England and Wales); Anjum Chopra, Snehal Pradhan (India); Olivia Caldwell (New Zealand); Firdose Moonda, Natalie Germanos (South Africa); Sa'adi Thawfeeq (Sri Lanka) and Ian Bishop, Fazeer Mohammad (Windies).

The panel took into consideration player performances from September 21, 2016 to date.

Knight was named captain after she inspired her side to a stunning ICC Women's World Cup victory in front of a packed Lord's in July.

The world's top-ranked T20I batter Taylor was given the nod as captain of the inaugural ICC Women's T20I Team of the Year, introduced as part of the ICC's commitment to enhance the profile of women's cricket and bring greater equity with the men's game.

The ODI side comprises players from five countries, including two Australians (Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry), four England players (Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, Sarah Taylor and Alex Hartley), two Indians (Mithali Raj and Ekta Bisht), two South Africans (Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp) and one New Zealander (Amy Satterthwaite).

The T20I side is made up of three Australians (Beth Mooney, Megan Schutt, Amanda-Jade Wellington), three West Indians (Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews), two Indians (Harmanpreet Kaur and Ekta Bisht), two New Zealanders (Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu), and one from England (Danni Wyatt).

--IANS

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