With the mega event a month away, India has announced its 15-member squad for the tournament on August 5, and the former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opens on India’s chances at World Cup 2023.
Sanjay Manjrekar on India’s chances at World Cup 2023
The World Cup 2023 is scheduled to begin on October 5, in India. With few teams announcing their preliminary squad for the big tournament, Sanjay Manjrekar believes the Indian team has what it takes to obtain the World Cup title.
Despite a few injured players and their return to action without real ODI match experience on the continental event, the Indian team looks well-balanced. India has entered many ICC tournaments as favorites but they could only clear knockout stages.
Sanjay Manjrekar said that many strong teams are in the battle for the World Cup trophy, which could lead to India’s execution at the knockout stages.
“Yes, I think the selectors have done a good job considering the options that they had. The planning is good, now it’s all about the execution in the main game. I see India qualifying for the semis, but it’s the challenge post the semis that India will have to contend with. There are some good sides around; we’ve had a glimpse of some of the squads. It’s not going to be easy, but yes, it’s a good enough side to win the World Cup,” Manjrekar said.
He also reminded that India’s defeat against New Zealand despite their top position in the table in the World Cup 2019 edition. Recently, Ajit Agarkar has announced that India batter KL Rahul has proved his fitness and will be joining the action during the Super Fours in the continental tournament.
With the selection of KL Rahul, the selectors omitted Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, and Sanju Samson. India’s 15-member squad will be led by Rohit Sharma with the likes of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav in the batting line-up.
Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Shardul Thakur for all-rounder options, and Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav for bowling options.
On this occasion, Tom Moody had suggested that India’s victory in the tournament will be determined by the fitness and form of Jasprit Bumrah.
“They definitely have a squad that can win the World Cup. Home advantage is a big one for India. A lot is going to depend on the fitness and longevity of Bumrah. He holds such an important key for India because of his high-quality impact early and also to close the innings,” he said.
After the Asia Cup, India will be playing a three-match ODI Series against Australia and will be playing two warmup matches before the World Cup. They will be playing first match against Australia in the World Cup 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
