The India and Australia stars dominating this WTC23 period
Nathan Lyon - 61 wickets
Lyon is the highest wicket-taker of the WTC 2021-23. The off-spinner has collected his wickets at an average of 28.63 and an economy of 2.56. He had important contributions in Test wins against Pakistan at Lahore with match figures of 6-178 and Sri Lanka at Galle with 9-121 to his name and is sure to be pivotal to Australia's push against India.
Pat Cummins - 50 wickets
The responsibility of captaincy has brought the best out of Cummins. His average in this cycle of WTC is 20.12, which is marginally better than his overall average of 21.25.
In this period, Cummins has picked three five-fors and bowled at an incisive strike-rate of 46.2. His finest performance came in Lahore against Pakistan, where he picked 8-79 in the game to ensure a historic Test series win in Pakistan.
Mitchell Starc - 49 wickets
The left-arm seamer has been at his best over the last few months. He picked up 17 wickets in a successful home summer against the West Indies and South Africa.
In the 2021-23 edition of the WTC, Starc has picked his wickets at an average of 25.69. His best performance came against England at Adelaide in December 2021, when he picked 6-80 to help Australia to a massive win.
Jasprit Bumrah - 45 wickets
Bumrah has continued wreaking havoc with the red cherry in the WTC 2021-23. He was instrumental to India’s success in England, did well in South Africa and rocked the Sri Lanka batting lineup at home.
His wickets have come at an average of 19.73. Recovering from an injury, the pacer isn’t in the squad for the initial stages of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but may make a recovery to feature in the backend of the series.
Ravichandran Ashwin - 36 wickets
India’s premier spinner has been yet again among the wickets, taking his 36 scalps at an average of 21.33. He was especially lethal at home with 14 wickets at an average of 11.35 against New Zealand, and 12 wickets at 15.08 against Sri Lanka.
Ashwin has also been handy with the bat, scoring 358 runs at an average of 25.57. His sturdy 42* helped India overcome Bangladesh’s spin threat in Mirpur.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 71-run stand take India over the line ✌️#WTC23 | #BANvIND | 📝 https://t.co/ZTCALEDTqb pic.twitter.com/aSdztm13zO
— ICC (@ICC) December 25, 2022
Mohammad Shami- 32 wickets
Shami has picked up his wickets at an average of 26.81 with a strike-rate of 50.2. In his present WTC run, the pacer collected 13 scalps in England, 14 in South Africa and five against Sri Lanka at home.
Shami will look to further improve these numbers during the upcoming series against Australia and, in the absence of Bumrah, is likely to spearhead India's pace attack.
Usman Khawaja - 1275 runs
Runs haven’t stopped flowing from Khawaja’s willow ever since he made a comeback into the Australia side during the Ashes at the start of last year. Among players who have scored more than 500 runs in the WTC, Khawaja’s average (79.68) is the highest.
He has made five centuries and has the same number of half-centuries.
Marnus Labuschagne - 1265 runs
The Australia batter has gone from strength to strength in this edition of WTC. His runs have come from 15 Tests at an average of 57.5. He had a Bradman-esque run during the Frank Worrell Trophy against the West Indies, where he scored 502 runs at an average of 167.33.
Steve Smith - 1107 runs
After a brief hiatus in big hundreds, Smith returned to scoring big centuries with a masterful 145* against Sri Lanka at Galle in July 2022. He has added two more centuries to his tally since, including a double hundred against the West Indies.
His average in this period has been 55.35.
Rishabh Pant - 868 runs
The southpaw scored his runs at an average of 43.4 with a strike-rate of 80.81. He has shined by scoring some tough runs away from home. He scored 100* against South Africa at Cape Town in January 2022, 146 & 57 against England at Birmingham in July 2022 and 93 against Bangladesh at Mirpur.
Out of cricketing action due to an accident, Pant’s absence is sure to be felt by the India setup during the Australia series..
Cheteshwar Pujara - 747 runs
Pujara continues to be India’s rock at number three and is their second-highest run-getter in this edition of WTC. Big scores dried up in the first half of WTC, but Pujara made a stupendous comeback after a successful county stint in England at Sussex.
He scored 222 runs during India’s 2-0 win over Bangladesh and was declared the Player of the Series.
Shreyas Iyer - 624 runs
The Mumbai batter made his debut in this cycle of the WTC in a thrilling contest against New Zealand at Kanpur. The right-hander scored a century in his very first innings, and has added five half-centuries since then. His average of 56.72 is the best for any India batter in this WTC. Iyer’s last contributions were 87 and 29* in a thrilling win over Bangladesh.
