India are one of the favourites to win the World Cup 2023, as they always are for any tournament.
India are one of the favourites to win the World Cup 2023, as they always are for any tournament. However, the Indian team have multiple reasons to be more confident this time. The experts and fans have high expectations from the Men in Blue.
The primary reason is being the home team and having ideal knowledge about different venues all around the country. Moreover, India also possess a formidable squad, with most players in form and ample match practice ahead of the main tournament. They have most of the bases covered in the team, with plenty of them runaway match-winners on their own.
R Ashwin replaces injured Axar Patel in the 15-member squad.
We wish Axar a speedy recovery 👍 👍#TeamIndia‘s final squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is here 🙌#CWC23 pic.twitter.com/aejYhJJQrT
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 28, 2023
In this section, we try dissecting their squad and campaign ahead of the start of cricket’s biggest carnival.
Numerous permutations and combinations have been made since the Indian squad has come out. With the team consisting of 15 quality players, the team is likely to leave out a few good ones from the eventual XI. One thing is confirmed – the team management will rotate and rest players as the tournament moves and give chances to different players according to the conditions.
The strongest team, irrespective of the conditions, will look something like – Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.
Also Read: WATCH: Utter chaos as batter returns from pavilion due to umpiring blunder during Asian Games
While this is the strongest XI on the paper, India will give the nod to Shardul Thakur ahead of Mohammed Shami to prolong the batting depth. Ravindra Jadeja’s below-par returns with the willow lately will further strengthen their decision. But Mohammed Shami is in the form of his life, and leaving him out might reduce the bowling depth significantly.
On the slow tracks, India will prefer Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of Shardul or Shami, whoever plays. Ashwin is the last-minute addition, and his presence will help India counter the LHBs more effectively. For the games in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, India will go with a pacer, and on the tracks in Chennai and Delhi, India will slot in Ashwin.
India have certain strengths leading into the World Cup, making it a strong contender. In different aspects, India stand out from other teams in the tournament. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that India have the least loopholes in their squad.
Formidable batting unit: India have several skilled batters in their squad, with most of them coming with runs on their back. The top order, consisting of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, is easily the best in the competition. These three are the quintessential ODI batters, consistently scoring tons of runs.
The middle order, consisting of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya, has also been piling up runs consistently. Despite coming off a long injury break, Shyreas Iyer and KL Rahul haven’t lost their touch. Ravindra Jadeja’s batting form is a slight concern and the only talking point in the Indian batting unit.
In form pace attack: Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are the first-choice players in the bowling department. Siraj is a powerplay giant who has also bowled well in the other phases. Meanwhile, Bumrah requires no validation; he is the best all-format bowler in the tournament.
If India play Mohammed Siraj, the pace attack will become unbeatable. Shami’s supreme powerplay expertise would also enable India to use Bumrah as an enforcer in the middle overs. Shardul Thakur has also been among the wickets, but he concedes a lot at times. With Shami, India get a major boost in the bowling unit, good enough to cover for the less batting depth on most occasions.
Variety and skills in the spin unit: The Indian spin attack is arguably the most skilled among the lot. With Kuldeep Yadav, India get an in-form chinaman who is a genuine wicket-taker in the middle overs. Ravindra Jadeja is currently through his best patch as a white-ball bowler – he is taking wickets more consistently than ever without giving away too many runs.
Before the World Cup kicks off, I analyse different aspects of each team in the tournament. Do have a read. @CricXtasy
Best batting line-up: https://t.co/n7QtXxy0zV
Best spin attack: https://t.co/fNjKT8NLSN
Best pace attack: https://t.co/TBqhOotv1H#WorldCup2023— Darpan Jain (@darpanjain103) October 2, 2023
The inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin provides India with a weapon to tackle the southpaws. Ashwin has also worked on his variations against the right-handers, his carrom ball that zips through the surface in a straight line. Ashwin also looked in terrific form in the Australia series. Hence, India have a variety in the spin department to provide ideal support to the speedsters.
