The 2023 ODI World Cup will start within the next two months. It will start with a match between England and New Zealand on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. This is the first time India will host the entire tournament on its own.
The hosts will start their journey in the World Cup in Chennai against Australia on October 8. It means the time is running out and the hosts still have some areas to address. The biggest area of concern for India is the inconsistent middle order.
After the injuries to Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul, India is struggling to find a suitable batter who can bat in the middle order. They have tried Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav consistently. But none of them have grabbed the opportunities so far.
It wouldn’t be a wrong statement to say that India hasn’t found another Yuvraj Singh, who was a match-winner in the middle order. On Thursday, in an interaction on the sidelines of La Liga, Indian captain Rohit Sharma also admitted that India has struggled at No. 4 and 5.
Rohit said, “Look, No. 4 has been an issue for us for a long time. After Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh), nobody has come and settled themselves in.” Rohit admitted that Shreyas Iyer has done well at No. 4 but has been injured.
He also stated that the injuries to key players have also forced India to struggle in recent times. Rohit added that over the last 4–5 years, India has suffered consistent injuries to key players, which has hampered their performance. However, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna have made comebacks. However, the same can’t be said about Rahul and Iyer.
Some reports confirmed that Rahul is ready to go and likely to make his comeback in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. If it is possible, then it will be a big boost for the Indian team. Or else, India needs to rely on the new faces. India has struggled to win an ICC tournament in the last decade, but the coming tournament can be a good chance to break this ICC trophy drought.
