Indian cricket in 2023 — the good, the bad, and the ugly

The year is almost done. Australia Men will leave after the ongoing T20I series. After that, India Men will fly out to South Africa, while England and Australia Women will come over. That, domestic cricket, and the 2024 IPL auction, and we are done for the year. Here are 13 Indian cricket highlights of the year that made the headlines:

Champions of the year: Team Shafali Verma

Shafali Verma.

The inaugural Under-19 Women’s World Cup may seem from another lifetime, but it happened only this January. Led by Shafali Verma, India strolled to lift the trophy, rounding things off with easy wins against New Zealand in the semi-final and England in the final.

Heartbreak of the year: The World Cup final

Virat Kohli after India lost ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Final 2023." width="600" height="337" /> Actor Anushka Sharma with husband-cricketer Virat Kohli after India lost ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Final 2023.

Ten comfortable wins in a row, combined with more than a decade of wait in global tournament, had led to enormous hype around the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. The massive crowd was silenced by Australia’s stupendous performance as India had their only bad day in the tournament. By the time the match was over, a substantial part of the crowd had already left.

Winner of the year: Women’s Premier League

Mumbai Indians, 2023 Women’s Premier League season 1 winners.

The concept, if delayed, was a success even before the first ball had been bowled, for it was already behind only the WNBA in valuation and will only get better as it expands beyond five teams. What can be better than providing ample financial security to the best cricketers in the country and beyond?

Surprise package of the year: Arun Jaitley Stadium

Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Google with the worst cricket stadium in India and you will find the Delhi venue in most lists. All that had, perhaps, made the DDCA take notice, for the venue underwent an incredible makeover ahead of the World Cup. Few complained about the facilities, and fans turned up in thousands even for the non-India matches.

Letdown of the year: The World Cup logistics

The 2023 ICC men's Cricket World Cup logistics was a letdown.

The already delayed schedule had to be rescheduled, which resulted in changes to plans. The long waits at the online ticketing system left many without a ticket. There were still fans at the venue, but very few supporters for non-India sides. It was not meant to be like this.

Chequered show of the year: Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur.

In the semi-final, Kaur’s bat got stuck as she attempted a second run and she was run out, and India collapsed against Australia. Against Bangladesh, she smashed the stumps upon being given out, expressed dissent, and was suspended for two matches. At the same time, she was the first captain to win the WPL and the first Indian gold medallist captain at cricket. What was her year like? You decide.

Abbas-Mustan tribute of the year: The Hardik Pandya transfer

Hardik Pandya.

There was news of Pandya moving back to the Mumbai Indians, but there was no official confirmation. Then the Gujarat Titans kept him when they named their squad. Had Mumbai got Pandya, they would have been left with virtually no money to enter the auction, so they resolved that by trading Cam Green off to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Pandya’s transfer is official now.

Young star of the year: Titas Sadhu

Titas Sadhu.

Sadhu retuned 4-0-6-2 in the final against England when India won the Under-19 World Cup. When India won the gold medal in the Asian Games, Sadhu had 4-1-6-3 in the final against Sri Lanka. Only 19, she is already being touted as the one to fill the enormous shoes of Jhulan Goswami.

Performance of the year: Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami

It is not unheard of for a cricketer to create an impression despite being left out for four matches in the World Cup, but what Shami did was absurd. Seven matches, 24 wickets, a wicket every 12.2 balls, three five-wicket hauls – everything seems absurd whichever way you look at it.

Comeback of the year: Women’s Test cricket

Women's Test Cricket returns.

India have hosted 20 women’s Test matches – but 19 of them until November 2005. Since then, only South Africa have played here, at Mysuru in November 2014. Now, in December, they will play England at Navi Mumbai, then Australia at Mumbai, marking – hopefully – a return.

World record of the year: Kohli goes past Sachin

Virat Kohli goes past Sachin Tendulkar's 49 centuries in ODI record.

When the global lockdown began, Virat Kohli had already raced to 43 ODI hundreds, six short of Sachin Tendulkar’s world record. An agonising three-year wait later, he finally got his 44th, and added three more by the time the World Cup began. He eventually went past Tendulkar in the semi-final against New Zealand, and bowed at the stands, for the great man himself was present in the stands.

Heroes of the year: The BCCI medical staff and the NCA

National Cricket Academy (NCA).

Getting not one or two but three key players – Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul – fit in time for the World Cup was not easy. Not only did all of them recover in time but they also played out the entire competition. As if that is not enough, updates of Rishabh Pant’s recovery keep coming through every now and then, almost making fans hope.

Bore of the year: India-Australia contests

India-Australia contests were the highlights of the year gone by.

Four Test matches. Three ODIs. The World Test Championship final. Three more ODIs. Two World Cup matches. Five T20Is. Are India and Australia not tired of each other? There are also Australia Women, coming over for a full tour in December.