Indian Cricket Team: A Look at Strength And Weakness Of Rohit Sharma And Co. For ODI WC

With just seven days left in one of the biggest festivals of international cricket, the Indian cricket team under the leadership of Rohit Sharma is all set for the ODI World Cup 2023. The Indian team will play against Australia to begin its campaign in the major 50-over ICC event on October 8. However, the fans will eagerly wait for the high-profile India vs Pakistan clash, which will be played in front of 1,32,000 people on October 14 in Ahmedabad. The 'Men in Blue' has loads of experience in their 15-member squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup, but will the team be able to end its 10-year-old drought of an ICC title? Let's find out!

India's squad for ODI World Cup 2023

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.

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India's 'Strengths' in ODI World Cup 2023

Rich in experience: The Indian squad features a lot of experienced players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami, who are rich in experience and have played a total of two or more ODI World Cups. Apart from these players, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja also have the experience of playing in the 50-over World Cup. Their experiences can prove to be very effective for the Indian team in the upcoming tournament. 

Home Advantage: The ODI World Cup is returning to India after a span of 12 years. The Indian team defeated Sri Lanka in the finals and brought the World Cup trophy home after a gap of 28 years in 2011. It's been 10 years since the team has lifted an ICC title. The last two editions of the tournament have been won by the host countries and the 'Men in Blue; have a brilliant chance to continue the trend and end their ICC title drought. 

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Lethal pace attack: The current Indian pace attack which consists of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur is probably the best in the world today. The Indian pacers showed a lot of prowess in the 2023 Asia Cup and continued the same in the ODI series against Australia. Bumrah on one end made a solid return after injury and picked up wickets with the new ball. Siraj on the other hand blew away Sri Lanka's batting lineup in the 2023 Asia Cup final. Shami who played only one match in the Asia Cup picked up a fifer against Australia in the first ODI and proved his importance in the team. Thakur has the ability to break partnerships and pick up wickets in the middle overs, which he has done very efficiently in the previous few ODIs. 

(Indian cricket team pacer Jasprit Bumrah celebrates a wicket during the 2023 Asia Cup / Image: AP)

India's 'Weaknesses' in ODI World Cup 2023

No backup for Hardik Pandya: The Indian squad does not have any backup option for pace bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Hardik has proved to be the team's number-one pace bowling all-rounder in the last four to five years and has performed with both bat and ball. Pandya has played the role of finisher really well and has won India a lot of matches by coming down the order. Pandya has also picked up wickets with the new ball and played the role of a fourth seamer well. The Indian team has added Shardul Thakur to stretch its batting, but his performance in the 50-over format has not been pleasing with the bat. 

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(Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya raises his bat after half-century / Image: AP)

Constant experiments: The Indian team management has conducted a lot of experiments in the past few months. The reason behind the same was to finalise the playing XI for the CWC 2023 but this also shows the instability in the team. The recent incident was the decision to open with Washington Sundar along with Rohit Sharma in the third ODI against Australia. The Indian team has also not been able to solve the mystery of the number four batsman and has experimented with a lot of players in this particular batting position in the past. 

India's 'Opportunities' in ODI World Cup 2023

Youngsters to shine: The Indian team squad for the CWC 2023 features youngsters like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. Gill on one end is the highest ODI run scorer in the year 2023, Kishan has been included in the squad as a backup for injured wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. Kishan and Gill both have shown a lot of promise with their batting performance in the past and now have a chance to cement their place in the team in the upcoming 50-over World Cup. 

Ro'Hitman' Sharma: Rohit Sharma will have the chance to end the team's ICC title drought on home soil and add his name to the elite list of Indian captains to win an ICC trophy. Sharma also has a chance to shine with the bat as he scored a total of five tons in the last edition of the tournament. Rohit Sharma can also join the likes of Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to win a World Cup for India under his leadership.

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(Team India skipper Rohit Sharma during the Asia Cup 2023 / Image: AP)

India's 'Threats' in ODI World Cup 2023

Injury Threat: The Indian cricket team has witnessed a lot of injuries to players in the past. Players such as KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah have returned to the team after injury whereas Axar Patel has been ruled out due to a quadriceps strain. Team India will play in nine different cities throughout the tournament, which will involve a lot of travelling. Hence, the team management must keep a good track of the management of the fitness of the players. 

India's schedule in ODI World Cup 2023

• India vs Australia: October 8 at Chennai 
• India vs Afghanistan: October 11 at Delhi 
• India vs Pakistan: October 14 at Ahmedabad 
• India vs Bangladesh: October 19 at Pune
• India vs New Zealand: October 22 at Dharamsala 
• India vs England: October 29 at Lucknow 
• India vs Sri Lanka: November 2 at Mumbai
• India vs South Africa: November 5 at Kolkata 
• India vs Netherlands: November 12 at Bengaluru 

Prediction for India in ODI World Cup 2023

The Indian cricket team was knocked out of the semi-finals of the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cup. Team India has done well in the ICC events in recent years but has choked at the knockout stages of those tournaments. The semi-final loss against New Zealand was very disheartening as the team was in a position to win the match, but at last, faced a batting collapse and one 'MS Dhoni' run out changed the whole momentum of the match. However, the Indian squad has a lot of talent and experience. If the Indian team is able to hold onto the crucial moments of the 2023 ODI World Cup knockouts they can shine as they have all the firepower to win the tournament.