'India should be proud to have someone of Dhoni's skill'

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named as the captain of ICC World ODI team for the year.

The decision was taken ahead of the ICC annual awards function by a panel chaired by former West Indian captain Clive Lloyd.

"Well, this guy has won two international trophies for India, Twenty20 and the World Cup.

"He has just batted extremely well in England. He has lost seven players to injury. You know, you don''t replace those players easily; you never replace great players quickly.

"I think that India should be proud to know that they have someone of his skill," said Lloyd.

Lloyd said that Dhoni's contribution to Indian and world cricket has been immense.

"The players love him, people love him, he is a likeable person and we need people like that in cricket.

"I sincerely hope he is around for quite a long time because I admire him, and I wish him and India the best of luck in the future," he added.

Indian opening batsman Virender Sehwag, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and pace bowler Zaheer Khan feature in the ICC World XI team.

Dhoni's captaincy helped India win the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007, followed by a climb to the top of the Test cricket rankings.

His crowning glory as captain was the victory of the Indian team in the 2011 World Cup.

Dhoni was also awarded the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award after agreeing to allow England batsman Ian Bell to continue batting after he had been run out in the second test at Trent Bridge this year.

Bell left his crease and headed for the pavilion after mistakenly thinking he had hit the ball over the boundary off the last ball before tea. Instead it was still in play, the bails were removed and Bell was correctly given out.

During the interval and after a request from the England team, Dhoni withdrew the appeal.