Virat Kohli is a lock at No 3 in our Team of the Tournament from the men's Cricket World Cup after plundering 765 runs; How many other India players make the 11, and are there more included than tournament winners Australia? Which other teams are represented and are there any shock picks?
Monday 20 November 2023 09:58, UK
The 2023 ICC men’s Cricket World Cup wrapped with a thumping six-wicket victory for Australia over tournament hosts India on Sunday, but which players have made Sky Sports' Team of the Tournament?
The ICC announced their official 11 (see below) on Monday morning, but do we differ on any selections?
We have picked an XI based on performances over the last month or so - so it's one completely devoid of England players, sadly, after their dismal title defence - but which players from the 10 competing sides do make the cut?
Read on to see our selections, some of which you might agree with and others you probably won't!
The Proteas batter, who announced he would quit ODI cricket after the World Cup, plundered four hundreds in the tournament with a best of 174 against Bangladesh. De Kock's tons helped him amass 594 runs - a haul only bettered by Virat Kohli's 765 and Rohit Sharma's 597 - so those returns, plus his ability to keep wicket, make him a must for our side as Rohit's opening partner. Australia's David Warner (535 runs) was a contender but De Kock's all-round package earned him the nod.
Rohit gets in our XI as opening bat and skipper after leading India to 10 wins out of 10 before they sadly fell short in Sunday's final. He powered 597 runs at the top of the order, including a record seventh World Cup century. He tonked a ton against Afghanistan and three other fifties, while he fired a 29-ball 47 against New Zealand in the semi-final and a 31-ball 47 in the final, setting the tone and leading from the front in terms of the fearless brand of cricket he wants his India side to play.
The shoo-in of all shoo-ins. Kohli's run tally in this tournament is the highest in a single World Cup, with his 765 trumping the 673 Sachin Tendulkar managed in 2003. He passed fifty in nine of his 11 knocks, with the latest of his three hundreds - against New Zealand in the semi-final - taking him to a record 50 tons in one-day international cricket and past his hero Tendulkar's haul of 49.
Ravindra beat one of Tendulkar's records in the World Cup, too, becoming the highest run-scorer under the age of 25 at a single edition when he moved past the 523 The Little Master hit in 1996. The left-hander finished on 578 runs, with three centuries and two further fifties. Ravindra opened or batted at No 3 for New Zealand so we have had to fudge the order a little to get him in but he fully deserves his place and also offers a handy spin-bowling option.
There is a Kiwi flavour to the middle order, with Ravindra joined by Mitchell. The latter scored both of his hundreds against all-conquering India, including 134 in the semi-final, and racked up 552 runs in total. Mitchell beat off competition from India's Shreyas Iyer (530 runs) and KL Rahul (452), and South Africa's Rassie van der Dussen (448) and Aiden Markram (406) for his spot, with Markram missing out despite cracking a then World Cup-record 49-ball ton in their win over Sri Lanka.
Markam's record lasted for just over two weeks before Maxwell shattered it with a 40-ball century against the Netherlands. The Australian's greatest performance was yet to come, though, as he then scored a remarkable 201 not out from 128 balls against Afghanistan, largely while batting on one leg due to cramps, to take his country from 91-7 to their target of 292. Australia captain Pat Cummins, who contributed 12 in a stand of 202 with Maxwell, said his team-mate's knock was "the greatest in ODI history".
Tough call this. We wanted our No 7 to be a wicket-taking option but also someone who can contribute with the bat, so it ultimately came down to Jadeja or South Africa's Marco Jansen. Seam-bowling all-rounder Jansen has bagged 17 wickets to Jadeja's 16 and pumped a 42-ball 75 against England, but Jadeja's economy rate with the ball is better and he played a crucial knock of 39 not out against New Zealand to help steer India over the line in the group-stage fixture.
Zampa's form mirrored that of Australia's with a slow start followed by plenty of success. The leg-spinner went wicketless in the opening defeats to India and South Africa but then picked up three four-wicket hauls in a row and returned 23 wickets in total for the eventual tournament winners.
Shami finished as the leading wicket-taker for the tournament with 24 scalps, which he picked up in just seven matches after sitting out India's opening four games. The 33-year-old's stunning form included a five-for against Sri Lanka as India razed their opponents for just 55, while he bagged 12 wickets against New Zealand alone, with five in the group stage meeting eclipsed by seven in the semi-final. Shami's bowling average is a staggering 10.70, with England also feeling his force as he dismissed four of their batters in their group-stage clash.
South Africa's George Coetzee (20 wickets) and Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi (18) can class themselves as unfortunate not to make the cut but we have to go with the 20-wicket Bumrah. One, for his ability to bowl at any stage of the innings and, two, for his economy rate of 4.06. Even when he is not ripping through opposition batting line-ups, he is keeping them quiet.
The first 10 players in our 11 were involved in the World Cup semi-finals but the final entrant did not get anywhere near them, with Sri Lanka finishing ninth in the table after just two wins from nine. That meant they missed out on the 2025 Champions Trophy and the bad news kept on coming with the nation now suspended by the ICC for government interference. Left-arm quick Madushanka was a bright spot, though, with his 21 wickets including a five-for against India.
