The better part of the 2023 World Cup is over as the round-robin stage, comprising 45 league games, ended on Sunday with India beating Netherlands by 160 runs in Bengaluru. Up ahead, stands the two semifinal fixtures – India take on New Zealand in a repeat of 2019 clash in Mumbai on Wednesday while South Africa face Australia in the second game on Thursday – and eventually ending with the summit clash on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Ahead of the knockout stage, Cricket Australia named their World Cup 2023 team of the tournament, which has quite a few notable misses.
The team, comprising of a 12th man as well, has four from India, three each from Australia and South Africa, and one apiece from New Zealand and Sri Lanka. And the four Indian players who made it to Cricket Australia’s team of World Cup 2023 doesn’t surprisingly include India captain Rohit Sharma. Stepping out of his comfort zone, the veteran opener has played the most significant role in the Indian batting line-up as he amassed 503 runs in nine matches comprising three fifties and ton. And moreover, he has been stellar as a captain, both in terms of backing his players and with his on-field choices. Cricket Australia in fact picked David Warner, who stands below Rohit in the run-scoring chart for the tournament as the second-choice opener alongside rightful pick in Quinton de Kock, who has smashed four centuries in this World Cup.
In a bizarre move, Cricket Australia also named Virat Kohli as the skipper of their team. While the modern-era legend has had a typically prolific tournament, laced with two centuries that helped him match Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ever ODI centuries (49), he has not captained India in an ODI game since he was removed from the post in this format after the 2021 T20 World Cup debacle.
The three other Indian stars in the line-up includes Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8, who has been an impressive spin option for India with an economy rate of just 3.96, second-best in the tournament behind Jasprit Bumrah (3.65), who has made it through to Cricket Australia’s team as well, along with Mohammed Shami, who have been the backbone of Indian bowling attack in this World Cup.
Another notable miss out has been Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, who has not only been impressive with his glovework, but also with his batting abilities at No. 5, where he has scored 347 runs which includes a century and an unbeaten 97.
Here is Cricket Australia’s Team of the World Cup 2023: Quinton De Kock, David Warner, Rachin Ravindra, Virat Kohli (C), Aiden Markram, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa, Jasprit Bumrah, Dilshan Madushanka (12th man)
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