Six Indians in ICC Team of the Tournament; no spot for Kohli despite match-winning final knock
Dubai (PTI): The International Cricket Council has picked six Indians in its 'Team of the Tournament' for the just-concluded T20 World Cup but there was no place for star batter Virat Kohli, who played a match-winning knock in the final against South Africa.
In his new role as an opener, Kohli had an underwhelming World Cup before rising to the occasion in the big final where he was adjudged man-of-the-match for his 59-ball 76.
India pipped South Africa by seven runs in a sensational comeback in the death overs to win their second T20 World Cup title after 17 years.
The ICC XI featured Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and two pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
Rohit led from the front with 257 runs at a splendid strike-rate of 156.7 to his name. He was the second most leading run-getter after Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The Player of the Tournament and India's trump card in their title win, Bumrah returned with 15 wickets.
But more than his wickets, his impact in restricting the scoring rate of teams made Bumrah India's most important player right through the tournament.
His economy rate of 4.17 was the best ever by any bowler in a single edition of the men's T20 World Cup.
Following their historic semifinal finish, Afghanistan found three players in the ICC team, including left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi, who topped the wicket-takers chart jointly with Arshdeep (17 wickets each).
Wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who topped the runs scorers' list with 281 runs as an opener for Afghanistan, also found a place alongside skipper Rashid Khan.
The crafty leg-spinner brilliantly led Afghanistan in their historic run and returned with 14 wickets with a tidy economy of 6.17.
Marcus Stoinis of Australia and Nicholas Pooran of the tournament co-hosts West Indies completed the XI.
Runners-up South Africa did not find a player in the XI and pacer Anrich Nortje was named the 12th man.
Nortje began the tournament with a brilliant 4/7 against Sri Lanka and took at least one wicket in all but one match.
In the final, he was the pick of South Africa's bowlers with figures of 2/26 from his four overs.
ICC Team of The Tournament
Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh (all Indians); Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan); Marcus Stoinis (Australia) and Nicholas Pooran (West Indies); 12th man: Anrich Nortje.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
