Despite leaving the ODI captaincy in 2021, Virat Kohli has found himself leading a 50-over team once again. However, the former Indian skipper will not don the Men in Blue cap but the World XI one after being picked over the likes of Kane Williamson and Rohit Sharma as the leader of the team of the tournament for the World Cup 2023.
Cricket Australia named Kohli, who is currently the leading run-scorer of the tournament, as their skipper. The shocking thing was that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was not even named in the 12-man squad despite making more runs than David Warner.
Cricket Australia’s Team of the Tournament World Cup 2023
- Quinton De Kock (WK) (591 runs)
- David Warner (499 runs)
- Rachin Ravindra (565 runs and 5 wickets)
- Virat Kohli (C) (594 runs and 1 wicket)
- Aiden Markram (396 runs)
- Glenn Maxwell (396 runs and 5 wickets)
- Marco Jansen (157 runs and 17 wickets)
- Ravindra Jadeja (111 runs and 17 wickets)
- Mohammed Shami (17 wickets)
- Adam Zampa (22 wickets)
- Jasprit Bumrah (17 wickets)
- Dilshan Madushanka (12th man) (21 wickets)
Another shocking exclusive is not picking either KL Rahul or Heinrich Klassen but rather selecting Aiden Markram to bat at number 5.
Pakistan’s spearhead Shaheen Afridi was also not selected, despite having more wickets than Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Shami, who made the list ahead of him.
Dilshan Madushanka, who has been one of the best emerging players of the tournament, was named the 12th man, but South African pacer Gerald Coetzee did not make the cut despite being the fourth-highest wicket taker.
