The ODI World Cup 2023 will kick off on next Thursday in India. England will face the opening encounter on October 5 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the warmup schedule will start on Friday, with every team playing two practice matches each.
All the teams have announced their final squad for the upcoming event, and now it is all down to the players and how they will perform when the pressure is on. Fans are pretty passionate about cricket in India, and almost all the matches will be full, irrespective of the team.
Many former cricketers reckon that India has a great opportunity to win the World Cup at home this time around. But England and Australia are the other two good contenders for the cup. On the other hand, it will not be wise to write off Pakistan in the subcontinent either.
All in all, tough competition is expected in the coming tournament. Meanwhile, former South African speedster Dale Steyn has picked two of the finalists for the coming tournament. In an interaction on Star Sports, Steyn said that he would go with India and England, but his heart wants South Africa to play in the final.
Steyn said, “I feel like India is going to be one of the finalists, and probably England. But my heart wants to say South Africa and India, but I am kind of leaning towards India and England.” England are the defending champions and play pretty aggressive cricket.
On the other hand, India won the World Cup the last time it was held at home in 2011 and has a brilliant track record at home. South Africa is coming off an excellent 3-2 series win over Australia, coming from 0-2 behind. But the Proteas have never played in the final of the World Cup so far and will be a dark horse in the competition.
Steyn also highlighted that a lot of South African players play in the Indian Premier League and are familiar with the conditions, so there is a good chance that they can perform. South Africa will play their opening game on October 7 against Sri Lanka in Delhi.
