Indian cricket team would be booming with confidence after winning the ODI series against the mighty Aussies by 2-1. We should not forget that the trio Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma & Hardik Pandya weren’t a part of the side for the first 2 ODIs. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul led the side and did a pretty good decent job.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav.
Strengths
India’s prowess is their batting line up. The resurgence of KL Rahul at the middle order means that the duo Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma can play their natural game. KL Rahul is expected to bat at No.5 position, we witnessed how he struck a barnstorming ton against the invincible Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023. It won’t be wrong to say that India can chase any mammoth total on the board as the middle order looks sturdy as they have Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya & Ravindra Jadeja.
Weaknesses
The likes of Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli will have to negate the threat of the left arm fast bowlers during the start of the match. Perhaps, Virat Kohli should advance down the track and disturb the dynamics of the bowler. India should not make whole sale changes and should stick to one combination especially with Ishan Kishan & Shreyas Iyer competing for No.4 position and it looks likely that the seasoned campaigner Shreyas Iyer would get the nod.
X factor
The veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin can fox the batters with his variations. Ashwin made the cut for the ODI WC 2023 squad against all the odds after the sudden injury to Axar Patel. Ashwin can be used as a floater as well as the batter in the last couple of years has worked on his batting and can provide lusty blows as well. There are chances that the old pair of Ravindra Jadeja & Ravichandran Ashwin would be back for ODI WC 2023.
Verdict
India has got a puissant squad, but this time all the teams are evenly matched. We all know that Indian conditions are no longer alien to the overseas players due to IPL. India would most likely make to the ODI WC 2023 semi finals but the side should not go overboard after winning Asia Cup 2023 and Australia ODI series. The reason behind that is the pitches for ODI WC 2023 come under the scrutiny of ICC and they make sure that the wicket is a competitive one.