The year 2023 was the year of the ODI World Cup, but there was the World Test Championship (WTC) also which attracted a lot of fans. In the year that witnessed the playing of 34 Test matches and the crowning of Australia as World Test Champions for the 2021–2023 cycle, Cricket Australia (CA) revealed their Test Team of the Year on the last day of the year.
Cricket Australia (CA) announced its Test Team of the Year, comprising players from six different nations. Notably, the list includes only two Australians and two Indians, the teams that contested the WTC Final. The most surprising thing on that list is that out of the four players in their Test XI, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma did not secure a spot on the list.
Similarly, the likes of James Anderson as well as Jasprit Bumrah also failed to make it to the Test team of the year. Cricket Australia Test team of the year includes; Usman Khawaja, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Lorcan Tucker, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Pat Cummins (C), Kagiso Rabada, and Stuart Broad.
Let us look at how Twitter has reacted to this team;
Virat Kohli in place of Brook, Rizwan in place of Tucker
— Satya Prakash (@Satya_Prakash08) December 31, 2023
This looks like more reasonable and unbiased team unlike Espncricinfo.
— Shah Zaib (@IamShzb) December 31, 2023
Who cares about their opinion
— CHADitya ? (@CHADitya_18) December 31, 2023
Ye kon se nashe mein team pick ki hai
— Shubham Shrivastav (@shubhshr28) December 31, 2023
Ashwin? Reason?
— Aditya (@AdityaDntCare) December 31, 2023
How is King Kolhi not on the list ????
— TMS ?? (@TMS205) December 31, 2023
Jaddu??
— Niks (@NikhilP2601) December 31, 2023
Pat Cummins ?
— Lavanya (@lavanyapandeyx) December 31, 2023
Nathan Lyon failed to find a spot in the squad
Interesting picks from the Cricket Australian as the players who were left out by them also deserve a chance in the squad. In Cricket Australia’s Test team of the year, the top six batters hail from five different nations. The surprising addition among these players is Lorcan Tucker from Ireland, even though Alex Carey, Tom Blundell, and Mushfiqur Rahim have scored more runs.
Regarding the remaining five spots, Nathan Lyon was the only one with a chance to secure a place in the XI. Despite finishing the year as the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, the off-spinner found himself lower down the pecking order, with Ashwin selected ahead of him. In addition to it, Lyon even completed a landmark of 500 Test wickets against Pakistan earlier in the month.
