The 13th edition of the ODI World Cup 2023 is scheduled to start on October 5, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, when the defending champions England take on the runners-up New Zealand. The final of the “flagship event of the international cricket calendar” will be held on November 19, at the same venue where the tournament opener is going to be played.
Over its illustrious history, the ICC Cricket World Cup has produced epic moments of glory and grandeur for some, which have been coupled with the pain and agony of defeat for others. The young players have become stars in the world of cricket through the quadrennial spectacle, while the old guard has left the game in better shape than they found it.
The upcoming edition won’t be any different for the participating teams, especially the hosts India, who have the responsibility of bringing ICC glory to the nation in more than a decade. With that, SportsTiger looks at three Indian cricketers who might play their last ODI World Cup in 2023, in this feature article.
1. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma, the captain of Team India, is going to participate in the third ODI World Cup of his career next month, scoring 978 runs in 17 matches at an average of 65.20 and a strike-rate of 95.97 in the previous two editions. The 36-year-old has notched up six centuries in the tournament, a record which he shares with the former ICC Cricket World Cup winner Sachin Tendulkar, his former Indian teammate.
The upcoming quadrennial spectacle in 2023 could be the last for Rohit Sharma, mainly because he has skipped a lot of ODIs through rest in the build-up. Furthermore, when the ODI World Cup 2027 comes around, the Nagpur-born cricketer will be 40 years of age, with a lot of young players giving him stiff competition in all likelihood.