Not 1 or 2, Kevin Pietersen names 5 contenders to win ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen made a statement ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen named the teams he feels are the contenders to win the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 which begins on October 5 and will be solely hosted by India for the first time.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will feature 10 of the best teams who will play each other once in a round-robin format in the league stage with the top four teams entering the semi-finals. The opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad between defending champions England and New Zealand.

India, on the other hand, will play their first game on October 8 against Australia in Chennai and the big-ticket match against Pakistan will be played in Ahmedabad on October 14.

Pietersen himself was part of the 2007 and 2011 World Cups for England, and won the 2010 T20 World Cup, also gave reasons as to why the five teams he chose could be the best bet on winning the ultimate prize of the world champions crown.

He started by picking South Africa as surprise favorites especially after they defeated Australia 3-2 in the five-match ODI series at home despite being 0-2 down in the series. He pointed out Heinrich Klaasen as the stand-out performer for the Proteas.

Taking about the Australians, the five-time World Cup champions, Pietersen said that they will “be there and thereabouts,” meaning that no one can rule out the Pat Cummins-led side from contention.

The third pick by Kevin Pietersen was that of Pakistan, who recently couldn’t make it into the finals of the Asia Cup 2023 and lost heavily to eventual champions India in a crunch match of the Super 4s stage of the tournament. Pietersen said that “Pakistan is always a threat in World Cup tournaments.”

India favorites at home with Asia Cup win – Kevin Pietersen

The former England captain said that India will remain favorites since the World Cup 2023 will be played in their own backyard and they will have massive support wherever they play in the country. India will be playing all of their 9 league matches at different venues.

Pietersen’s last pick was England, who he called his second favorites to win the World Cup tournament. England have been playing an exciting brand of cricket in all formats for now and even bolstered themselves by taking the tough decision to bring in Harry Brook into the squad by dropping veteran Jason Roy.

“South Africa become contenders for the CWC after their win against Aus. Klaasen is the major asset. India favourites at home with Asia Cup win. Pakistan is always a threat. ALWAYS! England sitting just under India, in terms of favourites tag. And Australia, well they’ll be there and thereabouts…” Pietersen posted on X.  

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