World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma named captain as Indians dominate ICC’s ‘Team of the Tournament’

India may have finished second in the 2023 World Cup following a six-wicket defeat against Australia, but their players occupied a majority of the slots in the ICC’s Team of the Tournament that was announced on Monday.

World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table

Australia bowled India out for a modest 240 despite the tournament hosts getting off to a fiery start thanks to skipper Rohit Sharma’s 31-ball 47. Travis Head then slammed a match-winning 137 off 120 deliveries and stitched a 192-run fourth-wicket stand with Marnus Labuschagne as the Aussies recovered from 47/3 to chase the target down with six wickets and seven overs to spare. The victory was Australia’s sixth in eight World Cup finals, increasing their gap with India and West Indies who have two titles each.

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Rohit, who finished second among batters with most runs in the tournament (597), was named skipper of the Team of the Tournament. Rohit also opened alongside South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, who collected 594 runs including four centuries in what he indicated was his ODI swansong, opens alongside Rohit. De Kock has also been named the wicket-keeper of the XI.

Virat Kohli, who finished with a record 765 runs at an average of 95.64 and broke a couple of records held by Sachin Tendulkar along the way, retains his usual No 3 spot while compatriot KL Rahul comes in at No 5. The No 4 position went to New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell, who struck two hundreds in the Black Caps’ run to the semi-finals, both coming against India.

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who struck a whirlwind double-ton against Afghanistan in Mumbai as well as the winning runs in the World Cup final, comes in at number six and is the only Aussie mentioned in the top six.

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The bowling attack too is heavily dominated by the Men in Blue, with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah forming the pace unit alongside Sri Lanka Dilshan Madushanka, who had been leading the wicket-taking charts at one point and finished third with 21 wickets. Shami made a stunning return to the XI in the group match against New Zealand with a five-for and finished at the top with 24 wickets in just seven outings.