India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand made it to the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, with Pakistan, Afghanistan, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Netherlands failing to finish inside the top four.

Despite not qualifying for the semi-finals, the bottom six teams had several stand-out performers who lit up the group stage of the World Cup with their spectacular performances. This is an XI of players from those six teams which failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

Wisden’s Knocked Out Team of the Group Stage – the selections

Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan)

376 runs @ 47, SR 76.26, 1 fifty, 1 hundred

Zadran was Afghanistan’s highest scorer of the World Cup. His hundred against Australia in Mumbai was the first by an Afghan batter in World Cup history, and, before Glenn Maxwell’s heroics, looked to have laid the platform for a landmark win that would throw the semi-final race wide open.

Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan)

220 runs @ 73.33, SR 122.90, 1 fifty, 1 hundred

Fakhar Zaman was dropped after playing just one match in the World Cup. Then, when he returned for Pakistan’s last three games, he set the stage on fire, scoring 81 against Bangladesh in Kolkata and taking Pakistan to victory with a 63-ball hundred against New Zealand in Bengaluru.

Sadeera Samarawickrama (Sri Lanka)

373 runs @ 53.28, SR 102.19, 2 fifties, 1 hundred

Samarawickrama was the fulcrum around which Sri Lanka’s batting revolved at the World Cup. With 373 runs, he was their highest scorer in the tournament. His highest score, a classy 108 against Pakistan in Hyderabad, was unfortunately overshadowed by three other individual hundreds scored in that match.

Ben Stokes (England)

304 runs @ 50.66, SR 89.14, 2 fifties, 1 hundred

Stokes’ World Cup campaign was symbolic of England’s. Called out of ODI retirement specifically for the World Cup, he missed the first three matches due to injury and got better as the tournament went on. His first World Cup century came in England’s penultimate game, against Netherlands, and he bowed out with a brisk 84 against Pakistan in Kolkata to seal a Champions Trophy berth.

Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

395 runs @ 65.83, SR 95.41, 1 hundred, 1 fifty

Rizwan was the highest run-scorer among wicketkeepers after the group stage of the World Cup. He started the tournament off with a bang, with 46 being his lowest score from the first four games. However, his form tailed off in the second half as he failed to cross 40 in his last four outings.

Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan)

353 runs @ 70.60, SR 97.78, 3 fifties
7 wickets @ 38.57

Omarzai was one of the breakout stars of the tournament, starring with both bat and ball, but more so with the bat. He was regularly promoted up the order whenever Afghanistan needed some momentum in their innings and he rarely disappointed. His best, however, was saved for the last when he remained unbeaten on 97 against South Africa in Ahmedabad, taking his team to a competitive total.

Mahmudullah (Bangladesh)

328 runs @ 54.66, SR 91.62, 1 fifty, 1 hundred

Mahmudullah was only added to the Bangladesh squad after the public fallout between Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. Yet, he ended up becoming his side’s highest run-scorer, continuing his stellar World Cup record. His best knock came in Mumbai against South Africa, where he scored a rearguard hundred batting with the tail.

David Willey (England)

78 runs @ 19.50, SR 116.41
11 wickets @ 23.5, ER 5.08

David Willey announced his retirement from international cricket mid-World Cup but self-admittedly played some of his best cricket in the tournament, picking early and important wickets with the new ball and chipping in with the bat as and when required.

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

105 runs @ 21, SR 94.6
11 wickets @ 35.3, ER 4.49

Rashid Khan didn’t take a lot of wickets, but was extremely economical with the ball as teams tried to play him out. No bowler who bowled more overs than him in the league stage of the World Cup had a better economy rate. Rashid played a couple of impactful cameos with the bat as well and was brilliant as ever in the field.

Adil Rashid (England)

15 wickets @ 27.5, ER 5.18

Adil Rashid was England’s highest wicket taker in the World Cup. He was the only English bowler who played all nine matches as England struggled for control at the other end, both in terms of personnel and performance.

Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka)

21 wickets @ 25, ER 6.70

Madushanka was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2023 World Cup by the end of the group stage. While he was expensive at times, his left-arm swing bowling with the new ball proved to hot to handle for many a top order batter in the tournament.