The Indian think-tank led by coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma wishes to earn some pre-tournament advantage over specific oppositions.
Before the BCCI and ICC finally announce the schedule for the 2023 World Cup, the Indian team management is understood to have made an interesting request to the cricket board to gain tactical advantage over certain oppositions prior to the marquee event to be held in October-November.
The Indian think-tank led by coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma has reportedly asked the BCCI’s technical committee, responsible for the venue allocation of World Cup matches, to arrange fixtures against their overseas counterparts on grounds traditionally known for slow-natured pitches.
The schedule will be unveiled at a grand launch after the completion of the IPL 2023. But before that, the Indian team has sent out a request to its cricket board to ensure the 2011 champions and tournament hosts have their tactical advantage set over teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England on tracks that would aid the Indian spinners.
Over time, these teams have improved drastically in their ability to tackle the Indian conditions, with Australia even winning two of their previous three ODI series in India, but the Dravid-led management still reckons its best means to thwart the ‘SENA’ threat is through the spin-friendly tracks in certain centres.
As per reports, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Rajkot, Indore, Bengaluru and Dharamshala have been short-listed as venues by the BCCI and ICC for the 2023 World Cup.
Of the 13 venues to be used for the matches and the practice games, an Indian Express report said, “only seven will host India’s league matches”. It is understood that the iconic new stadium in Ahmedabad with a capacity of upto INR 1 lakh will be hosting the tournament final in mid-November.
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With seven venues to host India’s guaranteed nine league stage fixtures, the Indian team management wishes to earn an edge over specific oppositions through the ground conditions and traditional nature of pitches. The idea is to beat the ‘SENA’ sector at India’s historic strength with spin on slower surfaces.
Such tracks, however, can bounce back on the Indian team as well. Australia, for example, beat the Indian team in the decider of a three-match series in March played on a turning track in Chennai. The current Indian team is not known as the best set of batters to play spin in the modern game, while India’s own spin attack is not rated to be the one leading the global spin pack.
