Three Reasons India Can Win The Cricket World Cup

It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were witnessing England sensationally defeat New Zealand in the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final at Lords but here we now stand just a year or so away from the next tournament which will be hosted by India in October 2023.

Even at this early stage there are a number of teams who will be looking to lift the trophy including the holders as well of course as five-time winner Australia.

The Cricket World Cup was first played in England in 1975 with the West Indies claiming the inaugural tournament and has, with a couple of exceptions, been held every four years since.

India will be hoping to repeat their success of 2011 but they will be mindful of their efforts last time round. Yes, they reached the semi-finals but there were some struggles along the way including a narrow win over relative minnows Afghanistan, as we reported on India Fantasy but strong performances by the one-day side this year have encouraged fans and pundits to believe 2023 could well be their year. The bookmakers believe them – they’re favourites to lift the World Cup in the latest Coral cricket odds and with good reason. Since losing the ODI series against South Africa at the start of the year they have beaten the West Indies, twice, and England in three-match series, losing just a single game.

As if form wasn’t enough to have fans believing next year will be their year there are plenty of other reasons why they should do well.

First is home advantage. The last three editions have been won by the hosts and skipper Rohit Sharma knows he will be able to count upon the wild, passionate support of home crowds throughout the tournament. As anyone who has witnessed the Indian Premier League will testify, the atmosphere, especially at day/night games is surely the equal of the world’s best sports stadiums. A packed 80,000 capacity Eden Gardens in Kolkata is one of India’s great sights!

Following on from the home advantage is the pitch. Indian wickets are famous for being dusty and this aids spin. Visit any patch of spare ground no matter how humble in this giant country and you will see young lads kicking up dust outside of the off-stump dreaming of being the next Anil Kumble or Subhash Gupte. And for 2023 it is likely India will be able to draw upon several highly experienced spinners. Ravindra Jadeja for example has been a stalwart of the national team in both white and red ball since 2009. His left arm spin has produced 188 wickets at an average of 37.36.

Then there is the flamboyant wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant who had such a stunning series in England over the summer with The Guardian describing his first ODI century as ‘a vintage innings’. There is something special about seeing a wicketkeeper stride out to the crease midway through an innings knowing in his locker he has the flair to knock the ball all over the pitch and Pant is in that bracket alongside greats like Ian Healy, Adam Gilchrist and a certain gentleman by the name of MS Dhoni. At 24 Pant is not yet ready to join that pantheon of legends but he is already a key member of the team and by the time October 2023 rolls around he will be ready to play his part in helping his country win the trophy for the third time in their history!