Two Spinners And An X-Factor In My XI

The sound and fury of World Cup 2023 has ended, and Norma Astrid Godinho picks her World Cup XI. Do you agree with her choices?

Rohit Sharma

Rohit loves the ODI World Cup and it was no different this time around. He was at his aggressive best, giving his team flying starts and putting the pressure on the opposition early in the match.

He made most of the Powerplay overs and with a strike rate of 126 he often put his team in the driver's seat. With 597 runs and an average of 54.27 in this tournament, there is not an ideal opener than the Indian captain.

Quinton De Kock

Playing his final ODI tournament, the South African has a knack of taking on the attack from the go.

De Kock's sweet drives down the ground and through the covers make for wonderful viewing and once he gets going there is no stopping him. The left-hander is also comfortable against spinners, using the sweep shot to good effect.

And like we saw in this World Cup, once set, he can own the bowlers and score some big runs. He finished this World Cup as the third highest run-getter with 594 runs at an average of 59.40.

Rachin Ravindra 

The breakout player of the tournament, debutant Rachin has been a breath of fresh air. At 23, he played with the maturity of a seasoned campaigner.

His game plan was to keep things simple and he stuck to that. With a flair in his batting, Rachin scored three centuries and finished with 578 runs, a record for most runs by a player under 25 at a World Cup.

He equalled Kane Williamson's record (2019) for most runs at a single cricket World Cup. With handy bowling skills, he is one for keeps.

Virat Kohli

Kohli has had a sensational World Cup. With 765 runs in 11 innings, he was the highest run scorer of the tournament and was consistency personified.

Save for the final, where he hit a half century but just couldn't find the momentum, Kohli relied on his strength to punish the bad balls while keeping the scoreboard ticking. He is a master at stealing singles and converting ones into twos, putting the pressure on the fielders.

He hit three centuries and nine 50s and broke a slew of records along the way to guide India to the final.

Aiden Markram

When the chips are down and you need some stability in the middle of the innings, summon Markram and he won't disappoint. He started the tournament by smashing the fastest World Cup century off just 49 balls in South Africa's opening match against Sri Lanka.

Markram was captain for a few games in Temba Bavuma's absence and led the team with fervour. He led the team to two wins, while ensuring partnerships were built in the middle to put the brink of match-winning totals.

While chasing, he failed to bring out the goods, but did chip in with a few wickets with his offies. He finished the tournament with 409 runs at an average of 45 from 10 matches.

Glenn Phillips

Another suprise package from the BlackCaps. An X-factor in any team, Phillips showed himself as a finisher of innings, pushing the scoring to help propel his team to good totals.

Apart from coming in as a useful spin option, his fielding was praiseworthy. Be it catching or cutting off runs, Phillips was exceptional. A genuine all-rounder and a complete package.

Pat Cummins

Cummins had his priorities right when he skipped IPL 2023 to give his all in a hectic year for the national team. And what a decision it turned out to be. After claiming the World Test Championship and retaining the Ashes, Cummins led Australia to a World Cup title and how!

Cummins and the Aussies had a tough start, beginning their campaign with back-to-back losses against India and South Africa. His performance with the ball in both those games was disappointing; he took only a wicket each in both matches. But when he and his team were under the pump, in true Aussie style Cummins came back with tight performances.

He finished with 15 wicket in 11 matches, conceding just about three runs an over every match therafter. The 30 year old was tactical in the field and also had some useful contributions with the bat down the order. A definite deputy to Rohit Sharma in this team.

Keshav Maharaj

This South African left arm orthodox spinner usually goes under the radar. At this World Cup he had noteworthy performances and finished with 15 wickets, an economy rate of 4.14, the second best in the tournament.

He produced some spin and turn when there was help, but his area of expertise was breaking partnerships and slowing the flow of runs when the opposition needed to be reined in.

His quality bowling during the tournament saw him take the No 1 ODI bowler's title last week. He planned a great escape along with Tabraiz Shamsi to eke out a one wicket win over Pakistan, proving that when need be, he can throw the bat around.

Mohammed Shami

Fortune favours the brave and confident and Shami is certainly one of them. Benched for the first four matches of the World Cup, Shami was fielded in the game against New Zealand as a replacement for the injured Hardik Pandya.

Shami couldn't have asked for a better start to his campaign, taking a five-wicket haul and restricting the Black Caps to 273 and earning him Player-of-the-Match.

From there on Shami put on one heroic show after another as India clattered through the opposition and raced to the semis without a hiccup.

Shami's best performance came in the semi-final against New Zealand where he took 7 wickets to help India book a final berth. Shami eventually finished as the highest wicket taker with 24 scalps.

Be it his reverse swing or just good one channel bowling, Shami has proven to be a superb exponent of seam bowling on Indian pitches.

Jasprit Bumrah

His ability to get early breakthroughs put India in the driver's seat on countless occasions. His precise line and length bowling and lethal yorkers have served him and the Indian team well.

His return from injuryhas been a blessing for India and with 20 wickets against his name, he finished as the 5th highest wicket-taker at World Cup 2023.

Adam Zampa

After being smothered around by the Indian and South Africans in the first two games, the leggie hit form against Sri Lanka, taking 4-47 and there was no looking back.

He consistently took three wickets or more to finish with 23 wickets, with a best of 4 for 8 against The Netherlands.

In the final, he managed just one wicket, but his ability to bring down the scoring rate and have the batters guessing makes him a spinner any captain would want to go to.

12th Man

Sri Lanka's Madushanka has been a revelation. The ODI World Cup debutant picked 21 wickets at an average of 25 from 9 games for a standout bowling performance.

In a campaign marred with injuries and heavy losses, Madhushanka's performance was the lone positive for the island nation.

• World Cup 2023