The group stage of ICC World Test Championship is in the history books. Australia and India have emerged as the top two teams of this year’s WTC cycle. They will meet in the second World Test Championship Final in June 2023, with England set to play host to the marquee clash once again.
It was an eventful round of WTC, where Sri Lanka, India and Australia were in the race to the final until the last few days. Eventually, India and Australia sealed the two spots. Although India and Australia topped the standings, there were many players from other nations who performed well. Here’s a best XI of WTC cycle 2021-23.
Best openers in World Test Championship – Dimuth Karunaratne and Usman Khawaja
The left-handed batting pair of Dimuth Karunaratne and Usman Khawaja will open the batting for this team. Karunaratne scored 1,054 runs in 12 matches for Sri Lanka, while Khawaja amassed 1,608 runs in 16 games for Australia.
Middle Order – Joe Root, Marnus Labuschagne, Jonny Bairstow and Rishabh Pant (wk)
Two England batters and a player each from Australia and India feature in this team’s middle-order. Joe Root and Marnus Labuschagne continued their top form in the Test format in 2021-23 cycle as well, while Jonny Bairstow and Rishabh Pant played some excellent innings for India and England, respectively.
All Rounders – Ben Stokes and Ravindra Jadeja
England captain Ben Stokes and Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will provide a lot of balance to this playing XI. Stokes has played a few aggressive knocks for England in recent matches, and Jadeja has proven himself as one of the most complete players in cricket right now.
Best bowlers in World Test Championship – Nathan Lyon, James Anderson and Kagiso Rabada
The duo of England’s James Anderson and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada will lead the pace attack. Anderson recently achieved the world number one spot in ICC Test Rankings for bowlers, while Rabada was the highest wicket-taker among pacers in the WTC 2021-23 cycle. Lyon was the overall highest wicket-taker.
