The last time that India won the ODI World Cup was back in 2011 when it co-hosted the tournament along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They did manage to reach the semi-finals in the next two editions but failed to make it through to the finals on both occasions.
Now, as India once again hosts the World’s most awaited international cricketing event, let’s have a look at Team India's strengths and weaknesses.
It will be interesting to note that the previous three 50-Over World Cups have been won by the host nation (India in 2011, Australia in 2015, and England in 2019).
Squad
Batsmen
Rohit Sharma (C)
Shubhman Gill
Virat Kohli
Suryakumar Yadav
Shreyas Iyer
All-rounders
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Axar Patel
Wicket-keepers
KL Rahul
Ishan Kishan
Bowlers
Shardul Thakur
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Siraj
Kuldeep Yadav
India has plenty of experienced players in the team, most of whom have played plenty of cricket at the international level. As many as 8 players from the 2019 World Cup squad have been retained and the team will rely on their experience to play well.
India will rely on its famed top order to deliver the goods. Most of the batsmen have done well in the recent Asia Cup. Shubhman Gill and Rohit Sharma are pretty consistent as an opening pair, while Virat Kohli seems to be picking up good form after a prolonged lull.
KL Rahul too made a strong comeback from his injury while Ishan Kishan seems to have foud his groove in the middle. The importance of Hardik Pandya to the balance of this team cannot be overstated and he is perhaps the most important member of this squad right now.
The seam attack is likely to be another shining spot in India’s performance. Jasprit Bumrah, who is back in the international arena after almost a year, hasn’t lost any of his bite and will be supported by Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Siraj with Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur as backups.
The emergence of Kuldeep Yadav 2.0 has been brilliant for India. He is the wicket-taker in the middle that they were searching for because Jadeja and/or Axar do not really pick up many wickets.
The middle-order batting can be the biggest chink in India’s armor. Shreyas Iyer has been in and out of the infirmary, while Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t been as effective in the ODIs as he was in the T20 format.
A lot will depend on the batting performance of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja in case the top order fails. Power hitting, especially down the order can also be a problem. Hardik Pandya has evolved into more of a traditional batter and does not really tee off from the start. Ravindra Jadeja also rarely strikes over 100 in ODI cricket and has not cracked the art of batting with the tail.
Adding Axar Patel as a third spinner and for the batting buffer he provides may be necessary.
8-10-23 India vs Australia MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
11-10-23 India vs Afghanistan Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
14-10-23 India vs Pakistan Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
19-10-23 India vs Bangladesh MCA Stadium, Pune
22-10-23 India vs New Zealand HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala
29-10-23 India vs England Ekana Stadium, Lucknow
2-11-23 India vs Sri Lanka Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
5-11-23 India vs South Africa Eden Gardens, Kolkata
11-11-23 India vs Netherlands M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Is there a team in the world that is more difficult to beat at home than India? You would be hard-pressed to find a team that comes close. If we just look at home ODI matches over the last two years, India has won 12 out of the 15 matches that it has played.
As the home team, all of the venues chosen are familiar to it. We do believe that the current Indian team is better in conditions that are high-scoring or where the ball actually nips around a bit. The Indian batters like the ball coming onto the bat and that is why we think they will do well in venues such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
Its opponents for matches in the spin-friendly venues are well-chosen and leave India as the favorite in most matches. A couple of possible slippery matchups include Afghanistan in Delhi and South Africa in Kolkata.
Pakistan in Ahmedabad is also a high-octane match but the conditions are unlikely to play too much of a role in that contest.
India has chosen its venues nicely and has a great chance of progressing to the semi-finals.
India had been battling with quite a few injuries at the time of the squad being announced. However, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah seem to have recovered well and have done well in the Asia Cup. Shreyas Iyer is still not 100% fit and updates regarding that are awaited.
Top run-scorer for India in 2023
Shubhman Gill is the top run-getter for India in this calendar year. He has scored 904 runs in 16 innings so far at an average of 64.57 and a strike rate of 105.23. His knocks include 3 centuries and 4 half-centuries.
Top wicket-taker for India in 2023
Thanks to his excellent stint in the recent Asia Cup, Kuldeep Yadav is the leading wicket-taker for India this year. He has picked up 31 wickets in 14 innings at a bowling strike rate of 20.32. His average is the best among bowlers with more than 25 wickets, at 15.48.
Betting tips
Top run-scorer: Virat Kohli
Arguably one of the best ODI batsmen of all time, Virat Kohli has an immense hunger to score runs at big events. He is the only player from the 2011 World Cup-winning team to be featured in this squad and will be playing his 4th ODI World Cup.
Virat Kohli is the second-highest run-getter for India in ODI World Cups, second only to Sachin Tendulkar. He has scored a total of 1030 runs at an average of 46.81. With this likely to be his last World Cup, Kohli will look to end on a high.
Top wicket-taker: Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah will be featuring in his 2nd ODI World Cup. He was the leading wicket-taker for India in the previous edition with 18 wickets from just 9 matches. He has got into a good rhythm immediately after an injury break and will be raring to prove himself.
