AB de Villiers names his ODI World Cup Team of the Tournament; 5 Indian players make the cut
Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers has named his 'Team of the Tournament' upon the culmination of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Australia secured their sixth title after defeating India by six wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The tournament saw several memorable individual performances with both the bat and ball. Records like the fastest World Cup ton, the highest World Cup team total, and the most five-wicket hauls in a single edition were all breached, courtesy of some impeccable displays.
There were several names in contention for the opening pair, with the likes of David Warner and Quinton de Kock making a strong case. But de Villiers chose the duo of Travis Head and Rohit Sharma at the top of the order.
Head only played the latter half of the World Cup campaign, but it was more than enough for him to make it to the Team of the Tournament. The Australian opening batter marked his return from a fractured finger with a hundred in the high-scoring thriller against New Zealand. While he had a string of low scores in the closing stages of the league phases, he made up for that by scoring match-winning knocks in both the semi-final and the final.
Rohit, meanwhile, played a massive role in Team India's unbeaten run till the final. The skipper dominated the bowlers across all conditions and gave the middle order a brilliant platform with his aggressive batting.
Virat Kohli broke the record for most runs scored by a player in a single edition of the competition. The ace batter went past Sachin Tendulkar's 673-run tally set in 2003, and ended with 765 runs at an imposing average of 95.62.
The trio of Rachin Ravindra, Shreyas Iyer, and Glenn Maxwell featured in AB de Villiers' Team of the Tournament too.
Rachin Ravindra had a historic World Cup campaign, scoring three hundreds and ending up as the fourth leading run-scorer of the tournament. The New Zealand all-rounder began the campaign at No. 3 in place of Kane Williamson, and was promoted to open the innings once the skipper returned from injury.
Shreyas Iyer recorded consecutive hundreds in his maiden World Cup campaign and finished with 530 runs in 11 innings. Maxwell, on the other hand, was instrumental in Australia's title triumph. He scored hundreds against the Netherlands and Afghanistan, with the former being the fastest-ever in the competition's history and the latter being the only double hundred in a chasing effort.
Apart from Maxwell, de Villiers named Ravindra Jadeja as the second spin-bowling all-rounder. The Indian left-arm spinner enjoyed the subcontinent conditions, controlling the middle overs and also chipping in with his electric fielding. Jadeja recorded a five-wicket haul in India's dominant win over South Africa in the league stage.
For the bowling unit, the former Proteas ace named Adam Zampa, Dilshan Madushanka, Gerald Coetzee and Mohammed Shami as his picks.
Zampa began the World Cup on an uneventful note, as Australia lost their first two matches. While there were fears about the leg-spinner being the sole frontline option, he turned things around.
Zampa took wickets on a consistent basis to finish with 23 wickets in the campaign, ending up as the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
Madushanka emerged as the sole positive for Sri Lanka in what was largely a forgettable campaign for them. The left-arm pacer took 21 wickets.
Another breakthrough star in the World Cup was Proteas pacer Coetzee, who bowled with spirit to claim 20 wickets.
Lastly, Shami had a landmark 2023 World Cup campaign. The Indian pacer was not considered up until Hardik Pandya's injury midway through the tournament. But he made a huge impact once he broke into the side.
Shami picked up five-wicket hauls against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the league stage, and recorded a historic seven-wicket haul in the semi-final triumph as well.
Shami went past the 50-wicket mark in ODI World Cups and ended with 24 scalps for the 2023 edition alone.
AB de Villiers' 2023 World Cup Team of the tournament
Travis Head, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rachin Ravindra, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Ravindra Jadeja, Adam Zampa, Dilshan Madushanka, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammad Shami.