Cricket World Cup 2023: India preview, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, squad, fixtures, matches, video, news
It’s been over a decade since India won an ICC event, but the cricket powerhouse has never looked better equipped to break the drought.
Rohit Sharma’s side are ranked No. 1 in the world, having won an eighth Asia Cup title last month. The two-time World Cup champions have won 18 of their 21 most recent bilateral ODI series at home, and the bookies have understandably tipped them as favourites.
“They know the conditions, they know the terrain,” Indian legend Ravi Shastri told Fox Cricket.
“To be honest, I think this is the strongest India team since they won the World Cup in 2011. I say that simply because this group has been playing with each other for five years. They’ve got youth in the form of Shubman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav, and they’ve got experience with Rohit (Sharma), Virat (Kohli) and (Ravindra) Jadeja.
“It’s a very good unit. A lot of variety there, a lot of depth there. I see them ticking most of the boxes, going in as one of the strongest sides India has produced in the last ten years.”
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However, India has developed a reputation for being cricket’s nearly-men at ICC events. They were knocked out in the semi-finals at the 2015 World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup, 2019 World Cup and last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Despite dominating white-ball cricket since the Indian Premier League’s inception, the South Asian nation hasn’t much silverware to show for it.
Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja acknowledged that India remained undisputed favourites heading into this year’s World Cup, but questioned whether Sharma and his teammates could handle the pressure.
India’s harshest critics are its own fanbase, and the team’s 1.4 billion supporters will make their frustration apparent if the hosts lose a couple of early matches during the group stage.
“They literally have the most pressure in the world. They have the biggest following in world cricket,” Khawaja told Fox Cricket.
“The pressure on them day in day out is massive, so if they stumble, if they lose a game, if they’re on the ropes, I know the fans can turn real quick.
“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword.
“When the pressure cooker comes later on in the tournament when it’s knock-outs, or even at the start, if something doesn’t go right, they’re going to have a lot of pressure on them, so they’re going to have to do everything right.”
The last three World Cups have been won by the host nation, and nobody is better suited for the subcontinent’s conditions than the Indians. However, courtesy of the IPL, Indian wickets are no longer a mystery for touring sides.
High-profile cricketers from England, Australia and South Africa are well accustomed to India’s unique conditions. They know the pitches, the angles of each ground, the dimensions of the boundaries and where to play shots. The element of mystery is gone.
Cameron Green, for example, has already spent four months playing cricket in India this year. A couple of months ago, Marcus Stoinis described India as his “second home”.
“I feel like I’ve played more white-ball cricket in India than I have in Australia over the last five years,” Australian captain Pat Cummins told Fox Cricket.
India will be without superstar wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and strike spinner Axar Patel, but the hosts have been bolstered by the return of bowler Jasprit Bumrah, wicketkeeper KL Rahul and natter Shreyas Iyer, who each recently recovered from injury setbacks.
Their top three are lethal, their middle order is dangerous, and their seam bowling cartel is the best in a generation.
However, former captain Virat Kohli remains the undisputed team superstar. The 34-year-old boasts more than 259 million followers, only sitting behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi among athletes, while fans have been known to crash through security to touch his feet or take a selfie.
Kohli needs just three centuries to topple the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI record, a feat he’ll be hoping to achieve in the coming weeks.
“When I watched them as a kid, (India) always seemed very placid … but the younger generation plays it differently,” Khawaja said.
“They play the game still respectfully, but they’re not afraid to back down from a fight. Particularly when Virat Kohli was captain, he brought that in.
“I enjoy watching him play more than ever now because he still plays it hard, but he also has a joke on the field, even when we play against him.
“He’s calmed down a little bit, maybe it’s having a child and starting a family, but this is probably my most enjoyable Virat Kohli in my opinion, because he’s still a gun. He’s scoring runs, but he’s also playing with a smile on his face, which I love.
“Everyone loves watching them play, everyone loves playing against them, but also everyone loves beating them too.”
India gets its World Cup campaign underway against Australia at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, with the first ball scheduled for 7.30pm AEDT.
SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav
FIXTURES
October 8: India vs Australia, Chennai, 7.30pm
October 11: India vs Afghanistan, New Delhi, 7.30pm
October 14: India vs Pakistan, Ahmedabad, 7.30pm
October 19: India vs Bangladesh, Pune, 7.30pm
October 22: India vs New Zealand, Dharamsala, 7.30pm
October 29: India vs England, Lucknow, 7.30pm
November 2: India vs Sri Lanka, Mumbai, 7.30pm
November 5: India vs South Africa, Kolkata, 7.30pm
November 11: India vs Netherlands, Bengaluru, 7.30pm
