ICC ODI Team of the Year 2023: 6 Indian players named in the side, not even a single Pakistan player features

A day after the ICC announced the 2023 T20I team of the year which included 4 Indian names, the apex cricket council has released the 2023 ODI Men’s team of the year. 6 Indian players have been nodded due to their exceptional performances last year and those names include top-order batters Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, pacers Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami along with left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.

Other notable names in the ICC ODI team of 2023 are Australia’s top order batsman Travis Head, New Zealand’s power hitter Daryl Mitchell, South Africa’s wicket-keeper Heinrich Klaasen along with fellow countryman Marco Jansen, and Australian leg spinner Adam Zampa.

Eight players that featured in the #CWC23 Final have made the cut for the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year in 2023 ✨

Details 👇https://t.co/AeDisari9B

— ICC (@ICC) January 23, 2024

Total of 8 players from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final last November have made it to the respectable list with 6 Indians and 2 Australians. There are no Pakistani players in the list and it could be a sign of worry for the Men in Green as their star batter Babar Azam who was the pick of the lot last year could not make it to the final list this time around.

But nonetheless, it is a great achievement for all the Indian players included in the list especially after the disappointment from the CWC final loss against Australia.

Starting with Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper had a productive 2023 in ODIs and played a key role behind the team’s success which could have further increased had they won the world cup. Rohit was responsible for India’s blistering starts in the 50-over format and he displayed his attacking prowess very well throughout the year. The 36-year-old scored 1255 runs at an average of 52.

Up next is his partner in crime Shubman Gill who has appeared in ICC ODI TOTY for the first time in his career. He started displaying his prowess in the initial months of 2023 with centuries against New Zealand and Sri-Lanka before wreaking havoc as the year went by. He is also the highest run scorer of 2023 in ODIs with 1584 runs to his name

Star number 3 batter Virat Kohli well and truly had a comeback year in 2023 where he ended as the highest run getter of the World cup and also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s long standing record of most ODI centuries against New Zealand in the WC semi-final.

He scored his 50th Ton at Wankhede before his childhood idol on the very day that Sachin was having his statue inaugurated at the iconic venue. Kohli scored 1377 runs in 27 matches with a best of 166* and attained 6 centuries this year.

Big Wins For Siraj, Shami And Kuldeep In The 2023 ICC ODI TOTY

Indian bowlers were also nodded in the ICC ODI team of 2023 for their year round performances. Starting with Mohammed Siraj, he made it a habit of leading to dramatic collapse of opposition batting line-ups which was on display during the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri-Lanka and registered career best figures of 6/21. Overall he scalped 44 wickets in 25 matches.

Mohammed Shami who entered India’s world cup side as a replacement for injured Hardik Pandya had an outstanding WC campaign where he registered 24 wickets and finished as the highest wicket taker. He registered four 5-wicket hauls on the way and scalped 43 wickets in just 19 ODIs.

Last but not the least Kuldeep Yadav had a memorable comeback to the Indian ODI set up and proved why he is such a hot prospect. The left-arm chinaman collected outstanding 49 wickets in 30 outings for the Men in Blue with an economy rate of less than 5.