Now that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has reached its conclusion with the inevitable Australian team clinching a record sixth title, the time has come to pick the team of the tournament.
Over the course of 45 ODIs from October 5 to November 19, several individual performances stood out with a plethora of records broken. Virat Kohli had the best tournament by a batter in history while Glenn Maxwell arguably played the greatest knock in ODI history to revive a chase that looked out of bounds for Australia.
Among the bowlers, Mohammad Shami dazzled the batters with a stunning wicket-taking show to finish atop the list of highest wicket-takers. On the other hand, Adam Zampa was the lone spinner among the top-five wicket-takers.
Here’s CricketNext’s Playing XI of the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup
Rohit Sharma (captain) – Matches: 11, Runs: 597, Avg: 54.27, 100s: 1, 50s: 3
A tournament to remember for Rohit this one. His ultra-aggression at the top of the order allowed the middle-order to remain calm and play deep. The only time Rohit dropped his pace was on a challenging surface in Lucknow against England when he scored a masterful 87. He was at his entertaining best against Afghanistan when he blasted a 63-ball hundred.
He led from the front and oversaw an unbeaten run to the title clash.
Travis Head – Innings: 6, Runs: 329, Avg: 54.83, 100s: 2, 50s: 1
This is turning into a memorable year for Head. Twice inside six months, he has played match-winning knocks in the final of a world event. After recovering from a fracture, Head made his ODI World Cup debut against New Zealand, marking the occasion with an imposing hundred. He stepped up when Australia needed him the most – a fighting fifty in the semis against South Africa followed by a century in the title clash to win the player-of-the-match award.
Virat Kohli – Innings: 11, Runs: 765, Avg: 95.62, 100s: 3, 50s: 6
A record-breaking show from the batting great. If this ends up being his last ever ODI World Cup then Kohli surely has signed off in some style. He was a figure of consistency, playing the anchor’s role to the T. He racked up the most runs in a single edition of the competition and became the first batter to complete half-century of centuries in ODIs – surpassing his hero Sachin Tendulkar for both the records. No wonder Kohli was chosen player-of-the-tournament.
Daryl Mitchell – Innings: 9, Runs: 552, Avg: 69 100s: 2, 50s: 2
Only three centuries were scored against India during the 2023 World Cup. Two of them came from the bat of New Zealand allrounder Mitchell. His presence in the middle order added steel to their batting line-up. He single-handedly kept New Zealand’s hopes alive in a high-scoring semi-final against India with a century.
Heinrich Klaasen – Innings: 10, Runs: 373, Avg: 41.44, 100s:1, 50s: 1
Klaasen is one of the best players of spin and he showed his batting might during the World Cup in India. Ask England. Against the then-defending champions, he blazed his way to a century while battling humid conditions in Mumbai and followed that with another quickfire 90 against Bangladesh. He scored at an excellent strike rate of 133.21.
Glenn Maxwell – Innings: 9, Runs: 400, Avg: 66.66, 100s: 2, 50s: None
Cometh the hour, cometh the Big Show. Twice during the competition Maxwell entered God Mode. And he delivered two all-time knocks. Against the Netherlands, he broke the record for the fastest World Cup century – taking just 40 deliveries. If that wasn’t stunning enough, Maxwell blasted a double-century while battling cramps that left him shaking on the turf at one stage and limited his movements to just his upper body. From 91/7, Maxwell engineered Australia’s successful chase of 292 against Afghanistan scoring 201 of them.
Ravindra Jadeja – Matches: 11, Wickets: 16, Avg: 24.88, 5-wicket haul: 1
A decent bat. A reliable spinner. A world-class fielder. Jadeja is three specialists rolled into one. He may not have set the World Cup ablaze with his batting considering he bats lower down the order and that he didn’t get enough chances but the allrounder did manage to impress when needed – an unbeaten 39 against New Zealand to take India over the line, a brisk 35 against Sri Lanka and a quickfire 15-ball 29 against South Africa come to mind. He took a five-wicket haul against South Africa and finished eighth on the list of top wicket-takers.
Gerald Coetzee – Matches: 8, Wickets: 20, Avg: 19.80, 5-wicket haul: None
The young South African pacer had a memorable tournament. He was a key part of their bowling attack, rushing batters with pace and bounce. And he didn’t mind having a go at batters to play with their mindset too. Coetzee is among the two breakout stars of the competition.
Jasprit Bumrah – Matches: 11, Wickets: 20, Avg: 18.65, 5-wicket haul: None
Bumrah showed how much India has missed him during his injury layoff. Need wickets? Call Bumrah. India skipper Rohit relied on him to break partnerships. His spell against Pakistan in Ahmedabad was one of the finest of the tournaments. He rattled batters with the new ball, creating pressure from his end and helping his teammates reap the rewards.
Adam Zampa – Matches: 11, Wickets: 23, Avg: 22.39, 5-wicket haul: None
The standout spinner of the tournament. Zampa had a horrible build-up to the World Cup as he went for plenty during an ODI series in South Africa. Australia persisted with him and he repaid the faith by equalling the record of most wickets by a spinner in a single edition of an ODI World Cup. He may have taken just one wicket in the title clash but was terrific as he slowed his pace further on a challenging pitch to keep the Indian batters quiet.
Mohammed Shami – Matches: 11, Wickets: 24, Avg: 10.71, 5-wicket haul: 3
Shami missed the first four matches of the competition. He was warming the benches as India won four matches on the trot. An injury to Hardik Pandya opened the doors and the veteran went on to have a record-breaking run. Three five-wicket hauls, one four-fer, that spell to Ben Stokes, the first India pacer to take a seven-for in ODIs. Shami became the quickest pacer to pick 50 World Cup wickets and ended the tournament as its leading wicket-taker.
CN XI of WC: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Daryl Mitchell, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Ravindra Jadeja, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa
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