Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan believes that Team India is one of the favourites to win the 2023 ODI World Cup, which will be held in India. Muralitharan made the statement at an event in Mumbai where the World Cup schedule was announced. He added that he is looking forward to watching India play against England.
India’s last World Cup victory came in 2011, when they co-hosted the tournament with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. India beat Sri Lanka in the final to end a 28-year wait for their second World Cup victory. The final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium also happened to be Muralitharan’s last international game.
Since then, only the host countries have been able to win the championship. Australia won the 2015 title, which they co-hosted with New Zealand, and England won the 2019 tournament in England and Wales.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, who has played in the World Cup three times, believes that the pitches in the upcoming tournament will favour the sub-continent teams. He pointed out that India and Sri Lanka have strong spin attacks, while also cautioning that Afghanistan may not be able to make the most of the favourable pitches due to their weaker batting line-up.
The 2023 World Cup will begin on 5 October with defending champions England playing 2019 runners-up New Zealand. India will start their campaign against five-time ODI world champions Australia in Chennai just three days later on 8 October.
One of the most anticipated matches of the tournament will be between India and Pakistan, which will take place on 15 October in Ahmedabad. This will be the eighth World Cup clash between the traditional rivals, with India having won all of the previous matches.
The tournament will run for more than a month and will conclude with the final on 19 November. Overall, the 2023 World Cup is shaping up to be an exciting event with several strong teams vying for the championship title.
