Cricket Australia announces their Test XI of 2023, includes 2 Indians
Cricket Australia (CA) has announced their Test playing XI of 2023 as the year comes to an end. Red ball cricket for the year concluded on Friday (December 29) with the culmination of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan at the MCG.
It was a good year for the Australian team as they won the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC), defeating India in the final at the Oval in June.
They also went on to draw the Ashes series on English soil, retained the Urn and then ended the year on a high with two wins against Pakistan to kick off their home summer. They are currently third in the WTC 2025 points table with four wins, two losses and a draw after playing seven Test matches.
CA took their official X handle and named their Test playing XI for the year. They opted to go with Usman Khawaja and Dimuth Karunaratne as the openers. Khawaja was the standout batter for Australia at the top order and ended up as the leading run-getter in the longest format in 2023 with 1,210 runs from 13 matches at an average of 52.60.
Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne also had a decent year scoring 608 runs in six matches at an average of 60.8, including two centuries. Kiwi superstar Kane Williamson got the nod at the number 3 position, with England's Joe Root and Harry Brook to follow below in the line-up. The trio enjoyed a fruitful year with the bat in the middle order.
Ireland cricketer Lorcan Tucker was chosen for the wicket-keeper slot ahead of players like Jonny Bairstow and Tom Blundell. Tucker's fighting knocks against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and England in overseas Tests, coupled with decent keeping efforts, earned him the spot in this XI.
CA opined that Ravindra Jadeja was an obvious choice for the all-rounder role, given his phenomenal performance across all departments in 2023. His Indian teammate Ravichandran Ashwin pipped Nathan Lyon to take the specialist spinner spot.
Australian captain Pat Cummins occupies the number 9 position in the line-up and also leads this playing XI. Apart from his success as leader, Cummins also led his side from the front by picking up 42 wickets in 11 Tests this year. Kagiso Rabada and Stuart Broad round off this side.
Cricket Australia's Test XI of 2023
Usman Khawaja, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Lorcan Tucker, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, and Stuart Broad.