Picture Credit: Twitter
2023 is set to be an important year for Indian cricket with an upcoming home 50-over World Cup. The Indian team haven't won a World Cup trophy since their triumph in 2011 at home. The Men in Blue are set to play 15 ODIs and an Asia Cup before the World Cup in preparation to reclaim the World title.
Over the last 12 years, India has failed to reach the World Cup final twice with semi-final finishes in 2015 and 2019. The Men in Blue registered 14 wins in the past year at a win percentage of 58.33%. These numbers reflect that the team was performing at a high level but still has a lot of room for improvement.
Read More: India Schedule ODI World Cup | ODI World Cup Schedule 2023
With an even keener interest from the audiences, the Indian cricket team has even more pressure to perform this year. Along with the IPL, the World Cup is the next biggest event when it comes to millions of Indians who want to watch and cheer for their favourite players. The website My Betting Sites India has also predicted that this World Cup will have more betting interest than any other edition before.
The Indian team struggled to win overseas with nine wins, seven losses, and two no results. But on the other hand, Men in Blue continued their dominant run at home where they had five wins out of six games.
So moving ahead toward the 2023 World Cup, SportsTiger makes an early prediction of a possible Indian squad. The batting is led by captain Rohit Sharma along with veteran star Virat Kohli, who would want to recreate the triumph of 2011. The other batters in the team would be established stars like Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shubman Gill.
The all-rounders of the team would include seasoned campaigners like Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja alongside the likes of Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur. The wicket-keeping spot will be open after Rishabh Pant’s accident, keeping him away for a long time. In his absence, players like KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan could keep the wickets for India .
The Indian bowling attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah, who has proved his match fitness recently in the Ireland series and during the Aisa Cup 2023 match against Nepal. Bumrah will be the spearhead of the pace battery comprising stars like Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj. Due to the lack of batting skills in the bowling unit, Team India are likely to include just one full-time spinner in their 15-member squad.
India 15-man provisional squad for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023:
Batters: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav
Wicket-keepers: Ishan Kishan, Kl Rahul
All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur
Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj