Eight players unlucky to miss out on Wisden’s 2023 men’s ODI team of the year

Quinton de Kock

20 innings, 937 runs @ 46.85, SR: 100.64, 1 fifty, 4 hundreds, HS: 174

The South Africa wicketkeeper announced before the 2023 World Cup that he would retire from ODIs. He did so on a high after a stellar World Cup campaign, scoring as many as three hundreds in his final ODI tournament. Across the year, he averaged nearly 50 and stuck at just above a run a ball. However, the competition at the top of the order was high. Rohit Sharma with his consistently blistering starts and Travis Head with his scarcely believable strike rate of 133.17 pipped the South African southpaw to the team of the year.

Shubman Gill

29 innings, 1584 runs @ 63.36, SR: 105.45, 9 fifties, 5 hundreds, HS: 208

Shubman Gill had one of the best years a batterhas had in the history of ODI cricket. He crossed fifty in every other game he played this year and also became the fifth Indian to score a double hundred in ODIs. He missed out on our team of the year by the narrowest of margins with his opening partner Rohit Sharma, and the Australian lynchpin at the top, Travis Head, edging the vote. Gill’s slightly underwhelming World Cup perhaps held him back

Sean Williams

9 innings, 720 runs @ 90, SR: 129.26, 3 fifties, 3 hundreds, HS: 174
9 innings, 6 wickets @ 34.66, ER: 4.95, BBI: 3-41

Williams was unstoppable with the bat in the limited number of games he played this year, most of them coming in the World Cup Qualifier in July. Unsurprisingly, he was named Player of the Tournament. Williams chipped in with the ball as well, providing Zimbabwe timely wickets and a lot of control with his left-arm spin. He was competing with Daryl Mitchell for the No.4 spot in Wisden’s men’s ODI Team of the Year. The New Zealander, who averaged 52 and struck at 100 in 2023, beat Williams courtesy of his performances across the globe and at the biggest of stages including the World Cup semi-final.

Aiden Markram

24 innings, 1033 runs @ 51.65, SR: 113.26, 5 fifties, 3 hundreds, HS: 175
15 innings, 7 wickets @ 61.57, ER: 5.91, BBI: 2-40

Markram had his best year in ODIs so far in 2023, nailing the middle order role to perfection. He scored a mammoth 175 against the Netherlands in April, before shepherding South Africa’s middle order in the World Cup in India. Markram was also handy with his part-time off-spin on occasions. While he was quicker than Mitchell in terms of strike rates, Markram’s lack of performances against top sides like England and India (zero fifties in eight games against these two sides) led to him missing out on the No.4 spot.

KL Rahul

24 innings, 1060 runs @ 66.25, SR: 87.74, 7 fifties, 2 hundreds, HS: 111*

Rahul was India’s banker in the middle order this year, adapting to different conditions and situations and coming good no matter what was thrown at him. An injury suffered during the IPL kept him out for a long time but he made a successful return in the Asia Cup and never looked back. Rahul’s competition for the middle-order wicketkeeper-batter’s position was with Heinrich Klaasen, whose mind-boggling strike rate of 140.66 meant that he just couldn’t be overlooked.

Marco Jansen

17 innings, 406 runs @ 33.83, SR: 116, 1 fifty, HS: 75*
20 innings, 33 wickets @ 29.96, ER: 6.37, 1 five-for, BBI: 5-39

Jansen had a breakthrough year as a seam-bowling all-rounder. There were question marks over South Africa’s balance as the played with Jansen at No.7 nearly throughout the year, but the improvement in his batting meant that they never had to worry about the longish tail on paper. With the ball, he was incisive as ever, providing regular wickets especially with the new ball. His occasional lack of control (reflected in the economy rate of 6.37) however, was the only major issue which prevented him from finding a place in our team of the year.

Shaheen Afridi

21 innings, 42 wickets @ 24.04, ER: 5.59, 1 four-for, 1 five-for, BBI: 5-54

Afridi took an average of two wickets per innings in ODIs in 2023. In a Pakistan bowling attack that was plagued with injuries, especially towards the second half of the year, Afridi was one of the only ones who made it through the year without missing more games than he played. Despite brilliant numbers and regular impactful performances though, Afridi didn’t look at the peak of his powers like he was a couple of years back, unlike the Indian fast bowlers, all of whom were at their very best throughout the year, resulting in Afridi narrowly missing out.

Adam Zampa

20 innings, 38 wickets @ 26.31, ER: 5.78, 5 four-fors, BBI: 4-8

Zampa was the third-highest wicket-taker in men’s ODIs in 2023 among spinners. Such was the confidence and control he offered that Australia went into the 2023 World Cup with him as the only frontline spinner in conditions that were supposed to be conducive to spin-bowling. And he delivered, picking 23 wickets from 11 games at the World Cup. Unfortunately for Zampa, with Ravindra Jadeja already making it to our team of the year as an all-rounder, and Kuldeep Yadav with 49 wickets at 20.48 being the first-choice spinner, there was no space left for a third twirler in the XI.