2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Team of the Tournament ft. Kohli, Maxwell, Shami, and Klassen
The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup witnessed Australia‘s prowess on the field of the sport. The Aussies took down the favorites, India to win their sixth ICC Cricket World Cup crown. Despite suffering two heartbreaking defeats in the initial matches, the Australian cricket team managed to upset the hosts in front of the home crowd by six wickets.
With nine consecutive wins and a triumph over the Men in Blue in the world’s biggest cricket ground in the championship final, the Aussies added another chapter of glory to their illustrious history.
All the teams gave their best performance in the tournament with the aim to win the silverware as a few teams stunned others with memorable efforts and received acclaim from cricket enthusiasts.
Apart from team efforts, a few individual performances also stood out, which will be remembered for a long time. Hence, without further delay, let’s take a look at the team of the tournament of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Top Order
Rohit Sharma: The Indian captain’s campaign started with a duck against Australia, but he later took up the role of the big hitter who always released pressure from the team by scoring boundaries in the initial overs of powerplay overs.
Rohit Sharma became the second-highest run-getter in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup (597) behind compatriot Virat Kohli (765). Sharma, who scored his seventh World Cup century against Afghanistan, broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of six centuries in the history of the World Cup.
Quinton de Kock: The former South African skipper bid adieu to the world of cricket after the Proteas were eliminated in the semi-final against Australia. However, the 30-year-old had an unforgettable campaign in the sub-continent ending the tournament with 594 runs in 10 innings.
Quinton de Kock led the South African side from the front as he scored four centuries in his farewell campaign. His highest score came against Bangladesh where he smashed the Tigers with a 174-run knock.
Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli‘s campaign was nothing short of magical. The 35-year old batter broke records, achieved milestones, and cemented his status as one of the greatest players in the history of the distinguished competition.
On his birthday, Kohli equalled the record of most centuries in ODIs by scoring a pivotal ton against South Africa and then later scored his 50th ODI century in the semi-final against New Zealand. Moreover, he became the first batter to cross the 700-run mark in a single edition of the tournament by scoring 765 runs in 11 innings.
Middle Order
Rachin Ravindra scored three centuries in his debut campaign
Rachin Ravindra: Rachin Ravindra took the world of cricket by storm after he scored a century on his ICC Cricket World Cup debut against defending champions England. Before the World Cup, he was playing in the lower order, however, he made his debut as a top-order batsman for the Blackcaps.
Playing 10 matches for the Kiwis, Ravindra scored 578 runs and became the first batter to score three centuries in his debut campaign. In addition to that, he also took five wickets.
Heinrich Klaasen: Batting first in a majority of their matches, Heinrich Klaasen helped South Africa record some instrumental victories. Despite batting in the middle order, the Proteas batter scored 373 runs in the campaign.
His most celebrated knock came against England, where Klaasen scored a ton while also contributing 90 runs off 49 balls against Bangladesh.
Glenn Maxwell: Glenn Maxwell has a significant role to perform for the Aussies in the World Cup. He had the responsibility to match Adam Zampa’s spin prowess and he was also an important part of the batting line-up.
Maxwell took six wickets in nine innings for the Aussies and also scored 400 runs. The 35-year-old guided Australia by playing an unbeaten 201-run innings against Afghanistan, which was also a major reason behind the Aussies qualifying for the semi-final.
Ravindra Jadeja: Ravindra Jadeja has always been an important part of the Indian cricket team, however, he rarely receives the acclaim he deserves. Teaming up with Kuldeep Yadav, Jadeja put up a spin show against almost all the teams.
Against South Africa, Jadeja completed his five-wicket haul and also scored 29 runs off 15 balls. The left-arm orthodox bowler took a total of 16 wickets in the tournament apart from applying the finishing touches with the bat in hand on most occasions.
Bowlers
Marco Jansen: Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada were expected to be the leading figures of the Proteas. However, the limelight was stolen by the likes of Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee.
Jansen took 17 wickets in nine matches while Coetzee picked up 20 wickets in eight Matches. However, Jansen had a greater impact on the game because he took wickets regularly. Moreover, he also played an unbeaten 75-run innings against England.
Jasprit Bumrah: Jasprit Bumrah was sidelined from action for a long time due to back issues. He made his return for the Men in Blue in July against Ireland and it felt like he never left the scene. The pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami was arguably the most lethal seam duo in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The fast bowler took 20 wickets in 11 matches and his best figures of 4/39 came against Afghanistan. Bumrah was also the fourth-highest wicket-taking bowler in the 2023 World Cup.
Apart from taking the wickets, the Ahmedabad-born bowler perfected the technique of putting a stop to the runs in the powerplay overs as his economy rate of 4.06 in 11 matches was the best among bowlers who played more than one match.
Shami became the highest wicket-taker in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup with 24 wickets
Mohammad Shami: Mohammad Shami was not a part of the Indian playing XI in the initial matches as Hardik Pandya was fulfilling the role of third seamer. However, after the all-rounder suffered an ankle injury against Bangladesh, Shami was called into the squad and the rest is history. The 33-year-old played his first match against the Blackcaps in Dharamshala and took five wickets leading only 54 runs.
Later against Sri Lanka, he completed his second five-wicket haul at Wankhede Stadium, conceding only 18 runs. However, his best figures came against New Zealand where he became the first Indian bowler to take seven wickets. The right-arm fast bowler took a total of 24 wickets in seven matches.
Adam Zampa: Adam Zampa was Australia’s only full-time spinner in the ICC World Cup and several questions were raised on the selectors and their cricket board for the decision. However, Zampa turned out to be enough for the opposition. The right-arm leg-break bowler played all the matches for Australia and took 23 wickets.
For a long time, he was the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup. However, after Mohammad Shami took seven wickets in the semi-final against New Zealand, Zampa lost his place. His best figures came against the Netherlands, where he took four wickets conceding only eight runs in three overs.