The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the Team of the Tournament for this year’s T20 World Cup, with Pakistani opener Sahibzada Farhaan making the list despite the Green Shirts’ dismal campaign.

Farhan became the only Pakistani player to be named in the 12-member team for his excellent performance during the tournament, sealing 383 runs – the highest a batter has scored in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.

“Though Pakistan were patchy in the tournament, Sahibzada Farhan was consistently brilliant,” the ICC said.

“The 29-year-old opener also became the first batter to score two hundreds in a single edition of a T20 World Cup. The highlight was a century he scored against Sri Lanka in the final Super Eight clash, setting up a five-run win,” it added.

The right-handed Pakistani batter scored tons in the matches against Namibia and Sri Lanka. He had also scored two half-centuries against the USA and England.

Meanwhile, his 176-run partnership with Fakhar Zaman against Sri Lanka was the record highest for any wicket in the history of the T20 World Cup.

The ICC’s Team of the Tournament also included four players from team India, this year’s champions. These included Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah.

England’s Will Jacks and Adil Rashid, West Indies’ Jason Holder, Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani, and South Africa’s Aidan Markram and Lungi Ngidi were also included. Markram was also named the captain.

Moreover, the USA’s Shadley Van Schalkwyk was named the 12th player.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said gold in 2028 on cricket’s return to the Olympics was the country’s next big aim after extending their T20 domination with back-to-back World Cup titles.

Co-hosts India hammered New Zealand by 96 runs in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday to be the first team to retain the T20 World crown and first to win it three times.

It was also the first time a team have won the title on home soil, and they did it with a brand of fearless, attacking cricket.

“It has been very special,” Suryakumar told reporters at a celebratory midnight press conference, as fans across the country flooded into the streets.

“And definitely the next goal is Olympics, Olympic gold, and also the T20 World Cup that year.”

Los Angeles 2028 will see cricket return to the Olympics for the first time since 1900.

Led by then-captain Rohit Sharma, India won the T20 World Cup two years ago in Barbados for their first major title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Rohit and fellow stalwart Virat Kohli retired from the shortest format after the final against South Africa, and Suryakumar took over as captain.

“I think that drought ended in 2024 after a really long time and from there we never looked back,” said the 35-year-old.

“We played a different brand of cricket in 2024 and from there we understood how this team needs to work (going) forward.

“And it’s been a wonderful journey since then.”

Suryakumar added: “We wanted to do something special in front of the home crowd. We want to continue doing that … and never stop.”

India won the 50-over World Cup in 2011 at home under MS Dhoni, who led the team to a T20 World Cup in the inaugural edition in 2007.

After that was a comparative drought in the biggest events by India’s sky-high standards.

Two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir, who succeeded Rahul Dravid as coach after the 2024 World Cup win, wants to carve out his own legacy.

“I don’t believe in inheriting anything, I believe in creating something,” said Gambhir, who has not always been universally popular with fans and pundits as the coach.

“And hopefully we’ve created something which probably all of you guys could be proud of, the kind of brand of cricket we’ve played.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced a reward of Rs1.5 million for each player of the national hockey team following the team’s performance in the FIH Hockey World Cup qualifier, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The announcement comes a day after the team secured a place in the upcoming hockey World Cup, marking their return to the tournament after an eight-year absence. It will be hosted jointly by Belgium and the Netherlands in August this year.

Quoting a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Radio Pakistan said the team’s performance represented a “significant step towards promoting hockey in Pakistan”.

The premier also “acknowledged the team’s hard work and dedication to the sport,” the statement added.

As per the statement, the prime minister maintained that the participation of the team in the World Cup qualifiers — held in Egypt — had “generated excitement and enthusiasm among hockey fans”.

The premier stressed the monetary reward was a “clear testament” to the team’s “steadfastness”.

On March 6, Pakistan put up an impressive performance to edge Japan 4-3 in the semi-final of the FIH Hockey World Cup qualifier at the Suez Canal Authority Hockey Stadium in Egypt, guaranteeing the Green Shirts a place in the upcoming World Cup.

Once a giant force in global hockey and four-time World Cup winners, Pakistan had failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands.

Pakistan also failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, which was held in the Indian city of Odisha.