Last Update on: October 3rd, 2023 at 07:07 pm
Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri picked his semi-finalists for the ICC World Cup 2023. The cricketer-turned-commentator backed India, England and Australia to definitely make it into the top 4. He, however, was confused about the fourth team and couldn’t quite pick it.
Ravi Shastri believes that one between South Africa and Pakistan will make it into the semi-finals. He wasn’t sure about it as he believed that it would be a challenge. He said that Men in Green have been hampered a bit by the absence of Naseem Shah, who has been ruled out of the ICC World Cup 2023.
Three clear favourites for you too? 🤔#CWC23 | #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/TMV7BusHnp
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 3, 2023
The ICC World Cup 2023 will kick start from 5th October. The opening encounter will be played between finalists of the 2019 World Cup. England and New Zealand will be up against each other at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The warmup games are currently taking place. The teams are putting in hard yards and have played exceptional cricket in the warmup games. It gave a real teaser about what’s to come. With the kind of cricket teams are playing, it’s fair to say that talks related to the future of the ODI might end finally.
Ravi Shastri Touts Suryakumar Yadav As X-Factor for India in ICC World Cup 2023
Suryakumar Yadav has been named in India’s squad for the ICC World Cup 2023. He hasn’t been performing well in the ODIs. But despite that, he has got Ravi Shastri’s backing. The former Indian head coach believes that he will bring the X-factor into the team. He explained:
“And in Indian conditions, very rarely it will struggle. You know you expect 1-2-3-4 – one hundred. He will always be in my 12. You have to see the conditions. A real flat track – I would think of Surya. Because you expect the other 3-4 to get runs. If it’s (conditions are) tough, tricky, or seaming then maybe you don’t know. You have 5 proper batters, all five similar, instead of that have one X-factor – could be a left-hander could be a Surya.”
India will open their campaign against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8.
