Virat Kohli misses out on a spot in Michael Vaughan's Champions Trophy XI

Virat Kohli had a decent Champions Trophy campaign in this edition of the tournament where he got to bat in all 5 matches. Scoring big numbers in three of those matches Kohli regained his spot as the numero uno in the ICC world rankings for ODI batsmen.

Kohli kicked off his journey in the Champions Trophy by slamming a swashbuckling 81* against Pakistan. But the Indian skipper could not carry his brilliant form into the next game against Sri Lanka where he went back to the pavilion for a duck. India lost the match against Sri Lanka despite a brilliant batting performance from Shikhar Dhawan and a huge total on board.

In a must-win game against the South Africans, Virat Kohli combined with Shikhar Dhawan to chase down a South African target of 192 runs. Kohli finished the innings unbeaten with a gutsy 76 runs.

In the semi-final against Bangladesh, the skipper rose to the occasion once again and showed the world why he is the master of chasing totals. The right-handed batsman hammered a significant 96 run inning to guide his team into the Champions Trophy finals.

Luck was not on Kohli’s side in the final match against Pakistan where he fell to a rampant Mohammad Amir for just 5 runs. Not only Virat, but the whole Indian line-up collapsed like a pack of cards while Hardik Pandya was the lone warrior with the willow in hand.

Averaging a staggering 51.6 in 5 matches and 258 runs by his name Kohli found his place in the combined Champions Trophy XI declared by the ICC.

Former England international Michael Vaughan thinks otherwise. The 42-year-old who is now an active commentator thinks that Virat Kohli does not deserve a chance in the XI. Leaving Kohli out of his own Champions Trophy XI, Michael Vaughan also stated that no sensible Indian fan will include Virat Kohli in the lineup.

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan successfully made it to Vaughan’s XI for their impressive show throughout the tournament. Dhawan ended the tournament as the golden bat winner for the second time. Hero of the finals Fakhar Zaman, who blasted a flamboyant 114 run knock was also included in the XI.

Michael Vaughan picked up three of his countrymen in the name of Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Adil Rashid in his team. Hasan Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan were the players along with Fakhar Zaman who got a chance from the winning Pakistan side, while Sarfraz was also honoured with the captain’s armband. Shakib Al Hasan is the lone Bangladeshi player in the XI.

Michael Vaughan’s XI:

Fakhar Zaman, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Joe Root, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Adil Rashid, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali.