Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015: Team of the Tournament

Keeping the India’s tour of Australia and the 2016 ICC World T20 in mind, BCCI made the right move in advancing the Vijay Hazare Trophy to just after the group stages of the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy.This year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy saw Indian Internationals including skipper MS Dhoni taking part in the tournament with only Rohit Sharma (marriage) and Virat Kohli (rest granted by the BCCI) missing out from the senior set of players.To everyone’s surprise, the fringe players managed to outperform the Indian Internationals. In this article, let us take a look at the best XI from the tournament.

#1 Sheldon Jackson

Sheldon Jackson had a phenomenal tournament

There might a bunch of names, who piled on the runs in the Vijay Hazare trophy, but when it comes to opening batsmen, apart from Sheldon Jackson, none of the other batsmen have made it big.

The Saurashtra batsman had piled up 345 runs in five innings at an average of just over 86. His strike-rate of 107.47 is the highest for a batsman with over 200 runs in the tournament. Jackson, who has been consistent for his side in the past 18 months will be the wicket-keeper of the side.

#2 Abhinav Mukund

Abhinav Mukund after carrying his bat in the semis

Accompanying Jackson at the top is Tamil Nadu’s Abhinav Mukund. After captaining Tamil Nadu in the disastrous Rani Trophy season, Mukund had a better Vijay Hazare trophy, in which he finished as the third leading runscorer.

Opening the batting for Tamil Nadu, Mukund amazed 359 runs in 8 innings at an average of 51 and is one of the very few batsmen to reach the triple figures twice in the tournament. He almost got TN through the line in the semi-finals against Gujarat with an unbeaten 104.

In the process, Mukund became the second Indian to carry his bat in a List-A game.

#3 Baba Aparajith

Baba Aparajith is definite prospect for India in the future

Tamil Nadu batsman Baba Aparajith takes the No.3 slot. Aparajith, who had a poor Ranji season bounced back to his best and was the backbone of Tamil Nadu’s batting order in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Aparajith only just missed out on becoming the tournament’s leading runscorer and as he ended just 4 runs behind the eventual top scorer Mandeep Singh. He scored 390 runs in 7 innings at an average of 65 and strike-rate of 84. He also chipped in with few wickets whenever he was given the ball by his skipper R Ashwin.

#4 Robin Bist

Robin Bist had a good outing

Robin Bist, the man who scored tons of runs for Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy few seasons back, has done it once again. This time, it’s his new side Himachal Pradesh and the tournament is Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Bist has scored 355 runs in 7 innings at an average of just over 60. Though his strike-rate of 73.65 is on the lower side, Bist batted in situation that needed him to do the repair work when his side is in trouble.

His unbeaten 109 in the quarter-finals helped Himachal to beat Punjab and reach the semis.

#5 Mandeep Singh

Mandeep Singh is on the fringes on the national selection

As mentioned in the previous slides, Mandeep Singh ended the tournament as the leading runscorer. Mandeep, along with Yuvraj Singh rescued Punjab from the hands of defeat in some matches.

Mandeep has made a strong case of himself ahead of the World T20 as he piled up 394 runs in 7 innings at an average of 66 and strike-rate of 89. Unfortunately, he could not take his side home in the quarter-finals against Himachal Pradesh.

He kept the scorecard ticking during his stay at the crease and shifted gears with ease whenever his team needed him to do so.

#6 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj's form earned him a comeback to the national side

Yuvraj Singh’s performances in the Vijay Hazare trophy has earned him a call-up to the Indian T20 side that will tour Australia in January 2016.

Playing for Punjab, Yuvraj ended the tournament as the batsman with the most number of sixes. Yuvraj piled up 346 runs in 6 innings at an average of 69.20 with a strike-rate just over run-a-ball.

With the World T20 just three months away, an in-form Yuvraj will be crucial for India’s chances in the tournament.

#7 Rishi Dhawan

Rishi Dhawan’s performances have earned him a place in the Indian team

Rishi Dhawan has been on the selectors’ radar for a while and a great Ranji season followed by a good Vijay Hazare trophy earned him his maiden call-up to the National side for the tour of Australia.

302 runs from 7 innings at an average and strike-rate both over 100 with the bat backed by 9 wickets at an average of 37 with the ball in the tournament shows how crucial he was for Himachal Pradesh in the tournament.

With India in pursuit for a seam-bowling all-rounder, the onus is on Dhawan to cement his spot in the side.

#8 Axar Patel

Axar Patel finished as the joint-leading wicket-taker

Axar Patel has been India’s frontline spinner in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja. With Jadeja making a great comeback to the side, it needed a superlative performance from Axar to hold on to his place as the bowling all-rounder in the Indian XI.

He did exactly that as he is the tournament’s joint leading wicket-taker with 19 scalps at an average of 13.05 and an economy just above 3. He is the reason why Gujarat won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and it was he who rattled Tamil Nadu‘s batting line-up in the semi-finals with a spell of 6-43 from his 10 overs.

#9 R Ashwin (captain)

R Ashwin, the skipper

India’s best cricketer in 2015 continued his good form in the domestic circuit too. After getting knocked out in the group stages of the Ranji Trophy, Ashwin was named the skipper of TN for the Vijay Hazare trophy and had a brilliant stint leading his side.

This is one of the very rare tournaments in which his bowling performances have been overshadowed by some of his other performances. Ashwin kept on rotating his bowlers and went on to shuffle the batting order as well. Ashwin’s captaincy must be credited to TN’s turnaround this season.

In spite of being unorthodox, Ashwin’s record as a captain was remarkable in the tournament. With the ball, he finished with 14 wickets from 8 matches at an average of 17.42 and an economy of 3.55.

#10 Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul celebrates after dismissing R Ashwin

Siddarth Kaul has been Punjab's strike bowler and picked up wickets whenever he came on to bowl. He is one of the two frontline pacers in our side.

19 wickets from 7 matches at an average of just over 15 is a very good record in the limited overs cricket and this performance sees him at the top of the wicket-takers chart alongside Axar Patel.

While he may not be one of the more fancy names in the tournament, Kaul’s record has been impressive and is without a doubt one of the best bowlers in the tournament.

#11 Pankaj Jaiswal

Not many fans are likely to be familiar with Pankaj Jaiswal. Jaiswal is a right-arm seamer from Himachal Pradesh who had an exceptional Vijay Hazare Trophy and finished the tournament behind Axar Patel and Siddarth Kaul in the wicket-takers chart.

If Rishi Dhawan and Robin Bist starred for Himachal Pradesh with the bat, then it was Jaiswal, who was their trump card with the ball. Jaiswal finished the tournament with 17 wickets from 7 matches with an average of 14.70 and an economy of 4.24.