Quality backups: Since most players retain their spot in this Indian side, it’s hard to find a place in the XI. However, a few of them are vulnerable to injuries. To India’s fortunes, the team has top-notch backups who provide services without compromising too much with the quality.
Ishan Kishan is a floater who can bat as per the team’s requirements. The southpaw has also grabbed his chances, whenever available, to provide confidence to the team management. Suryakumar Yadav might have been inconsistent, but he is a match-winner and showed encouraging signs against Australia in the series before the tournament.
Among Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami, one will feature in the team. As discussed earlier, they all have done enough to be regular. India are fortunate to have such skilled players to choose from. Whoever comes in will likely finish his job with consistency.
While it’s hard to point out the weaknesses, India have a few concerns as well. No team is perfect; neither is the Indian team. Let’s have a quick look at the cracks.
One-dimensional batting unit: India have the most formidable batting unit, but they are all one-dimensional. The top six Indian batters in a full-strength side are all RHBs with no LHB splitter. It’s not that they have the same skill sets, but the bowlers will find it slightly easier to operate against them.
India have the option of Ishan Kishan, but he is not the first choice. It doesn’t make the unit weaker, but there might be some days when India would require an LHB to divide the RHBs and take the attack back on the bowling team. The good thing, though, is that a lot of the those middle-order RHBs are exceptional against spinners turning the ball away from them.
Susceptible to the spin bowling: Despite being the sub-continent batters, India have been found wanting against proficient spinners lately. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s spin-tackling expertise has been on the wane for a while now, whereas Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja have also got stuck against the slow bowlers at times.
Shubman Gill has done reasonably well but has erred in judging the lengths against quality spinners a few times. It leaves a lot on Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who are excellent players of spin. Rahul put on a masterclass in Colombo to inspire confidence, while Iyer has historically done well against the slow bowlers.
India are not clueless, but they can be susceptible on the tracks with more help for the tweakers. Hence, they need to be more precise with their shot selections on the grounds like Chennai and Delhi.
Fielding blunders: The Indian fielders have not been up to the mark on the field lately. Their catch-taking efficiency has reduced significantly, and it’s the case with most players. While they have done a reasonable job of stopping boundaries or cutting runs, the Indian fielders have also dropped quite a few easy grabs.
Their fielding efforts against Nepal are a case in point. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, among the best fielders in the team, dropped dollies, while Ishan Kishan couldn’t hold a straighter chance with the gloves. Rohit Sharma’s catching efficiency has also shrunk in recent times.
Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill are generally safe fielders but have missed chances. Data posted by the broadcasters in the Asia Cup 2023 revealed that India’s catching efficiency is the second-worst among the top ten ODI teams. While the bowlers must be capable enough to create regular chances, the top-tier batters don’t err every time and holding the opportunities whenever available is imperative.
India will travel around the country for their nine league-stage fixtures in the tournament. They are the most travelling team in this World Cup, obviously.
India will kick off their campaign against Australia in Chennai on Sunday (October 8). They will play games in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Dharamsala, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. It will be a hectic schedule for India, so the rotation of players will be key to keeping players fit and fresh.
Below is a complete table of India’s fixtures, providing all the required details about their matches throughout the tourney.
It’s a World Cup, and all games are must-win, but the teams can face hiccups at any stage of the tournament. England were on the brink of elimination in 2019 before a timely comeback helped them go all the way. Hence, the teams should pinpoint their must-win games so that a few defeats don’t hamper their chances.
India might be the strongest World Cup team, but cricket is a fickle sport. Hence, they need to be on their toes every time. The competition won’t be as easy. Hence, India need to highlight the easier games in the tournament and win them by a massive margin.
Opponents like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Sri Lanka are not as strong as the other teams. It’s not to say these teams can’t defeat India; they will definitely put on a good fight. But quality-wise, India are a superior unit, and even the defeats against such teams won’t change it.
So, the Men in Blue will have to make sure to roll over these teams. If they win by a huge margin against these nations, the Indian team would be able to afford a few defeats against the top-ranked units. But India will give equal importance to each game and look to take it game by game before eventually reaching the knockout stages.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
