New Delhi. The year 2023 is now to bid farewell. When we recall this year from the perspective of cricket, the dominance of Indian players will be seen. For example, if we talk about the highest wicket takers in ODI cricket, there is no foreigner in this list. Kuldeep Yadav took the most wickets in ODI matches played in 2023. Interestingly, the second and third positions in the list of highest ODI wickets are held by Indian players. One of these players has recently been selected for the Arjuna Award.
India played and won the most ODI matches in 2023. Three bowlers played the biggest role in India’s victory. Especially Kuldeep Yadav. Chinaman Kuldeep played 30 ODIs in 2023 and took 49 wickets. Kuldeep took wickets at an average of just 20.48 this year. His strike rate was 26.65. That means he took a wicket every 26 balls on an average. His best was 5/25.
Mohammad Siraj finished second in terms of taking most ODI wickets in the year. He took 44 wickets in 25 ODI matches this year. His best was 6/21. Siraj took wickets in 2023 at an average of 20.68 and a strike rate of 23.47.
Mohammed Shami may be third on the list of highest wicket takers, but he is not going to be forgotten this year due to his memorable performance in World Cup 2023. Mohammad Shami took 43 wickets in 19 matches this year. His average was 16.46 and strike rate was 18.53. The best was 7/57. It is clear that if Shami had played a few more matches this year, he could have been number one in this list of highest wicket takers. This performance has led to Mohammad Shami being shortlisted for the Arjuna Award.
Apart from Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj and Mohammad Shami, there were only three bowlers in the world who took 40 or more wickets in 2023. These bowlers were Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Sandeep Lamichhane. Nepal’s Sandeep was the fourth most successful bowler of the year with 43 wickets in 21 matches. Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi took 42 wickets in 21 matches in 2023. At the sixth position was Pakistan’s Haris Rauf who took 40 wickets in 22 matches.
Australia’s Adam Zampa, Sri Lanka’s Mahesh Tikshina, South Africa’s Marco Jensen and Gerald Coetzee were among the top-10 bowlers who took the most wickets in the year. Adam Zampa has taken 38 wickets, Mahesh Tikshina 37 wickets, Marco Jensen 33 and Gerald Coetzee 31 wickets.
,
Tags: India vs South Africa, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, The numbers game
First published: December 22, 2023, 12:47 IST