The list for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2023 are finally out, with plenty of eye-catching names making the cut, and India establishing their sheer dominance in the Men’s category.
To no one’s surprise, the Men in Blue have dominated the selection list, with the likes of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Mohammed Shami making the cut.
The final four for the esteemed honour include the likes of the three Indian players as well as New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell.
The Indians have understandably had a fantastic year in ODI cricket, following their dominance in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, where they went on a 10-match undefeated run, only to lose it all in the final against Australia.
Shubman Gill produced performances that would make 2023 his coming-of-age year in international cricket. His most notable performances came in the ODI format, with him finishing the year with 1584 runs at a staggering average of 63.36, while also notching the fifth-highest tally of runs by an Indian in ODIs.
The undeniable Virat Kohli continued his stellar comeback to form as the talisman batter capped off his year in ODI cricket with a sensational and record-breaking Player of the Tournament performance at the 2023 World Cup.
Kohli’s masterful batting was at full display at the World Cup, where he put up 765 runs in just 11 innings, surpassing the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs scored in a single World Cup campaign. And not only that but he topped off his stellar tournament with 50 ODI centuries as well, surpassing Tendulkar yet again, as Kohli became the format’s leading century-hitter.
Mohammed Shami’s rise to dominance began once he got his first start in the 2023 World Cup for India. After being left out of the playing XI for the first three games, Shami made a comeback for the ages as the menacing pacer went on to scalp 24 wickets in a mere 7 games through the remainder of India’s run in the tournament, and finished as the tournament as well as India’s highest wicket-taker in the tournament’s history.
Shami also became one of seven bowlers to have taken more than 50 World Cup wickets, and the pacer ended his sensational 2023 World Cup campaign with three fife-fors and one four-for.
Daryl Mitchell was another player that had a unprecedented rise to prominence. He was in top form in ODIs in 2023, finishing the year with a whopping 1204 runs, the third-most recorded in a calendar year in the format by a New Zealand player.
In a campaign that saw NZ’s Rachin Ravindra take center stage, Mitchell as well was a pivotal cog in the NZ batting lineup, blitzing 552 runs at the World Cup at an average of 69 and a strike rate of over 100. His smashing performance included two hundreds against India, who boasted one of the best bowling attacks in the tournament.
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