New Delhi: Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami were named in ICC Women’s ODI Team of 2021, on Thursday. Mithali and Jhulan are the only two Indians on the side. England’s Heather Knight will be leading the ICC Women’s XI ODI team.
The team has three players from South Africa, one from Australia, two from West Indies, and two from England.
The England Women’s captain has been an important part of their middle-order for many years now and she was one of the top performers in the role in 2021. Knight accumulated a total of 423 runs this year, at an average of 42.30, including one century and three fifties. She also played a key role with the ball, chipping in with five wickets at an average of 19.80.
Mithali Raj amassed the same number of runs as Beaumont and at precisely the same average. But her runs came when the Indian team struggled as a unit, thus making her contribution even more important. She didn’t score any century this year but made a total of six half-centuries. Meanwhile, Jhulan is consistently proving herself to be a force to reckon with. Goswami claimed a total of 15 wickets in 2021 and maintained an excellent economy rate of 3.77. An experienced bowler who can restrain runs, and pick wickets at the same time, is an asset for any side.
ICC Women’s ODI Team of 2021: Lizelle Lee (South Africa), Alyssa Healy (Australia), Tammy Beaumont (England), Mithali Raj (India), Heather Knight (c, England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Shabnim Ismail (South Africa), Fatima Sana (Pakistan), Jhulan Goswami (India), and Anisa Mohammed (West Indies).