ICC announces team of World Cup 2023: Six Indians find place, Rohit Sharma named captain, no Travis Head

Rohit Sharma was named captain of ICC's World Cup 2023 XI which has as many as six Indians in it. Apart from captain Rohit, the other Indians who made it into the team of the tournament which has players from five teams, are Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. The other five members of the World Cup XI were from champions Australia (2), semi-finalists South Africa (1) and New Zealand and Sri Lanka (1). All-rounder Glenn Maxwell and leg-spinner Adam Zampa were the only Aussies in the XI. to a record-extending sixth triumph.

The selection panel consisted of Ian Bishop, Kass Naidoo, Shane Watson (Commentators), Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager, Cricket) and Sunil Vaidya (Journalist, Ahmedabad Mirror).

India captain Rohit had a terrific World Cup with the bat, scoring 597 runs - the second-most after teammate Virat Kohli - in 11 matches at a dominating strike rate of 125. The right-handed opener put a disappointing opening performance against Australia behind him with a blistering 131 from just 84 balls to win the Player of the Match award against Afghanistan. He backed that by top-scoring with 86 in a vital win over fierce rivals Pakistan, and passed 40 on all but one occasion thereafter, including in the final against Australia.

The retiring Quinton de Kock partners him at the top of the order after signing off in style, making history in his final days as an ODI player. The South African became the first wicket-keeper in World Cup history to surpass the 500-run mark and claim 20 dismissals in a single tournament.

His haul with the gloves was just one short of Adam Gilchrist’s record of 21 from the 2003 tournament, while he also finished just one short of Sharma’s record five centuries in a single tournament, as De Kock smashed four for the Proteas on their way to the semi-finals.

Completing the top order is Kohli, who topped the run-scoring charts just as he did in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 12 months ago. Kohli hit a staggering 765 runs at an average of 95.62, shattering the previous record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who amassed 673 runs during the 2003 edition. Kohli’s best performance came in the semi-final win over New Zealand as his 117 and third tournament century steered India to a first final in 12 years.

Batting at No.4 is Mitchell, who hit two hundreds against India in his first maiden 50-over World Cup. The prolific Kiwi blasted a swashbuckling 130 in the round robin against the Men in Blue and scintillating 134 in the semi-final to take his final tally to 552 runs.

India’s Rahul is at No.5 after chipping with several key knocks throughout the tournament as well as a hundred in a routine win over the Netherlands. Rahul top-scored for India in the final with 66 but it proved in vain as the hosts were denied by an inspired Australian side.

The team of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 (in batting order):

Quinton de Kock (wk) (South Africa) – 594 runs at 59.40

Rohit Sharma (c) (India) – 597 runs at 54.27

Virat Kohli (India) – 765 runs at 95.62

Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) – 552 runs at 69

KL Rahul (India) – 452 runs at 75.33

Glenn Maxwell (Australia) – 400 runs at 66.66 and six wickets at 55

Ravindra Jadeja (India) – 120 runs at 40 and 16 wickets at 24.87

Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 20 wickets at 18.65

Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) – 21 wickets at 25

Adam Zampa (Australia) – 23 wickets at 22.39

Mohammed Shami (India) – 24 wickets at 10.70

12th player: Gerald Coetzee (South Africa) – 20 wickets at 19.80

At No.6 is all-rounder Maxwell, who hit the winning runs in the final as Australia lifted their sixth crown. Maxwell crashed 106 from 44 balls for the fastest century in World Cups against the Netherlands in the round robin, with the 309-run winning margin becoming the biggest in tournament history. He was equally dominant against Afghanistan, ploughing a lone furrow as his 201 not out ensured Australia’s place in the semi-finals.

India’s Jadeja takes the second all-rounder spot after impressing with the ball, most notably against South Africa when he became only the second Indian spinner after Yuvraj Singh to take a five-wicket-haul in ODI World Cups. Jadeja made further history with two wickets against the Netherlands three days later, as he overtook Singh and Anil Kumble for the most wickets in a single World Cup by an Indian spinner.

Bumrah, like teammate and opener Sharma, is included for the second World Cup running after taking 20 wickets, two more than his tally in 2019. Ever a threat with the new ball, Bumrah picked up the early wickets of Australia’s Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith as India threatened to stage a dramatic fightback in the final.

At No.9 is budding Sri Lankan superstar Madushanka, who announced himself onto the world stage with figures of five for 80 against India. By that stage, the left-arm quick had already impressed with four wickets against the Netherlands, three against Australia and two each against Pakistan and South Africa, finishing third for wickets taken.

Zampa is at No.10 after taking 23 wickets and bamboozling the world's best batters throughout the tournament. He claimed four wickets in three successive matches against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Netherlands, and only against South Africa in the semi-final did he draw a blank. And after claiming the wicket of Bumrah in the final, spinner Zampa equalled Muttiah Muralitharan’s record of 23 wickets in a single World Cup.

Completing the line-up is Shami, who recorded the best figures of any bowler in a World Cup knockout game after his seven-for in the semi-final success over New Zealand. That performance helped Shami to the top of the wicket charts following mesmerising displays against New Zealand (5/54) and Sri Lanka (5/18).

And the 12th man is Gerald Coetzee, who was among the wickets in every match he played on his ICC tournament debut.