ODI World Cup 2023: Here's a look at best playing XI of the week

The ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 has become more interesting as all participating teams are delivering their best to entertain cricket fans across the cricketing world. The tournament has completed almost three weeks and we’ve witnessed a lot of top-class performances in the tournament so far. Meanwhile, the fans have also seen some unexpected results out of matches like Netherlands vs South Africa and the one between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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With said that, here we’ll have a look at the best playing XI of the recently concluded week of this ongoing prestigious cricket quadrennial. The list includes some of the veteran players across all the participating teams.

Openers – Rohit Sharma and Rachin Ravindra

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Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has produced some brilliant and remarkable performances while opening the innings for India, alongside the young opener Shubman Gill. He played two quick knocks of 48 and 46 runs, respectively. He is the best fit to place as a strike opener in the best-playing XI of this tournament for this week.

Rachin Ravindra has also emerged as a brilliant batting sensation for New Zealand. The player who started as an off-spinner started batting at number three to replace the former skipper Kane Williamson who is out of the team due to an injury.

Middle Order – Virat Kohli, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Daryl Mitchell, and Heinrich Klassen

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Former Indian skipper and modern-day batting great, Virat Kohli smashed his 48^th ODI century earlier this week in the clash against Bangladesh. Following that, he continued his golden run of form with the bat and scored a crucial 95 against New Zealand to guide India to a 4-wicket win. He seems irreplaceable at the number three position.

Alongside Virat Kohli, the number four position can be filled by the star Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan who has played some crucial knocks for his side. Following Rizwan, the star New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell is a perfect fit for the number 5 position owing to his 130-run knock against India.

Apart from this, the blistering South Africa batter Heinrich Klassen is an apt option to fill in the number 6 position of this playing XI.

All Rounder – Marco Jansen

Star Proteas pace bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen can make a perfect all-rounder at the number seven position with the bat, alongside some crucial overs with the ball. He recently played a brilliant knock of 75 runs off just 47 balls against England in the last match.

Bowlers – Mohammed Shami, Matt Henry, and Shaheen Afridi, and Mitchell Santner 

Speaking of the bowling attack of this best XI, the veteran Indian pacer Mohammed Shami is the first choice considering his outstanding five-wicket haul in his first ODI World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand. Alongside Shami, New Zealand seamer Matt Henry and star Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi are the most qualified contenders in this XI owing to their amazing performances with the ball this week.

Apart from three pacers, one specialist spinner Mitchell Santner can also be added to this XI to make it a perfect one.